P
Preslav Atanasov
Guest
The search game in 2025 is changing faster than ever. The old playbook of keywords, backlinks and technical tweaks just doesn’t cut it anymore.
With AI-powered search tools, social platforms becoming go-to discovery engines and the explosion of user-generated content (UGC), the way people look for, trust and interact with information is evolving fast. Brands that don’t pivot risk fading into obscurity.
The question now is: how do you stay visible and relevant in this new search landscape?
Google’s still the heavyweight champ of search, holding nearly 90% of global search engine market share as of early 2025. Alternatives like Bing, Yandex and DuckDuckGo are slowly clawing back market share. What’s really shaking things up, though, are AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI and conversational platforms, which are quickly becoming the go-to for Gen Z and millennials looking for instant answers.
Just look at ChatGPT: it’s racked up over 400 million weekly users already and it’s on track to break 1 billion by year’s end. According to Rand Fishkin of Sparktoro, ChatGPT now owns 4.3% of search share, a jaw-dropping rise for a platform that wasn’t even on the radar a few years ago.
Google’s AI Overviews, or what used to be called the Search Generative Experience (SGE), are AI-generated summaries that pop up right in the search results, giving users quick, polished answers without needing to click through. While they’re great for users looking for instant info, they’ve wreaked havoc on traditional organic CTR. Seer Interactive found that when AI Overviews show up, organic CTR tanks by over 50%, dropping from 1.41% down to just 0.64%.
But here’s the upside - if your brand gets featured in an AI Overview, your visibility skyrockets, paid CTR can jump from 7.89% to 11% and organic CTR can climb from 0.74% to 1.02%. That’s why getting your content into these AI Overviews is now mission-critical if you want to stay competitive in search.
And since June 2025, AI Overviews have started showing up below the top result for some keywords, which could actually boost CTR for certain queries. If you want to check if your content made the cut, scroll under the AI Overview box in Google results, those tiny link cards are citations pointing directly to the sources Google’s AI used, proving your site is helping shape the answer.
Google’s AI Overviews run on Gemini, their powerhouse family of multimodal large language models (LLMs) built on transformer architecture. These models take user queries, break them into tokens and analyze context to spit out precise, relevant summaries, so if someone searches “best React tutorials,” Gemini slices through the question, understands the intent and delivers direct recommendations complete with source references.
But Gemini goes way beyond text. It’s designed to handle multimodal input, meaning it can process images, audio and even video, making it the first Google LLM capable of tackling rich, complex queries that span formats.
This is a game-changer for SEO because content isn’t just competing on text relevance anymore but on how well it can feed into AI’s ability to interpret visuals, voice and beyond. Brands that adapt their assets for multimodal understanding will have a serious edge in getting surfaced in Gemini’s AI-generated answers.
Launched in mid 2025, Google AI Mode is turning search into an interactive chat instead of a list of links. Backed by the Gemini model, it lets users ask complex questions with text, voice or images and get detailed, AI-generated answers right in the results, no clicks needed.
Features like query fan-out and Deep Search dig deep into topics, pulling insights from multiple sources. For brands, this means you need credible, E-E-A-T-optimized content that Google’s AI trusts.
Essential SEO tactics for query fan-out include:
But tracking performance gets tougher, since Search Console lumps AI Mode data in with regular search, making attribution messy. If you want to stay visible, focus on creating authoritative content and watch for brand mentions and direct search spikes, not just traditional CTR.
Chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Perplexity AI are redefining how users get answers, with many turning to these tools over traditional search engines, especially for troubleshooting, how-tos and product research.
For instance, ChatGPT is great for creative brainstorming or quick Q&A but needs real-time data integration with Bing via its Search functionality to stay current. ChatGPT + Search and platforms like Perplexity leverage retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to pull live information, boosting accuracy for up-to-the-minute queries.
Brands that keep their content fresh, well-structured and credible will maximize their chances of being cited in these AI tools, even if users never click through to their websites.
If you want your content to show up in both classic search results and AI-powered answers, you’ve got to nail E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness).
Without solid signals, like detailed author bios, reliable citations, external validations and fresh, accurate information, your chances of landing in AI Overviews or being featured in chatbot responses drop dramatically.
