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How AI is Rapidly Changing SEO and Its Impact on Your Brand – kahnmedia

How AI is Rapidly Changing SEO and Its Impact on Your Brand

How AI is Rapidly Changing SEO and Its Impact on Your Brand

AI is rapidly changing SEO in ways that will have a massive impact on your brand. Sure, there is a lot of hype currently surrounding AI. Like the flying car promised so many decades ago, AI will supposedly change the world forever. Many of those changes are yet to be seen, so it is natural to be skeptical of that opening statement. However, it isn’t hyperbole or fiction.

AI and LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and others are affecting SEO and how people gather information about your products right now. These changes are very real, and the impact on your brand will grow even bigger as the use of LLMs rapidly increases. Let’s dive into what is happening and what can be in store for your brand. In this article, we will discuss the following:

  • How consumers are shifting from traditional search engines to AI-powered ones.
  • If Google and SEO really matter anymore.
  • Why you should care about the shift to LLMs for product information.
  • The demographics of those using AI to find your products.

What is Happening?

Google used to be the dominant force for product discovery. If you wanted consumers to discover your products, you had to rank highly in a Google search result. That is why brands spent countless resources trying to push up higher in Google search rankings through SEO efforts. The higher a brand ranked, the more people found and purchased its products.

Google’s once powerful role is diminishing as more people turn to LLM platforms for their search queries. Appearing in these AI-produced search results will become increasingly crucial for brands as AI adoption rapidly becomes more prevalent. Not recognizing this shift to AI-powered search results can cause your sales to flatline or sink. Thus, AI SEO (the process of appearing in AI-generated search results) is quickly gaining importance as AI is rapidly changing SEO.

How Does AI SEO Differ from Regular SEO?

This could be a whole article, but we will try to keep it brief. The easiest way to understand SEO vs. AI SEO is that one is keyword-based while the other is impression-based. SEO likes relevant and authoritative content in a specific format and with the right keywords to rank content. AI SEO likes similar content with some slight additional tweaks. However, it also looks at how often a brand is mentioned across the entire online spectrum (social media, YouTube, Reddit comments, podcasts, etc.) and measures consumer sentiment as well to consider including a brand in its search results. The more a brand is mentioned on what it deems authoritative sources, the more likely that brand is to be included in AI search results.

Here is a video to dive deeper into how AI produces search results. It is more from a content creator perspective, but it gives an easy-to-follow explanation of how AI searches work:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-XaAV81zJw[/embedyt]

Or follow the link here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-XaAV81zJw

Who is Using AI for Search?

A survey conducted earlier this year on the demographics of AI search usage shows somewhat unsurprising results. Younger people tend to use AI more, which isn’t shocking. However, there is stronger-than-expected AI use among older generations. The platforms and channels used for searching also vary by age. Here are the top-level results:

  • Gen Z (18-26): 82% use AI search tools occasionally but favor social media for product discovery.
  • Millennials (27-42): A balance of traditional search and AI, with a 50% AI search adoption rate.
  • Gen X (43-58): 65% use AI occasionally but prefer traditional search engines.
  • Baby Boomers (59-76): 45% use AI tools but largely remain loyal to traditional search.

If you are looking for valuable information about consumer behavior, specifically in the automotive aftermarket (including how AI impacts it), check out our 2025 Automotive Aftermarket Purchasing Report.

AI_Changing_SEO

So, is Google Dead?

No, it is not, as many people are still using it. However, according to Gartner research, search engine volume on non-AI channels (Google, Bing, etc.) will drop by 25% in 2026. That is a significant drop in a short amount of time and shows the increasing shift to AI as AI is rapidly changing SEO. An essential component of that survey shows that while Americans still prefer Google and others like it for general information searches, there is a preference for AI tools for product comparisons and recommendations.

Why Should I Care?

So, if many people still use Google, why should I care? Well, beyond the quickly dropping search engine volume on traditional channels, there are other factors to be aware of. They are:

  • Misleading AI Adoption Rate Numbers: Numbers about who uses AI platforms versus conventional search platforms can be somewhat misleading. Even if you use a traditional search engine like Google, you increasingly see an AI summary. According to a Semrush survey, Google AI Overviews appeared in 13.4% of all desktop searches (on Google, obviously) in March of 2025, compared to 6.4% in January. That is a surge of 102% in a short time period that will no doubt continue to grow. In fact, as of May 2025, Google has now made “AI Mode” the default for its searches.
  • Enter the No-Click Era: There is a very significant difference between AI-powered search results and traditional ones. In the latter, a list of links is given for the searcher to click on to find the desired information. In contrast, LLMs provide the information in a summary without the need to click anything. Some LLM platforms provide links as references, but there is no need to click on them to get information. This difference means traditional SEO is becoming obsolete as we enter a “no-click” era of AI-generated search results.
  • The Middle of the Funnel is Becoming a Black Box: We used to be able to reach consumers in the middle of the sales funnel through proper SEO. In the no-click era, that ability is rapidly fading as consumers no longer click on suggested content. Analyzing their behavior is also getting more difficult, as seeing where they came from (in terms of search) is harder without a “click” to track them. With the conversational nature of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and others, a consumer might not even go “outside” of the LLM to gather further middle-of-the-funnel information. Check out our blog post for more information about the importance of your sales funnel and how to optimize it.
  • You Can’t Just Buy Your Way In (Yet): Brands used to be able to bypass SEO by simply buying their way onto the top of the search results. However, that ability no longer exists with AI search overviews and LLM platforms. That may change, though, as companies figure out how to incorporate “sponsored content” directly into AI search results. Meta is already trying to do exactly that to boost its revenue.

AI_Visibility_Tools

Are There AI Visibility Tools You Can Use?

Yes, a ton of tools (the current count is 20 and climbing) are available to help you track and optimize your brand’s AI visibility. As this is an “emerging space,” many of these programs seem more optimized to drain your wallet than provide measurable results. Those searching for the perfect tool to track and improve their AI search visibility report being trapped in endless demos and vague metrics. Many tools don’t offer free trials and are looking to lock users into long-term contracts. Our best advice is to proceed cautiously and thoroughly research any potential AI visibility tools before employing them to deal with how AI is rapidly changing SEO.

Is It Time to Completely Abandon SEO?

No, it is not, as Google still processes a staggering 5 trillion searches annually. However, cracks are starting to form in that dominance. Google’s global market share fell below 90% for most of 2025, which hasn’t happened since 2015. That reduction can be attributed to people adopting other conventional search engines (Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, etc.). However, the rise of LLMs is also surely having an impact. SEO still plays a role, but it is diminishing.

The takeaway is that while traditional SEO shouldn’t be abandoned, it should also no longer be mainly relied on to drive sales. As the adoption of AI-generated search results rapidly increases, SEO will increasingly produce diminishing returns. A better approach is a diversified marketing strategy that avoids putting “all your eggs in one basket.” Read our blog post on the top 2025 marketing trends to better understand the current marketing landscape.

What Can You Do?

Even the most veteran marketers can find all of these rapid changes overwhelming. However, as with the decentralization of traditional media and the rise of content creators, the key is to adapt quickly to a new reality. Our Kahn Media AI Visibility Engine is a powerful tool to help your brand stay ahead of the AI-induced changes and your competition. The service does a deep and data-backed analysis of your brand’s current visibility in AI search results. Going beyond analyzing, we also proved a complete and ready-to-deploy strategy for your brand to appear in AI search results. Contact us today to see how we can help your company be present where modern consumers search for information.