If you’ve ever Googled something in the last year, you’ve likely seen an AI summary pop up at the top of the SERP page. Whether you read that answer or not, having those AI summaries on search engine results has changed the way users interact with websites and the way SEOs are approaching optimization.
Even though SEO is shifting, there’s no reason to worry about its future. SEO is around to stay—and so is AI. The key is learning how to use both together in an effective way to get your content to your audience and to help you reap the benefits of online visibility. Read on to learn all about AI and SEO, best practices for adjusting your strategy, and where the future of search is going.
SEO is what helps your page show up on search engines to meet user queries. However, recently, the top slots are going to an AI summary, and the AI tool will search across pages to find information to fuel its responses. AI SEO also includes using AI like machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and predictive analytics as a tool in your own SEO process. It’s all about getting your website to display in AI searches as well as using it to help you improve your own work.
Unlike traditional search optimization, which largely focused on keyword placement, backlinks, and static algorithmic signals, AI-enabled SEO adds several new dimensions:
Here are some concrete examples of how AI capabilities are already being applied in search and SEO:
AI is reshaping the SEO landscape by powering smarter search engine results pages (SERPs) and fueling the rise of AI-driven answer engines. Instead of delivering a list of ranked blue links, modern SERPs often feature AI-generated summaries and at the top of a SERP to answer questions directly—reducing the need to click through to websites.
This shift moves the focus of SEO from traditional rankings to retrieval and representation. It's no longer just about being on page one—it's about being cited or summarized by AI models that interpret and surface the most relevant content from across the web. As a result, user behavior is evolving. Click-through rates (CTRs) on traditional organic listings are declining in some categories, while zero-click searches are increasing.
The goal now is to curate your content in a way that makes it easy for an AI tool to retrieve and summarize it.
As generative AI becomes more integrated into search engines and digital assistants, SEO strategies need to evolve to make sure your pages are staying on top and showing up in the right searches. AI usually considers these three key factors when choosing content to cite:
Certain formats tend to perform better in AI summaries, including:
AI can also help you work smarter, not harder. AI tools can automate keyword research, detect content gaps, and personalize experiences across channels to help you find the right areas to create content.
Integrating AI into your SEO strategy doesn’t need to be overwhelming. As SEO experts, we’ve worked hands-on with AI search optimization across many industries, and we’ve identified four best practices that can help your team adopt AI.
The best way to begin is with low-risk, high-visibility pilot tests. Try AI tools on smaller tasks—like keyword clustering, meta tag suggestions, or content outline generation—and track performance over time. Use these early experiments to measure output quality, workflow impact, and time savings. Once you understand where the tech shines (and where it doesn’t), you can scale up confidently.
Choose AI tools that work well within your existing SEO stack. You’re likely using CMS platforms like WordPress and Webflow or analytics tools like GA4, Looker Studio, or Search Console, and you want AI tools that work with those. Don’t just chase “shiny” AI features. Make sure they fit into your real-world systems.
AI is a powerful assistant but not a decision-maker. Use it to automate repetitive tasks, surface insights, and speed up processes, but keep humans in the loop for critical thinking and decision making. Humans need to make big decisions, look over AI content, and check for brand consistency.
AI in SEO is not a static playbook—it’s an ongoing evolution. Keep your team learning with hands-on training and encourage experimentation with new tools and techniques. Look for ways to bring real value into daily workflows: faster content ideation, smarter optimization, better insights. All of this will help you optimize for AI search SEO.
While AI gives you a wide range of advantages with SEO, there are some new challenges to prepare for, including:
As AI transforms how search works, the role of SEO professionals is evolving just as quickly. Instead of spending time on purely manual tasks—like keyword tagging, metadata updates, or technical audits—SEO pros are stepping into more strategic roles. Their job isn’t just to optimize for algorithms, but to understand how people and machines interact.
AI is a powerful tool, but it complements—not replaces—human expertise. Machines can generate content, identify trends, and automate repetitive tasks, but they can’t replicate human creativity. SEO teams must now balance automation with context, voice, and long-term vision.
At 97th Floor, we’ve embraced this shift by changing the name of our SEO department to the Search Department. This rebrand reflects a broader mandate: we’re no longer optimizing only for search engines—we’re optimizing for how people experience search across AI chat, answer engines, smart devices, and traditional SERPs.
As AI reshapes how people discover and consume content, the way we measure SEO success must also evolve. Here are our tips for measuring success.
The future of SEO is about aligning with how AI understands, retrieves, and delivers information. Several key trends are shaping what’s next:
To stay competitive, SEOs must prepare for ongoing shifts by adopting agile processes, investing in AI literacy, and building systems that track visibility across traditional and AI-powered platforms.
If you want to see what can be done with AI SEO strategy, look no further than 97th Floor’s campaign with Princess Cruises. We helped Princess Cruises move beyond siloed pages toward a tightly interlinked topical cluster model. The aim was to layout content in a way that signals topical authority, which helps AI systems find more contextually rich responses and increases the chance that Princess content is cited or summarized in AI-driven overviews.
The results were dramatic:
By marrying strategic direction with hands-on execution, we turned AI‑centric theory into concrete gains—while proving that human judgment, agility, and domain knowledge remain indispensable.
If your SEO team is wondering whether AI‑driven search is already rewriting the rules—this case shows it is, and early wins are possible. The shift is not hypothetical. It's real, and the rewards go to teams that think differently about content structure, authority, and AI visibility.
If you'd like to explore how generative search can work for your brand—or see how 97th Floor can help you architect a strategy and workflow—learn more about our AI SEO services.
Not at all—SEO is evolving, not ending. While traditional ranking tactics may be less dominant in an AI-driven world, the core principles of creating valuable and relevant content are more important than ever. The focus has simply shifted toward visibility in AI-generated responses.
AI models prioritize content that is credible, clear, up-to-date, and well-structured. That means you’ll want to pay attention to factors like domain authority, semantic coverage, freshness, and schema markup. AI-driven engines also favor content that directly answers queries in a concise, readable format.
Featured snippets are static results pulled from web pages by search engines like Google and displayed in SERPs. AI summaries, on the other hand, are dynamically generated responses by large language models (LLMs) that synthesize content from multiple sources. Optimizing for AI requires a broader focus on topic coverage, clarity, and consistent structure—not just targeting a single “snippet-worthy” phrase.
New tools like Rank Prompt, Scrunch AI, and Otterly.ai help monitor how often and where your brand or content is mentioned in AI-generated outputs. You can also run manual queries in platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to test how your content is surfaced.
The biggest risks include content inaccuracy, loss of brand voice, and over-reliance on automation. AI tools can hallucinate facts, produce generic or misaligned content, and miss the nuance needed for strategic decision-making. Without human oversight, you run the risk of having ineffective content.
Smaller teams can win by being strategic and focused. Start with pilot programs, use affordable AI tools that offer the most ROI, and double down on content quality and clarity. You don’t need a massive budget to iterate quickly in response to AI-driven search trends.