Some quick practical tips to improve E-E-A-T:
Whether you’re aiming for Google’s AI Overviews or responses in AI chatbots, your content needs to be AI-friendly.
Text alone won’t cut it in SEO anymore. According to MozCast, videos show up in over 30% of Google search results and platforms like YouTube, with its massive 2.5 billion monthly active users, are now essential for discovery.
Video content drives higher engagement, keeps visitors on your site longer and earns backlinks, all signals Google uses to rank quality content. Meanwhile, social platforms like TikTok are redefining search itself. A Forbes survey found that 30% of Gen Z already turns to TikTok instead of Google for certain queries, highlighting just how dramatically user behavior is shifting.
Video isn’t just a nice extra, it’s a core pillar of modern SEO. Optimizing your videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok can massively increase your visibility.
Key best practices include:
Remember: videos keep visitors engaged longer and that higher average session time sends Google powerful signals about your content’s quality.
Social platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram aren’t just for sharing updates anymore, as they've become powerful discovery engines in their own right. Meanwhile, User-Generated Content hubs like Reddit have exploded, with Reddit’s organic traffic surging 253% year-over-year following Google’s November 2023 core update.
And with studies showing 88% of people trust peer recommendations, platforms that thrive on UGC, like Reddit and Quora, are quickly becoming go-to sources for product reviews, troubleshooting and recommendations.
Reddit has formal partnerships with both Google and OpenAI, meaning we’ll see its content appearing more often in Google Search results and shaping large language models’ training data. This makes it crucial for brands to stay on top of UGC, actively join relevant conversations and create valuable, authentic content across social platforms to stay visible and trusted.
The explosion of UGC has pushed platforms like Reddit into the spotlight like never before. While user-generated content can skyrocket trust, especially since 70% of Gen Z and 78% of millennials rely on peer reviews, unmonitored UGC can just as easily tank your brand if negative or misleading posts go viral.
To stay ahead:
Search engines and AI systems are now looking well beyond your website, they’re judging your brand based on its reputation across every channel. Sentiment in social media chatter, reviews on platforms like Trustpilot or G2 and discussions happening on Reddit all feed into how both people and AI interpret and trust your brand.
To safeguard your reputation, actively seek out positive reviews on credible third-party sites, keep a close watch on social conversations to catch potential issues early and maintain a strong, authoritative voice across forums and social platforms.
One of the toughest parts of today’s search landscape is figuring out what’s actually driving results. Google Search Console doesn’t break out performance data for AI Overviews, lumping it all under general impressions and clicks, so you won’t know exactly how your content is performing in AI-generated answers.
That’s why it’s essential to watch alternative signals like spikes in impressions with low CTR (which can hint at AI answer exposure), increases in branded search volume after AI mentions and referral traffic from AI tools - the latter showing strong conversion potential.
Tools like Scrunch and Peec AI are starting to help track brand mentions in AI-generated output but these solutions are still evolving. Realistically, you could roll your own custom tracker using GPT for Sheets and Docs or no-code platforms to get a head start on measuring your AI visibility.
Old-school metrics like CTR and keyword rankings just don’t tell the full story anymore. Today, you need a holistic view of success, tracking signals like:
The way people search in 2025 reflects a profound psychological shift. Users now want instant, clear answers instead of sifting through pages of links, making them more likely to accept AI-generated summaries at face value.
Trust is shifting too, peer reviews and UGC carry more weight than polished corporate messaging, as authenticity beats slick branding. At the same time, while people love hyper-personalized results, they’re increasingly uneasy about how their data is used.
This new mindset means brands need to double down on clarity, credibility and transparency, so that AI-driven answers serve up accurate, trustworthy information that meets users’ craving for fast, dependable solutions.
One of the most groundbreaking shifts is the rise of agentic AI - AI tools that don’t just answer questions but act on behalf of users. Imagine a future where an AI agent can research, compare and purchase a product without a user ever visiting your website. That future is arriving fast.
These agentic systems mean brands must optimize not just for human readers but also for AI agents, ensuring structured data, clear product feeds and APIs are available so AI systems can seamlessly interact with your offerings.
