Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are empowering businesses to scale production, respond quickly to trends, and create new forms of customer interaction. With this shift comes a significant challenge: as more content floods the internet, how do we maintain quality, relevance, and trust?
Google’s March 2025 Core Update has made the answer clearer. It’s not about how fast you can publish – it’s about how helpful, human, and valuable your content really is.
AI SEO: Your shortcut to being found
Here’s the trick: AI SEO isn’t about churning out more content using AI tools. It’s about getting discovered within AI-powered search platforms – tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity – by being recognised as a credible, authoritative source.
Businesses that understand this distinction early will gain a powerful advantage.
Because AI SEO is now one of the most under-utilised lead generation channels – and it’s completely free (at least for now, until ads inevitably follow). If you’re not showing up in AI search results, you’re missing a growing segment of where people go to find answers, compare products, and make decisions.
You’re ranking on Google. But are you ranking in AI?
AI SEO isn’t a new version of content production. It’s a new layer of search visibility.
Traditional SEO focuses on optimising for Google. AI SEO is about showing up in responses generated by tools like:
- ChatGPT (with browsing enabled),
- Gemini (Google’s AI assistant),
- ai,
- Microsoft Copilot,
- and even AI-powered voice assistants
These tools scan the web, pull from trusted sources, and generate answers in real time. If your brand, product, or service isn’t surfacing in those answers, you’re not part of the conversation.
The good news? Most brands aren’t there yet. That’s the gap – and the opportunity.
User behaviour is shifting. People aren’t just Googling anymore. They’re asking ChatGPT to recommend skincare routines, comparing services in Gemini, or finding product lists in Perplexity.
These platforms are no longer just research tools. They’re search engines in their own right.
And right now, visibility in those AI search platforms: costs nothing, isn’t saturated, and has virtually no ad interference.
In many ways, AI SEO in 2025 feels like Google SEO did in 2005 – ripe with opportunity for early movers.
AI content vs AI SEO
Using AI to generate content is not the same as doing AI SEO.
In fact, relying too heavily on AI-generated content – without structure, purpose or editorial input – can hurt you. Google’s March 2025 Core Update made that crystal clear. The update penalised sites that publish thin, unoriginal content, especially when it’s overly automated and not human-reviewed.
So while AI is a fantastic tool for ideation, summarising, or speeding up production, quality still beats quantity. You still need: strong editorial direction, human oversight, and topic authority. Thinking of AI as your assistant – not your strategist, will always create the best content.
What does AI SEO involve?
Being visible in AI search tools requires a different mindset. Unlike traditional SEO, AI SEO is less about keyword-stuffing and more about credibility, clarity, and presence across the web.
Here’s how it works:
1. Credibility across multiple sources
AI tools pull from a wide range of sites – not just your own. This includes: news articles, blog mentions, product reviews, forum discussions, and more. If you’re not being talked about, cited, or linked elsewhere, you’re not going to rank in AI-generated answers. It’s about off-page trust, not just on-page optimisation.
2. Structured, clear content
AI tools look for clearly written, well-organised content to extract and summarise. Your content should: answer specific questions, use headings and structured formatting, and include up-to-date information.
This helps language models (LLM’s) parse your site more effectively and quote you as a source.
3. Authority in your space
If you want AI tools to mention your brand in an answer – “Top gyms in London” or “Best marble suppliers in Dubai” – you need to be an entity, not just a website.
That means: consistent branding, a strong digital footprint, and being featured or linked on reputable third-party sites.
Why multi-surface visibility is the future
AI SEO is just one surface in a growing ecosystem. Today’s search isn’t happening in one place – it’s happening across: Google Search, TikTok, Reddit, Amazon, YouTube, ChatGPT, and countless other platforms! By doing this you are adopting what we call Search Everywhere Optimisation – which is the future to all of this – Being indexed by AI tools, Being discoverable on social platforms, Being trusted by third-party sites.
This is not about chasing the next trend. It’s about recognising that search itself is changing – fast, and for good.
Ultimately, SEO today is about being everywhere your customers are searching – on Google, yes, but also across TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, ChatGPT, Gemini, and more. Platforms that didn’t even exist a few years ago are now shaping purchase decisions. If you’re only focusing on one surface, you’re only accessing part of the opportunity.
This is your chance to build lasting visibility, credibility, and conversions – before AI platforms become saturated or pay-to-play. The faster your business adapts to this shift, the faster you’ll see results. The smartest businesses won’t just ride the wave – they’ll position themselves to lead it.
By Dawn Kubicek, Founder of Leaders In Digital
