Google I/O just changed the rules again. Two announcements stood out: search results are becoming deeply personalized, and search is becoming agentic. For any brand that depends on organic discovery, the playbook needs a rewrite.
Our CEO, Paxton Gray, sat down with Head of Search Mike Witham and Head of Content Rachel Bascom to break down what actually happened and what marketers should do about it.
The Two Shifts That Matter
The first is personalization. Two people searching the same query will increasingly see different layouts, rankings, and recommendations based on their individual search histories. The results page is becoming a custom experience.
The second is agentic search. Google is now deploying agents that browse the web on a user's behalf, research topics, compare products, and report back. Search is no longer just a retrieval tool. It is becoming a personal assistant that takes action.
Audience-First Just Got More Urgent
Personalization raises the stakes on something we've been saying for years: generic content gets filtered out faster than ever. When AI tailors recommendations to a user's stated preferences, your content needs to consistently reflect your unique value propositions across every touchpoint.
Rachel put it plainly: "However much you were thinking about your audience before, you have to think about them twice, or five times, or infinity times more."
The agentic shift adds another layer. When bots are not just reading your content but potentially taking action on your site, friction is no longer just a human problem.
"Frictionless checkout, removing barriers," Rachel said. "That's not only now things that could cause your audience to bounce. You have to consider the robots."
From Keywords to Topical Authority
Optimizing a single page for a single keyword is not enough anymore. LLMs scan entire topic landscapes, looking for sources with depth and consistency across a subject. That means building clusters of original, perspective-driven content that prove you belong in the conversation.
"It's not just answering a question or optimizing a page for a keyword," Mike said. "You have to have topical authority with multiple pages, multiple pieces of helpful content with unique perspectives and unique data."
At 97th Floor, we've been building hub-and-spoke content models for years. The shift now is tailoring that work to how LLMs evaluate information, not just how search engines rank pages.
Topic Clusters Drive 261% Growth in AI Search Results for Cruise Line
Great Content Bots Can't Find Is Invisible
One of the most important things to understand right now is that the technical layer and the content layer carry equal weight.
"You can have the most beautifully optimized piece of content," Mike said. "If bots can't find it, can't read it, can't access it, it doesn't matter."
A few things that are proving effective:
- Clean HTML consistently outperforms JavaScript-heavy pages for bot crawlability.
- Markdown versions of pages give bots a fast, clean format to parse. We are currently testing this with clients and on our own blog, tracking server logs to confirm bot usage.
- The accessibility tree, originally built for users with visual or auditory impairments, is now being used by bots to understand page structure. Accessibility and discoverability are becoming the same investment.
The debate around schema markup is ongoing. A Ramp test found that an offer buried in schema was never surfaced by AI, while an offer in a markdown file was surfaced quickly. Mike noted that schema has shown positive results in other tests, and the verdict likely depends on context. The underlying principle remains the same: deliver structured information clearly and directly.
The Attribution Problem Is Not a Reason to Pull Back
The old model was clean: keyword rankings, organic traffic, and conversions. Google removed keyword-level data in 2013. Now, with AI Overviews eating into click volume, the picture is murkier still.
The right response is not to go dark.
"It is very hard to sell something that nobody has ever heard of from a brand that nobody has ever heard of," Mike said. "The more your brand is present across all stages of the customer journey, the better shot you have when it gets to the decision phase."
Being surfaced or cited by AI is a form of brand presence. It feeds awareness, trust, and downstream conversion across every channel.
And as Rachel pointed out, AI has to pull that content from somewhere.
"Wouldn't you want to throw your hat in the ring and have it be you?"
Do Not Overcorrect for the Bots
There is a version of this moment where marketers optimize entirely for machines. That path ends badly.
"Every update Google makes is to try and get a better user experience," Rachel said. "Even if you try to game the system and pander to the bots, it's not going to work out. Your audience is your best bet."
Paxton offered a useful reframe: technical optimization should serve the content, not the other way around. Content serves the audience. Infrastructure helps content perform. Both drive business results.
And this extends beyond written copy. Video continues to grow. The brands that win will treat content as a full ecosystem, not a single format.
Who Wins the AI Search Race?
Mike offered a strong prediction: "One hundred percent Google is going to win the AI search race."
The reasoning is hard to argue with. Google has the technology, the models, the infrastructure, decades of training data, and a profitable business generating billions while competitors continue investing heavily to gain ground.
Rachel made a case for niche survival. Claude has carved out real leadership in the B2B space. Platforms that lean into a specific strength rather than trying to replicate Google's breadth may have a path forward.
"If they try to become Google, they will absolutely fail. But if they can continue to carve out that niche, that's where the success is."
Paxton landed in the Google camp with one caveat: speed. Competitors have pushed Google to move faster than it ever has. If Google closes that gap and fully connects its AI capabilities to its workspace ecosystem, the outcome becomes difficult to bet against.
The one outcome none of us want? A future where only one player is left standing.
What to Do Now
- Know your audience more deeply than ever before.
- Reinforce your unique value propositions consistently across all content.
- Build topical authority through clusters of original, perspective-driven content.
- Invest in technical infrastructure so your best content is findable and readable by bots.
- Remove friction from every step of the site experience.
- Stay in the game. The brands that show up consistently are the ones AI recommends.
Search has changed.
The fundamentals have not.
Resources:
Google I/O 2026 Search Announcements: https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/search-io-2026/
Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-o-witham/
Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbascom/
Connect with Paxton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paxtongray/
Looking for an agency that'll be worth the investment? 97th Floor creates custom, audience-first campaigns that drive pipeline and conversions. Get started here: https://97staging.com/lets-talk/.
About Rachel Bascom:
Rachel is the Head of Content Marketing at 97th Floor, boasting over a decade of expertise in the realm of digital marketing and a fervent dedication to crafting audience-centric content strategies. In her tenure, Rachel has been a trailblazer in the development of the content marketing department, playing an integral role in the transformative journey that positioned 97th Floor as a comprehensive, award-winning, holistic marketing agency.
About Mike Witham:
Mike is the Head of Search at 97th Floor, where he has spent the past seven years leading SEO strategy and performance for enterprise and high-growth brands. Based in Lehi, Ut. he specializes in building data-driven search campaigns that achieve bottom line results for clients. With his ability to create wholistic, full funnel marketing campaigns, Mike helps teams turn organic search into a highly profitable, revenue driving channel.
