Chapter 1 – From Google to ChatGPT: The New Search Era

How many times have you used ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude in the last seven days instead of Google or Bing search? 

I’m sure your answer is way more than Google/Bing search. 

Let me ask you another question (or should I say give you a prompt?!- – Haha, JK): Has your usage of Google/Bing search declined over the last 12 months?

One more question and this will be last – I promise: so when you used Google Search, did you click on any of the 10 links or did you just read the AI Overview and was like – ok, I got the information I wanted and closed the tab?

Feels familiar scenarios? Yes, and believe me you’re not alone.

Technology shapes our behavior and the traditional search workflow is disappearing.  62% users expect direct answers or summaries. And a survey by YouGov says 38% users trust AI search results over the traditional search engines (source).

What Can You Expect from This Guide?

This guide is written specifically for B2B marketers, growth leaders, and content strategists who want to stay visible and trusted in the AI search era. 

It will explain how AI makes decisions and how you can influence those decisions so your brand is not only just visible on AI answers, but is also recommended by it. 

You’ll learn how AI collects, understands, and provides information. You’ll discover the signals that make your brand stand out and how to structure your content so AI recognises it as relevant, trustworthy, and useful. We’ll cover strategies for improving your visibility, building credibility, and becoming part of AI’s “thinking process”.

So without further ado, let’s begin!

Why The Massive Change? 

Because AI can give much better answers than Google. Humans make decisions after scrutiny, discussions, and follow-ups. And when you have a human-like bot weighing pros and cons with you before you act, you’re far more confident in your choices.

Take shopping as an example. If you search for a pair of shoes on Google, you’ll get the same generic set of results as anyone else, along with a pile of sponsored ads. But with AI, the experience is personal. 

You can feed your preferences and constraints in one query and then in follow-up queries. The average session duration on AI search engines is 2.6x longer than on traditional engines (Source). 

It also remembers your past searches, your preferences, and your responses. It then scans the internet, pulls from reliable sources, and stitches together a tailored recommendation just for you.

This is why 59% of AI search users report being more satisfied with the results compared to traditional Google searches (CivicScience). And if AI recommends your brand, the visitors you get are more interested in your product & brand than the visitors you get from organic searches. 

Why Does This Change Matter for Brands?

It’s simple – if your brand isn’t part of the answers these systems generate, you’re effectively invisible in the spaces where trust and decisions are forming.

Today more and more decisions are being influenced or even made by AI. From information extraction and task completion to important purchasing decisions (especially for digital products), people are increasingly relying on AI-generated answers to guide their choices and opinions.

According to a CivicScience survey, 13% of users said they’ve completely replaced Google with an AI search tool. Meanwhile, organic search CTR fell by 18% in 2024 (HubSpot), signalling a clear shift in how people find and consume information (source).

In fact, 57% of digital marketers have already adjusted their SEO strategies to account for AI-generated answers (source). 

In this new landscape, the rules of discovery have changed:

• Intent, details, and structure of your content matter more than exact keywords.
• Discovery is shifting from clicks to choices made by AI.
• If your brand isn’t visible as a trusted, structured source, it won’t even be considered.
• Clear, verifiable details (like pricing, features, certifications) matter more than marketing lingo on your website.
• AI surfaces answers, not ads, and your brand needs to be part of those answers.
• Winning online now means being part of the AI’s reasoning process, not just ranking high on SERPs.

While many marketers are already adapting, a large number of businesses still haven’t caught up. Those who do will own the next wave of digital visibility.

Why Traditional SEO Alone Doesn’t Cut It Anymore?

Traditional SEO still works but is no longer enough to get the exposure from your target audience. 

Sure, it helps you rank on Google using backlinks, domain authority, and keyword-optimised content. But If AI tools don’t recognise you as a trustworthy source, your content won’t make it into their answers, even if you’re sitting on Top 10. 

That’s where AISEO comes in. 

AISEO makes sure AI tools can understand, trust, and recommend your brand. It’s not about chasing clicks and traffic anymore; it’s about your brand being included directly in the AI-generated response.

