Posted In: Digital by
Connor,
June 6, 2025
By Zoe Perkin, Senior SEO Account Executive
You’ve probably heard the buzz: Google is using more and more AI in search results, promising a more intelligent and conversational experience for searchers. The evolution goes far beyond AI Overviews, with recent announcements like AI Mode and Agenic AI making an impact. It also means a zero-click culture, where users find out all that they need to know from Google, without the need of having to go through to your site.
SEO is evolving fast and brands need to get ahead. This isn’t just another algorithm update – it’s a fundamental shift in how Google understands and presents information. In this blog, our marketing agency’s SEO specialist Zoe Perkin shares what Google’s AI focus means for the future of SEO, and how it can impact your business.
Google’s AI overviews, AI Mode and Agenic AI revolve around keeping users playing in the search results game. People are calling this the ‘Walled Garden’ effect, whereby users are ‘stuck’ in the Google ecosystem for longer – they find everything they need right here. What does this mean for your website? Less clicks.
When you do get clicks, they’ll come from users with stronger intent—people actively pushing past Google’s defaults, driven by curiosity and determination to explore beyond the ‘Walled Garden’.. But, this does mean that there’s going to be much more focus on visibility and impressions as success metrics.
Even if a user doesn’t click through immediately, being cited as an authoritative source in an AI Overview or being surfaced by an AI agent significantly boosts brand awareness, credibility, and exposure. SEO is becoming more of a brand-building tool than a traffic-driving strategy, and you can bet everyone will be talking about it in this way even more.
In the same way as AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google is likely to become more of a conversational tool. Google’s AI is designed to understand complex queries and give comprehensive answers, often in the way people would talk to each other. This is where optimising to influence AI rather than simply rank for keywords becomes paramount. The goal is to make your content the absolute best go-to source.
This means content must be structured for clarity to help AI easily extract, understand and summarise your information. This is where structured content and schema markup play a critical role, giving the trust and clarity that AI tools need to utilise information. You should also write to directly answer user questions, anticipating the long-tail queries: for example “white trainers” might become “buy me a pair of white trainers”. Staying on top of up-and-coming conversational search trends is more vital than ever.
Following E-E-A-T is no longer just best practice – it’s a fundamental requirement for AI visibility. This means demonstrating your business’ proven experience, deep expertise, established authoritativeness, and unwavering trustworthiness in your content is paramount – E-E-A-T reigns supreme as queen.
SEO strategies will double down on unique insights, original research, positive reputation, and the real people behind your brand to prove your value to Google’s AI. This can also relate to strategic off-page SEO and digital PR, where earning a few high-quality, relevant links from authoritative websites is valued as strong signals of trust and relevance, outweighing generic or irrelevant links.
A lot of the ‘noise’ is around content, but you need to consider more than that if you’re looking to gain prominence in the AI evolution. While the focus shifts to creating content that directly answers user queries for AI Overviews and AI Mode, the fundamentals of technical SEO are still non-negotiable.
A fast, mobile-friendly, and easily crawlable website ensures Google’s AI can efficiently access, understand, and feature your high-quality content. Technical SEO efforts continue to lay the essential groundwork for your online success. SEO and UX have also become more intertwined and will continue to work closely together – Google does reward sites that put the user first, after all.
While Google is king, the rise of conversational AI also broadens where your content needs to be discoverable. Given that platforms like ChatGPT currently use Bing as a primary source for real-time information, optimising for Bing search results (including local SEO within Bing) is becoming increasingly strategic.
For local businesses, this is particularly important as users might ask AI agents for local recommendations ( eg. “find me the best coffee shop near me”). You might also look to ensure your brand’s expertise is discoverable and consistent across various platforms where AI models might source information, including Reddit, Quora, and industry-specific forums.
This is an evolution of SEO that has already begun. The new AI updates demand a more holistic and sophisticated approach to your online presence. We’re moving beyond just keywords and links to focus on providing ultimate user value, building genuine authority, and ensuring your brand is discoverable and impactful across an increasingly intelligent search ecosystem. This shift presents new opportunities for those who adapt. Want to find out more from us? Click here: Boutique SEO
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