Adapting to AI-first search behavior

AI Overviews, which place generated answers directly at the top of search results, are improving the search experience for users. 

For businesses that rely on content to drive traffic from search engines, the impact is far less positive.

Google has been moving toward more “helpful” results for years, and zero-click searches are nothing new. 

AI Overviews accelerate that shift, absorbing much of the traffic opportunity that search has historically provided.

How AI changes the work of search

For years, search followed a familiar pattern:

• A user entered a short query, such as “team building companies.”
• Google returned a page of paid and organic results.
• The user did the work of reviewing and refining.

Most of the effort happened at the end of the process. 

Google organized results based on intent and behavioral signals, but users still had to click through listings, conduct follow-up searches, and piece together an answer.

AI reverses that flow:

• The user asks a more detailed question.
• AI runs multiple searches and processes the results.
• AI delivers a summarized response.

Traditional search allows for refinement, but each new query effectively resets the experience. 

AI, by contrast, is conversational. Each interaction builds on the last, narrowing in on what the user actually wants.

The result is a faster, cleaner path to an answer – with far less effort required from the user.

The path of least resistance

This shift matters because it aligns with a basic human tendency.

People generally choose the easiest available option. If something is easier and produces a better result, adoption follows quickly.

This is how search replaced older marketing channels such as the Yellow Pages.

Seeking the path of least resistance is an evolutionary trait that likely served humans well in earlier eras. 

Today, however, it often shapes behavior in less intentional ways, including how people interact with ads and information.

AI is not perfect, but it is typically faster, easier, and more effective than digging through traditional search results. 

That advantage makes widespread adoption inevitable, especially as AI continues to be integrated into the websites, apps, and devices people already use.

What does this mean for search marketing?

Recent studies have shown that more users are beginning their research with AI tools rather than search engines. 

These studies always have their critics, but the broader point is something of a moot one: AI is everywhere.

AI is now so integrated into the tools people already use that it is becoming the default. 

Search engines, messaging platforms like WhatsApp, and mobile devices are all moving in this direction, and this is just the beginning. 

With Google having signed a multiyear deal with Apple, Google AI will power a significant share of mobile devices, accelerating the shift toward AI-first experiences.

It’s easy to envision an AI-first future, much like the shift from desktop to mobile and then mobile-first.

What this change actually looks like

Generative answers are shifting where users enter the funnel, with engagement increasingly starting mid-funnel around content that demonstrates experience and expertise.

This is the type of content users historically would only engage with on a company’s website, or through other owned channels such as YouTube.

This does not mean top-of-the-funnel content is no longer important. Blogs, guides, and videos still matter, videos in particular. However, it may be worth reconsidering how that content is distributed rather than relying solely on traditional organic search.

With the rise of AI tools such as Gemini and ChatGPT, users can now handle much of this comparison work through AI, saving significant time.

For example, the shift looks like this:

• From “Mid market ERP platforms.” Where the user must sift through results, compare options, build spreadsheets, and conduct extensive manual review.
• To “Which mid-market ERP platforms work best for manufacturing firms, integrate with our existing stack of X, Y, and Z, and won’t collapse during implementation?”

This changes where the user must exert effort.

A more detailed question or input produces a far stronger response or output.

You could argue that traditional search had degraded into a form of garbage in, garbage out (GIGO), where short, generic queries produced ad-heavy, blended results that were time-consuming to mine for real answers.

The result is user fatigue. Endless clicking, avoiding ads, and sorting through widely varying content has become a chore.

And the experience often does not improve once users reach the destination. Traffic-starved, ad-heavy websites can be just as difficult to navigate and extract useful information from.

AI offers a cleaner, faster, and less cluttered experience, delivering summarized pros, cons, and supporting evidence at each stage of the decision-making process.

All of this can happen inside an AI tool, without the user ever needing to visit the site where the content originated.

AI is increasingly becoming the default interface for information. These are still early days, and the experience will continue to improve, becoming faster, smoother, and more effective over time.

The crux of the SEO vs. GEO/AEO/AIO conversation is often that, despite a changing landscape, SEO and GEO are largely the same.

This is broadly true and, if anything, feels similar to the early days of SEO, when long-tail opportunities were real. 

You can now go much deeper with mid-funnel content because it no longer requires humans to read it all. 

Instead, AI can consume it and summarize the relevant parts.

