How to SEO for AI

As the Chief AI Officer for a marketing agency (TSC ), my head is always in the clouds. For example, right now I'm leading a team to build an agentic marketing platform. Pretty cool stuff. But as advanced as tsc.Zora is (that's the name of our agentic marketing platform), many of our clients have more right-now, urgent marketing questions that speak to the massive disruption caused by AI. For example, here is a question we get all the time: "How does SEO work in AI?"

How AI is Disrupting Google and What It Means for SEO

If you’re feeling like the SEO world is changing fast, you’re not alone. Google’s dominance is being challenged, not by another traditional search engine, but by AI-powered platforms like Perplexity (which is awesome) and Bing AI—even tools like ChatGPT that can browse the web. So, what does this shift mean for businesses, and more importantly, how do you stay visible when AI search is gaining traction?

Let’s break it down.

The Rise of AI Search Engines

Google is no longer the only game in town, with its search market share declining by more than 10% this year alone as users explore AI-powered alternatives. AI-powered search engines are changing the way people find information. Instead of typing keywords and sifting through blue links, users are now interacting with conversational AI, looking for direct answers without the noise.

This change is reshaping SEO as we know it. The focus is shifting from purely optimizing for keywords to optimizing for contextual relevance. AI wants to give users the best answer, not just the best-matched link. That means content needs to evolve—and fast.

What’s Changing for Google and SEO

With more people turning to AI for search, the volume of traditional Google searches is declining. But the behavior isn’t disappearing; it’s moving to platforms that deliver answers differently. On Google itself, you’ll see more AI summaries and featured snippets—these "no-click" answers are becoming more prominent. Websites that can deliver authoritative, succinct, and easily understandable content have a clear advantage.

One key point: AI isn’t just about matching keywords anymore. It’s about understanding the intent and context behind a query. This is a big shift for SEO, where content quality, authority, and user experience are becoming more important than ever.

How to Prepare Your Content for AI Search

So, how do you make sure your content shows up in AI-driven search results? Here’s where your focus should be:

1. Emphasize Authority and Quality

AI search models are designed to prioritize content that demonstrates expertise and authority. If you’re not already doing so, it’s crucial to keep building high-quality content that thoroughly answers questions relevant to your industry. Backlinks and domain authority still matter here because these AI models pull from trusted sources.

2. Write for Natural Language Queries

People are now asking AI questions the way they’d ask a person. This means your content should be crafted to sound more conversational. FAQs, how-to guides, and posts written in a natural tone are more likely to be picked up. Use simple, direct answers that are easy for both users and AI to understand.

3. Structured Data Helps AI Understand Content

Make use of structured data—marking up your content with schema.org —to help AI better understand your content’s context and relationships. This makes it more likely to surface for relevant searches.

4. Adopt a Topic Cluster Strategy

AI search engines look at broader contexts. Creating pillar content that covers major topics in-depth, with links to supportive articles, helps establish your authority on a subject. This interconnected content is helpful for AI when determining which sites provide valuable, contextual answers.

5. Leverage AI SEO Tools

Use AI SEO tools like SurferSEO, Clearscope, or MarketMuse to better understand the kinds of content AI models are prioritizing. These tools use natural language processing (NLP) to help you bridge the gap between what you’re creating and what AI search engines prefer.

6. Conversational User Experience Matters

The tone matters a lot. Writing in a way that mimics how a user might ask a question is key to making your content more conversational. AI-driven platforms tend to favor content that’s easy to read and understand. Also, remember that AI loves succinct, direct answers. Use headers that are questions, and follow up with a concise response—this helps both AI and users.

7. Future-Proof Your Presence on AI Platforms

Keep an eye on the evolution of AI search platforms. As AI search matures, there may be opportunities for businesses to directly train AI models or feed their data to these platforms. Being proactive here could give you a head start in establishing your brand in these new environments.

Experiment with AI-Specific Opportunities

Bing and ChatGPT are experimenting with generative AI ads and plugins/extensions. These new formats are likely to become important, so it’s a good idea to help your clients start experimenting now.

And while AI search is growing, Google isn’t going anywhere just yet. Google is adding more AI features into search, so maintaining a strong Google SEO strategy is still critical—your visibility there will also help AI platforms pull from your content for summaries.

Adaptability is Key

The SEO landscape is evolving toward AI-driven interactions, but Google still holds a lot of power. The best approach is to diversify—optimize for AI engines like Perplexity, Bing AI, and Google’s new AI tools. Invest in content that’s high-quality, authoritative, and conversationally relevant, and stay updated on the latest changes in AI search capabilities.

The ultimate takeaway? Traditional SEO isn’t disappearing, but it’s transforming. The strategies that work today need to adapt to ensure you show up tomorrow. AI loves high-quality, contextually rich content, and the brands that are quick to understand and evolve with this change are the ones that will thrive.