To stay visible and competitive, brands need to adapt fast.
The future of search is all about combining AI-driven answers, social proof and authoritative content. Brands that evolve with this conversational, multi-platform landscape will thrive, those that don’t will quickly fade into the background.
Continue reading...
With AI-powered search tools, social platforms becoming go-to discovery engines and the explosion of user-generated content (UGC), the way people look for, trust and interact with information is evolving fast. Brands that don’t pivot risk fading into obscurity.
The question now is: how do you stay visible and relevant in this new search landscape?
The Rise of AI Search Tools and Changing Search Market Share
Google’s still the heavyweight champ of search, holding nearly 90% of global search engine market share as of early 2025. Alternatives like Bing, Yandex and DuckDuckGo are slowly clawing back market share. What’s really shaking things up, though, are AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI and conversational platforms, which are quickly becoming the go-to for Gen Z and millennials looking for instant answers.
Just look at ChatGPT: it’s racked up over 400 million weekly users already and it’s on track to break 1 billion by year’s end. According to Rand Fishkin of Sparktoro, ChatGPT now owns 4.3% of search share, a jaw-dropping rise for a platform that wasn’t even on the radar a few years ago.
Image by Rand Fishking, Sparktoro - https://x.com/randfish
Instant Answers, Fewer Clicks with Google AI Overviews
Google’s AI Overviews, or what used to be called the Search Generative Experience (SGE), are AI-generated summaries that pop up right in the search results, giving users quick, polished answers without needing to click through. While they’re great for users looking for instant info, they’ve wreaked havoc on traditional organic CTR. Seer Interactive found that when AI Overviews show up, organic CTR tanks by over 50%, dropping from 1.41% down to just 0.64%.
But here’s the upside - if your brand gets featured in an AI Overview, your visibility skyrockets, paid CTR can jump from 7.89% to 11% and organic CTR can climb from 0.74% to 1.02%. That’s why getting your content into these AI Overviews is now mission-critical if you want to stay competitive in search.
And since June 2025, AI Overviews have started showing up below the top result for some keywords, which could actually boost CTR for certain queries. If you want to check if your content made the cut, scroll under the AI Overview box in Google results, those tiny link cards are citations pointing directly to the sources Google’s AI used, proving your site is helping shape the answer.
How Google’s Gemini Model Powers AI Overviews
Google’s AI Overviews run on Gemini, their powerhouse family of multimodal large language models (LLMs) built on transformer architecture. These models take user queries, break them into tokens and analyze context to spit out precise, relevant summaries, so if someone searches “best React tutorials,” Gemini slices through the question, understands the intent and delivers direct recommendations complete with source references.
But Gemini goes way beyond text. It’s designed to handle multimodal input, meaning it can process images, audio and even video, making it the first Google LLM capable of tackling rich, complex queries that span formats.
This is a game-changer for SEO because content isn’t just competing on text relevance anymore but on how well it can feed into AI’s ability to interpret visuals, voice and beyond. Brands that adapt their assets for multimodal understanding will have a serious edge in getting surfaced in Gemini’s AI-generated answers.
The Next Frontier with AI Mode
Launched in mid 2025, Google AI Mode is turning search into an interactive chat instead of a list of links. Backed by the Gemini model, it lets users ask complex questions with text, voice or images and get detailed, AI-generated answers right in the results, no clicks needed.
Features like query fan-out and Deep Search dig deep into topics, pulling insights from multiple sources. For brands, this means you need credible, E-E-A-T-optimized content that Google’s AI trusts.
Image by Aleyda Solís - Google AI Mode’s Query Fan-Out Technique: What is it and How Does it Mean for SEO? | Aleyda Solís
Essential SEO tactics for query fan-out include:
- Split big topics into focused, modular pages that each target a specific sub-intent, then weave them together with smart internal linking to keep context and help AI connect the dots during fan-out.
- Add named entities and simple cause-effect or type relationships (like “X leads to Y” or “X is a kind of Z”) so vector-based semantic systems can index your content more accurately.
- Go beyond exact keywords by including close variants and related questions, since LLMs expand queries into surrounding semantic space.
- Create deep-dive pages that tackle the main question plus related subtopics in one place, mirroring how LLMs break queries into multiple angles.
