Google has recently rolled out a new AI search tool in the UK, powered by its Gemini AI platform. This new feature transforms the way users receive search results by generating conversational answers instead of the traditional list of links.
As AI tools become more popular, more clients are asking, what does this mean for SEO and digital marketing?
Our PR and Social Media Account Manager, Courtney Chandler, talks more about what this means for the future of SEO and how businesses can leverage AI.
What is Google’s AI Mode?
“Google’s AI Mode uses artificial intelligence to answer a user’s search query directly. It can be accessed within Google by switching to AI Mode in the tab/filter selections.
It’s currently rolled out in the US, UK and India. The increasing use of AI reflects how quickly search behaviour is changing, with more users increasingly turning to AI chatbots for quick and clear answers.
Instead of presenting website links in a ranked list, AI Mode offers a longer written response that directly addresses the user’s search query. Users are now asking more complex questions that require detailed and immediate answers, rather than sifting through multiple search results.
What does the new AI Mode mean for users?
The AI Mode improves the user’s experience by providing quick answers right away. This gives users a quick understanding of a topic before deciding whether to visit a webpage for more information. It ultimately streamlines experiences and saves users time, making it easier for them to find the exact information they need more efficiently.
What does Google’s AI search tool mean for businesses?
From a business perspective, this may result in updating your SEO strategy to accommodate AI advancements if it starts to affect website performance.
The AI Mode presents results differently, offering answers with fewer direct links. For example, when searching “agencies for construction PR,” the AI response includes only 11 site links, instead of endless website links across several pages. This format change could lead to fewer clicks to websites as users receive information upfront without needing to search through multiple links.
The Daily Mail claimed that they saw around a 50% drop in clicks from Google search results since Google introduced its AI Overview feature, which provides a short summary to a search query within search results.
However, the AI Mode search tool still links to top-ranking websites, emphasising that SEO remains important. Ranking high on traditional search results is more important than ever to remain visible in both standard and AI result searches.
What does AI mean for SEO?
Currently, AI Mode does not replace Google’s existing search platform. Users have the option to switch between them. This means SEO practices and strategies for ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) remain the same.
However, with the AI Mode currently offering fewer direct links, businesses might see shifts in how users find and engage with content on Google. SEO will need to adapt to accommodate this shift to AI.
The websites and links shown in AI results are selected based on the quality of content and relevance to the problem users are searching for. This means SEO strategies must focus on high-quality content and longer-tailed keywords.
More often than ever before, people are searching for questions such as ‘how can I improve my website traffic to gain more sales leads?’ rather than ‘improving website traffic’. AI is designed to provide detailed answers to these long-tailed keywords. Therefore, incorporating long-tail keywords into your website content can help to improve your chances of ranking high in Google.
How can I rank on Google’s AI searches?
Google AI Mode and AI Overview represent another advancement to meet shifting user needs. Google focuses on showing content that fulfils users’ needs and that they find helpful. To secure a link to your website within Google’s AI-generated search results, focus on generating engaging and unique content that adds value for users. That’s why working with a PR agency, whom specialises in the construction sector is important. Our understanding of the industry and SEO allows us to create high quality digital content that is more likely to gain traction with Google AI.
It’s also important to provide a good overall page experience, ensuring that websites are easy to navigate, accessible and are displayed well across mobile and desktop.
Content must meet Google’s technical requirements for search so it’s crawlable and indexable. This involves ensuring Googlebot isn’t blocked and has an HTTP 200 success status code.
But it’s not just about the content on your website either. It’s about building authority and visibility on external media platforms such as Construction News, Architects Datafile, Buildings, ABC&D. We have seen a shift in our construction clients moving away form ‘paid SEO’ to high quality written content that is much more likely to appear in Google AI responses.
What does the future of AI search results look like?
Over the years, we will see more adoption of AI tools as they become more widespread. A study by the Pew Research Centre suggested that users clicked on links just once in every 100 searches when an AI summary appeared at the top of the page. Although Google does argue that the research methodology was flawed, it signals a potential shift towards seeing less direct site traffic from search.
Google’s product manager for search, Hema Budaraju, has said they have not yet finalised how advertising revenue for AI Mode would work. This raises the question: will businesses soon be able to pay to be included in AI-generated answers, similar to paid ads on regular search results?
What should businesses do now with the rise of AI?
Businesses should continue investing in SEO and generating highly engaging content through digital PR, as it’s still proven to be effective in maintaining high rankings. Monitoring changes in website traffic as AI search grows in popularity will help businesses decide on how to move forward with SEO.”
At Dragonfly PR, we keep ahead of the latest developments in digital PR, content creation and SEO and AI to ensure our clients maintain visibility on Google. We continue to monitor the impact AI has on site traffic and the influence AI has on SEO.
For more information on how we can help you remain visible on search ranking, increase website traffic, create engaging content and generate sales leads with PR, contact hello@dragonflypr.co.uk or call 0114 349 5341.
