Gartner predicted in February that, by 2026, search engine volume will drop by 25%. The total market share lost by search will be transferred to AI chatbots and other virtual agents:
“Generative AI (GenAI) solutions are becoming substitute answer engines, replacing user queries that previously may have been executed in traditional search engines,” said Alan Antin, Vice President Analyst at Gartner.
“This will force companies to rethink their marketing channels strategy as GenAI becomes more embedded across all aspects of the enterprise.”
This means SEO is, yet again, changing.
An estimated 8.5 billion searches are conducted on Google each day. The key is to keep winning with Google while optimizing for AI-powered search. Here’s how.
4 ways to win in AI-powered search
Publishers don’t need to do anything new to benefit from AI Overviews, according to Google Search Central. The same may be true for chatbots and LLMs.
This means continuing what you’re doing to rank well on the SERPs will help you rank for AI-powered search.
Rich Sanger and Authoritas recently conducted a study on AI Overviews, revealing a significant overlap between traditional search rankings and rankings in AI-driven search results.
Their findings suggest that as AIOs increasingly influence search outcomes, it’s essential to focus on key strategies to maintain and improve visibility.
Here’s what you should prioritize as AIOs gain greater control over search rankings.
1. Continue ranking well on Google’s SERPs
Sanger’s study found that a webpage ranked in Position 1 on the SERPs has a 53% chance of being included in Google’s AI Overviews, while a page in Position 10 has only a 36.9% chance.
The better you rank in Google, the higher your chances of AI selecting you as an answer to user queries.
That said, let’s review the factors that help you rank higher on the SERPs.
High-quality, authoritative content
As Google has always said, aim to create “helpful, reliable, people-first content.” Publish valuable content to benefit readers, not simply to rank highly on the SERPs.
Here’s a list of questions from Google Search Central to help you weigh your content quality:
When creating content, keep readers in mind. Add rich media like images, infographics and video to keep them on the page longer.
Great content also leads to more backlinks. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the better your chances of ranking.
Technical SEO and schema markup
Technical SEO is a must if you want search engines to easily crawl and understand your site. Make sure you pay attention to:
Schema markup. Structured data like FAQ schema and HowTo schema.
Page speed and mobile optimization. Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics focus on aspects like load time and interactivity. Ensure your content is optimized for fast loading and mobile responsiveness.
Crawlability. Your website should be easily crawlable by search engines. Use an updated sitemap and maintain a clean site architecture so bots can easily index your content.
Entity optimization
When you optimize for entities, you give your site a better chance of ranking in the SERPs.
“Things, not strings,” a famous 12-year-old saying, highlights that Google’s machine learning can understand the meaning behind a keyword.
Focus on proper nouns associated with the keywords you want to rank for.
For instance, if you’re writing a post titled “Top 10 Ways to Grow Your Business,” you can add the names of well-known businesses and entrepreneurs like “Apple” and “Steve Jobs.”