- LLMs often pull snippets, not full pages, so write with clear H2/H3s, concise paragraphs and minimal filler. Keep one main idea or answer per section for precise retrieval.
But tracking performance gets tougher, since Search Console lumps AI Mode data in with regular search, making attribution messy. If you want to stay visible, focus on creating authoritative content and watch for brand mentions and direct search spikes, not just traditional CTR.
Are Public-Facing Chatbots Changing How People Search?
Chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Perplexity AI are redefining how users get answers, with many turning to these tools over traditional search engines, especially for troubleshooting, how-tos and product research.
For instance, ChatGPT is great for creative brainstorming or quick Q&A but needs real-time data integration with Bing via its Search functionality to stay current. ChatGPT + Search and platforms like Perplexity leverage retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to pull live information, boosting accuracy for up-to-the-minute queries.
Brands that keep their content fresh, well-structured and credible will maximize their chances of being cited in these AI tools, even if users never click through to their websites.
E-E-A-T: The Cornerstone of SEO in 2025 and Beyond
If you want your content to show up in both classic search results and AI-powered answers, you’ve got to nail E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness).
Without solid signals, like detailed author bios, reliable citations, external validations and fresh, accurate information, your chances of landing in AI Overviews or being featured in chatbot responses drop dramatically.
Some quick practical tips to improve E-E-A-T:
- Add clear author bylines featuring credentials and create robust author profiles using Schema markup so search engines know who’s behind your content.
- Back up your statements with solid data and always cite and link to trustworthy sources or studies.
- Keep your content fresh and evergreen by regularly updating it with the latest information.
- Finally, build your external authority by earning mentions and coverage on reputable, high-authority websites, as this reinforces your credibility in both traditional and AI-driven search.
Optimizing Content for AI-Driven Search
Whether you’re aiming for Google’s AI Overviews or responses in AI chatbots, your content needs to be AI-friendly.
- Use clean HTML with semantic tags like <h1>, <p> and <section> and add proper schema markup so machines can easily interpret your pages.
- Skip putting critical content in JavaScript alone, AI crawlers do much better with static HTML.
- Structure your headings in a logical hierarchy to help models understand your content flow.
- And keep your language simple, clear and to the point - AI prefers straightforward phrasing over jargon for accurate comprehension.
Video Content Is Dominating Search and Engagement
Text alone won’t cut it in SEO anymore. According to MozCast, videos show up in over 30% of Google search results and platforms like YouTube, with its massive 2.5 billion monthly active users, are now essential for discovery.
Video content drives higher engagement, keeps visitors on your site longer and earns backlinks, all signals Google uses to rank quality content. Meanwhile, social platforms like TikTok are redefining search itself. A Forbes survey found that 30% of Gen Z already turns to TikTok instead of Google for certain queries, highlighting just how dramatically user behavior is shifting.
Video Is SEO Gold
Video isn’t just a nice extra, it’s a core pillar of modern SEO. Optimizing your videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok can massively increase your visibility.
Key best practices include:
- Writing keyword-focused titles and descriptions.
- Adding clear chapters with timestamps to boost YouTube SEO.
- Uploading accurate transcripts to improve accessibility and indexing.
- Using eye-catching thumbnails with strong calls-to-action.
Remember: videos keep visitors engaged longer and that higher average session time sends Google powerful signals about your content’s quality.
Social Media and UGC as Search Engines
Social platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram aren’t just for sharing updates anymore, as they've become powerful discovery engines in their own right. Meanwhile, User-Generated Content hubs like Reddit have exploded, with Reddit’s organic traffic surging 253% year-over-year following Google’s November 2023 core update.
Image by SEMrush’s Domain Overview Tool
And with studies showing 88% of people trust peer recommendations, platforms that thrive on UGC, like Reddit and Quora, are quickly becoming go-to sources for product reviews, troubleshooting and recommendations.
Reddit has formal partnerships with both Google and OpenAI, meaning we’ll see its content appearing more often in Google Search results and shaping large language models’ training data. This makes it crucial for brands to stay on top of UGC, actively join relevant conversations and create valuable, authentic content across social platforms to stay visible and trusted.