All you need to do is “influence” the AI to see you as the right choice. 

Once you do, the AI takes over the touchpoints, educating, persuading, and guiding the user, before they ever land on your site.

SEO vs AISEO: What’s the Difference?

To set the precedent for a deeper dive, it is important to understand the difference between traditional search engines and searches performed on Generative AI based Chatbot Platforms. 

Search Engines (Google, Bing)	AI Platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
Show a list of article/content links for the users to read and extract information themselves.	Extracts information from multiple sources and gives direct answers or recommendations tailored to the user.
Shows similar results or “top 10 blue links” to multiple users.	Extracts information from reliable and trustworthy sources, and gives tailored responses for specific individuals based on their needs and behavior.
It is up to the users to decide which result seems more relevant and reliable.	The system decides relevancy and reliability, and often suggests actions based on user requirements and behaviour.
Success of your content depends heavily on keywords, backlinks, and rankings.	Success heavily depends on structured data, trusted sources, and relevancy.
Users generally ask a question or a query to search engines in a few words.	Users generally give prompts or commands of hundreds of words and engage in an entire conversation. Average query length in AI search engines is 28% longer than in traditional search engines (Source: Moz).
Mostly used for information extraction or knowledge gathering.	Mostly used to get tasks done, for research purposes or for decision-making (ex: selection of a product/tool).
Finds content (blue links) that may resolve the user’s queries.	Generates content/answers after sourcing information from multiple sources based on the user prompts and past behavior.
Results depend on query searched (keywords used in the query).	Results depend on the prompts and past behavior (older prompts) of the user.
Ranks matter for websites/brands to get organic traffic and leads.	Number of mentions matters more than ranks for brands to get high-quality leads.
Traditional SEO strategies help with ranking your content on traditional search engines	Modern AISEO strategies help with getting you mentioned or cited or recommended by AI answer engines

So how do Traditional SEO and AISEO actually differ in practice? Let’s break it down.

Point of Difference	SEO	AISEO
Primary Objective	Rank higher on SERPs for specific keywords and generate website traffic via click-throughs.	Optimize content to be retrieved, cited, and summarized by AI models (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, etc.).
Core Search Paradigm	Keyword-driven retrieval; page ranking is based on relevance, authority, and backlinks.	Intent-driven retrieval; LLMs will choose best-fit snippets, and not just ranked links.
Content Format	Detailed, long-form content rich in keywords.	Concise, well-structured content with summaries, tables, FAQs, etc. that is both human and AI-friendly.
Optimization Focus	Titles, meta tags, keywords, backlinks, site speed.	Citations, schema markup, technical SEO, content clarity and completeness.
Measurement/Analytics	Ranks, clicks, organic traffic.	Citations and mentions in AI answers, snippet appearances.
Click-through expectations and Website Traffic	Target is to get higher number of clicks and organic traffic via SERPs.	Priority is to appear in AI snippets/answers; lesser number of clicks and website traffic but more brand visibility.
Ranking Signals	Focuses on quality backlinks and domain authority.	Focuses on off-site mentions/citations and content structure, completeness, and clarity.

Will AI Replace SEO?

The short answer is NO, AI will not replace SEO. All the core SEO principles still apply even for AI platforms; they’re just part of a bigger game now. 

You’re no longer optimizing only for Google, you’re optimising for AI itself.

To get AI platforms to find you and recommend you, you still need to build some authority on Google, Bing, and other traditional search engines. That foundation comes from classic SEO.

Think of AISEO as an extension of SEO, not a replacement. 

By adopting AISEO, you move beyond just optimizing for search engines and ensure your brand also shows up in AI-generated answers.

End of Chapter 1

We hope you liked this introductory chapter on how search has evolved from Google to ChatGPT and why this transformation matters for modern brands. 

In the coming chapters, we will discuss how to become part of the new AI-driven search ecosystem and ensure your brand appears within the answers that shape real decisions.

See you in the next chapter!

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Chapter 2 – What Is AI Search Engine Optimization? >>