We’ve all read the stories and listened to the podcasts. AI is everywhere, and it’s changing everything. SEO is dead, and computers are going to take your lunch money. While there’s truth in most of these, the level of hyperbolic fear-mongering seems to be a bit out of control.
We are certainly in the thick of a new technical evolution, but what that will mean is still to be determined. At the moment, AI technology is changing very fast, and no article can claim to know what the landscape is going to look like in a year from now. Even as we wrote this, we had to go back and update some of the data. If we hold the cloudy future as a truth, let’s confirm what we do know and organize an action plan around that.
What We Know Right Now
- AI chatbot usage (aka LLMs or large language models) is increasing. ChatGPT claims to handle over 7 billion queries every week, on an average of 800 million weekly active users. link
- There’s a lot of investment pouring in for AI-related companies. It’s estimated that there are 498 AI-focused unicorn start-ups. link
- Traditional search engines still absolutely dwarf this with an estimated 210x more queries. link
- Search engine queries are actually still growing, although slower than LLMs are. Google Search grew 20% from 2023 to 2024. link
- The principles of both technologies are similar in how they scrape data, but the results differ. It’s estimated that Google Search and ChatGPT results overlap 8-12% of the time. link
- ChatGPT sources 90% of its citations from Google results ranked 21 or higher. So what Google and ChatGPT consider relevant information for queries is very different. link
- While Google Search usage has increased, the traffic has not. Zero-click searches have been on the rise for the past decade as Google has aimed to keep users on its site. In 2017, zero-click searches were 54.1%, by 2024, that was up to 62.4% and will only climb as AI overviews and AI mode become more prevalent. source
- How people search has been evolving for years. YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world. 40% of Gen Zers start a restaurant search on TikTok. link
LLMs (such as ChatGPT) are rapidly growing in both usage and adoption, and should be taken seriously. However, traditional search engines are still huge, and SEO shouldn’t be ignored.
Organizations should also think more broadly about how customers find their information and expand the range of search tactics. The good news is that there’s a lot of overlap between SEO and GEO, and if you have helpful content and expertise, you can leverage them for both.
How to Optimize Your Website for AI Crawling and GEO
GEO is hopefully the term that’ll stick going forward. It is the SEO equivalent of LLMs and stands for generative engine optimization. While this is an area that’s still being figured out (mainly because AI models are constantly updated), we are starting to identify some consistent patterns to improve mentions.
- Limit website error and reduce page load speed: these are similar to SEO; LLMs have limited crawling bandwidth per website, and the more errors or sluggishness they hit, the sooner they give up.
- Have informative and well-structured meta titles, meta descriptions, and page headings
- Integrate schema markup wherever possible.
- Have a consistent inbound linking strategy. Not only does traditional PR support a GEO strategy, but LLMs are also appearing to give weight to mentions on social media (Instagram, TikTok, etc.) and forums such as Reddit.
- Leverage the use of FAQs. LLMs love information organized as an FAQ, as this aligns with how users are writing queries.
- Other website items to consider: integrate third-party reviews, limit iframes or JavaScript for items that contain essential information, create an llms.txt file, audit and implement image alt text, and more.
- If you have hand-picked internal reviews, consider migrating to a third-party review platform like Trustpilot or Bazaarvoice. Reviews are a huge signal if credible and verified.
What to Consider in the Broader Context of User Search, SEO, and GEO
The tools and platforms that people use to look for information are expanding a lot. Not only is it becoming more diversified, but different platforms specialize in different industries. This is a very simplified list of platforms where people search for information. Both of these act as platforms themselves to answer user questions and also provide content to LLMs. This means if you can develop a presence on one, then it’ll provide downstream benefits on ChatGPT and Gemini.
- Pinterest is a go-to place for large numbers of people planning out recipes, vacations, fashion, and interior decorating.
- Reddit has tons of communities called subreddits. Some of the most significant areas include gaming, local towns/neighborhoods, real estate, investing, and technology.
- Instagram and TikTok are both investing in e-commerce and shopping. This includes product reviews, influencer campaigns, health and wellness, and many others.
- YouTube has almost everything, since it’s the number two search engine in the world. That being said, it’s particularly strong in how-to/educational videos, DIY home repair, gaming, music, and news/podcasting.
- Continue to focus on traditional PR and media presence. LLMs train on this material from major outlets and use this as a source of authority. For example, ChatGPT has licensing agreements with many media outlets, including Vox, Conde Nast, News Corp., and others.
Remember: identify the problem—lower website traffic vs. falling revenue or business health.
The way people use LLMs may mean more folks simply don’t need to click to your website—they get their answer and could convert indirectly later. As interactions become more complex, it will be harder to attribute credit, but ultimately, measuring overall business health is always the foolproof way to gauge long-term trends.
While a lot is going on and a lot is changing in the world of AI Search, there’s also a lot an organization can do to capitalize on this new technology and position itself for future growth.
If you feel your organization is falling behind or lost in the chaotic AI storm of 2025, or if you just want an objective review of your website and media, reach out to us.
We’re happy to provide a free GEO audit of your website’s AI readiness. Reach out to craig@vermilion.com or use the form below to get started.