Is User-Generated Content a Double-Edged Sword?
The explosion of UGC has pushed platforms like Reddit into the spotlight like never before. While user-generated content can skyrocket trust, especially since 70% of Gen Z and 78% of millennials rely on peer reviews, unmonitored UGC can just as easily tank your brand if negative or misleading posts go viral.
To stay ahead:
- Get involved in forums with authentic, helpful responses.
- Proactively encourage happy customers to leave reviews on sites like G2 or Reddit.
- Keep a close eye on conversations so you can quickly correct any misinformation before it spreads.
Reputation Management Across Channels
Search engines and AI systems are now looking well beyond your website, they’re judging your brand based on its reputation across every channel. Sentiment in social media chatter, reviews on platforms like Trustpilot or G2 and discussions happening on Reddit all feed into how both people and AI interpret and trust your brand.
To safeguard your reputation, actively seek out positive reviews on credible third-party sites, keep a close watch on social conversations to catch potential issues early and maintain a strong, authoritative voice across forums and social platforms.
Tracking AI-Driven Performance
One of the toughest parts of today’s search landscape is figuring out what’s actually driving results. Google Search Console doesn’t break out performance data for AI Overviews, lumping it all under general impressions and clicks, so you won’t know exactly how your content is performing in AI-generated answers.
That’s why it’s essential to watch alternative signals like spikes in impressions with low CTR (which can hint at AI answer exposure), increases in branded search volume after AI mentions and referral traffic from AI tools - the latter showing strong conversion potential.
Tools like Scrunch and Peec AI are starting to help track brand mentions in AI-generated output but these solutions are still evolving. Realistically, you could roll your own custom tracker using GPT for Sheets and Docs or no-code platforms to get a head start on measuring your AI visibility.
Image by Peec AI - Peec AI - AI Search Analytics for Marketing Teams
Measuring Success in the Changing Ecosystem
Old-school metrics like CTR and keyword rankings just don’t tell the full story anymore. Today, you need a holistic view of success, tracking signals like:
- How often you show up in SERP features, think featured snippets, AI Overviews and video carousels.
- Monitor your brand search volume as a sign of growing awareness and keep tabs on sentiment by analyzing positive or negative mentions in AI-generated answers and across social channels.
- Don’t forget to measure assisted conversions, where exposure through AI answers or multi-touch journeys leads to direct searches or eventual conversions down the line.
The Instant Gratification and Trust Shifts
The way people search in 2025 reflects a profound psychological shift. Users now want instant, clear answers instead of sifting through pages of links, making them more likely to accept AI-generated summaries at face value.
Trust is shifting too, peer reviews and UGC carry more weight than polished corporate messaging, as authenticity beats slick branding. At the same time, while people love hyper-personalized results, they’re increasingly uneasy about how their data is used.
This new mindset means brands need to double down on clarity, credibility and transparency, so that AI-driven answers serve up accurate, trustworthy information that meets users’ craving for fast, dependable solutions.
Beyond Search, Towards Autonomous Action
One of the most groundbreaking shifts is the rise of agentic AI - AI tools that don’t just answer questions but act on behalf of users. Imagine a future where an AI agent can research, compare and purchase a product without a user ever visiting your website. That future is arriving fast.
These agentic systems mean brands must optimize not just for human readers but also for AI agents, ensuring structured data, clear product feeds and APIs are available so AI systems can seamlessly interact with your offerings.
The Path Forward
To stay visible and competitive, brands need to adapt fast.
- Make sure your content is structured for AI with semantic HTML and schema markup so it’s easy for machines to read.
- Prioritize building strong E-E-A-T by producing expert, authoritative content.
- Get involved with UGC authentically to tap into the power of peer trust.
- Double down on video to boost engagement and improve your search visibility.
- Keep a close eye on your reputation across all platforms, since AIs are pulling signals from everywhere.
- And remember, measure your success holistically, going beyond clicks to track your entire multi-channel impact.
The future of search is all about combining AI-driven answers, social proof and authoritative content. Brands that evolve with this conversational, multi-platform landscape will thrive, those that don’t will quickly fade into the background.
Continue reading...