The tactics are largely the same. Much of AI still sits on top of traditional search, but SEO strategies and execution may need adjustment to ensure all bases are covered.

It’s also important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

SEO, PPC, and related channels all retain value in the age of AI.

Dig deeper: SEO, GEO, or ASO? What to call the new era of brand visibility in AI [Research]

How to adapt in an AI-first search environment

The game has changed. Planning for 2026 and beyond requires accepting that change and making practical adjustments to thrive in the age of AI search. 

Website

In traditional SEO and PPC models, users often land on the most relevant page for their query. 

That may be upper-funnel marketing content that leads deeper into the journey or directly to product or service pages.

This still happens, but there is now a noticeable increase in homepage visits driven by brand searches after AI-based research.

As a result, website navigation and messaging must be exceptionally clear. 

You need to understand user needs and make the path to relevant content as simple as possible.

The ALCHEMY website planning framework can help restructure sites around the expectations of an AI-savvy user.

Content 

In the age of AI, the devil is in the details.

If you want AI to recommend your brand or include it in increasingly nuanced research, your most important content must be visible and accessible so it can be retrieved and used to generate AI answers through retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG.

Frameworks such as “They Ask, You Answer” (TAYA) by Marcus Sheridan are particularly effective here. 

The premise is simple: If customers ask the question, you should answer it.

The framework focuses on five core areas, identified through extensive research, that address customer needs, drive engagement, and provide AI with the detailed information it needs to map to real user questions.

This approach works because it makes sense. It benefits users, improves visibility, drives leads, and supports sales. It is not an abstract AI strategy. It is good marketing.

These are the five key areas that TAYA focuses on:

• Pricing and cost: If users search for pricing and cannot find it, they do not assume they should call for details. They often assume the product is too expensive or that information is being withheld, and they move on, or ask AI for a competitor’s pricing. Even when pricing is custom, you should explain the factors that influence cost.
• Problems: Address the obvious issues. This includes problems with your product, your industry, and the drawbacks of specific solutions. Being transparent about limitations builds trust more effectively than excessive positivity.
• Versus and comparisons: Buyers are choosing between alternatives. If you do not create comparison content, someone else will. Be objective. If a competitor is better for a specific use case, say so and focus on your ideal customer profile.
• Reviews and ratings: People look for the best options and trust peer opinions more than brand claims. Create honest reviews of products and services in your space, including competitors. This process is informative for both users and brands.
• Best in class: Users frequently search for “best” solutions. Lists such as “Top AI marketing agencies in [city]” are effective, even when they include competitors. Including alternatives demonstrates that customer fit matters more than self-promotion.

From an AI and SEO perspective in 2026, these five topics represent some of the highest-value data points for RAG systems.

Tools such as the Value Proposition Canvas and SCAMPER can support ideation and content variation, helping AI better understand your offerings.

Checklist: RAG-friendly formatting tips

Do not break content into meaningless fragments. Instead, use formatting that helps RAG systems navigate comprehensive resources:

• Use question-based headers: Mirror real user questions in H2s and H3s, such as “How much does X cost?”
• Lead with the answer: Apply the inverted pyramid. Start with the direct response, then add context.
• Use bulleted lists for attributes: Bullets help RAG systems extract structured information.
• Define key terms: Provide clear, one-sentence definitions for industry jargon.
• Link to evidence: Cite sources for statistics and results to support credibility.

Treat blog posts as a knowledge base for AI. The clearer and more specific the information, the more retrievable your brand becomes.

Write for humans, not for bots

It bears repeating: Content should not be simplified solely for AI. 

Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan has clarified that Google does not want content rewritten into bite-sized chunks for AI consumption.

Modern search systems and RAG pipelines can extract relevant information from well-structured, long-form content. 

There is no need to dilute expertise or create multiple versions of the same page.

A familiar example is being deep-linked to a specific section of a page from search results. This is established behavior, not new technology.

Some formats, such as FAQs, naturally benefit from concise structure. Use judgment based on the question being answered.

SEO v2026.0

These are positive changes. SEO is becoming more closely aligned with marketing and less of a fringe discipline.

The environment is shifting, and new tools are changing how people find information and make decisions. Yet many fundamentals remain.

SEO tactics still apply, but AI now acts as a superconsumer and summarizer of the information that influences choice.

The task is to identify, create, and structure that information so that when users ask a question, you have already answered it and are part of the conversation.