SEO in the Age of AI: How Can You Rank in the New Era of Search?

Last Updated on September 10, 2025

Learn about SEO in the age of AI. Discover strategies to rank on Google and get seen + quoted by AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini.

How Is SEO Changing in the Age of AI?

Remember when SEO was all about stuffing a few keywords into a blog post and hoping Google would notice? Those days are gone and this is GOOD news for coaches, creators, and anyone with a blog looking to increase organic traffic. Read on to learn why ranking now might actually be easier than it used to be!

In the age of AI, we’re not just optimizing for Google anymore—we’re optimizing for AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. These tools don’t just rank websites, they quote them. That means your content can be pulled directly into an AI-generated answer—essentially making your blog the “source of truth” in someone’s search journey.

❓ What Is GEO, SEO and AEO?

SEO, GEO, and AEO are three sides of the same visibility strategy in the age of AI. That means 3 ways to get discovered!

Let’s break them down:

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The practice of optimizing your content to rank high in Google’s search results. This is the classic SEO most people know.
• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): The practice of optimizing your content so it gets quoted or cited inside AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Instead of sending people to your site, these engines often pull your words directly into their answer.
• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): Closely related to GEO, this focuses on making your content easy for both Google (via featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes) and AI engines to extract into concise, direct answers.

📌 Why this matters: In the past, SEO was all about ranking. Now, with AI search on the rise, you also need to think about how your content can be selected and quoted as the answer itself. AI Overviews typically cite only 5–8 sources per query — meaning your odds of visibility rise dramatically if you structure content to be quotable.

This is fantastic for coaches, creators, and online business owners because you’re no longer limited to fighting for page-one rankings — there are now multiple “entry points” for visibility. Plus, it rewards expertise and personality — things you already bring to the table naturally.

For example:
If someone asks ChatGPT “What are the best hiking boots under $100?” and the AI pulls a sentence or list directly from your blog, that’s GEO success — your voice, your words, front and center.

👉 In short:

• SEO = Ranking (Google)
• AEO = Answering (Snippets & FAQs)
• GEO = Quoting + Citing (AI tools)

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What’s Changed in the SEO and GEO Landscape and is SEO Dead?

No — SEO isn’t dead; it’s evolving.

The search landscape has shifted dramatically with the rise of AI. Here are the biggest changes shaping how your content gets discovered today:

• AI search dominates: Over 60% of searches now end without clicks, thanks to AI “no-click” answers. This means that you can get found even if users never visit your website — but only if your content is structured to be quoted directly by AI tools and featured snippets.
• Bing is relevant again: ChatGPT uses Bing’s index, so Bing SEO matters. In short, Bing matters again because it opens up a huge new opportunity — if you optimize for Bing, your content is more likely to be surfaced not just in Bing searches, but also quoted in ChatGPT, Copilot, and other AI tools that billions of people are now using to find answers.
• E-E-A-T is critical: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness are the deciding factors in whether your content gets surfaced. Put simply, E-E-A-T rewards authentic experts over keyword gamers. If you’re actively serving clients and willing to share your real-world experience, the search landscape is working in your favor — elevating genuine voices like yours above generic AI content. Want to learn more about EEAT? Check out our SEO Credibility Code course to make sure you are a trusted expert and authority!
• Content crawling is slower: Updating older posts often beats publishing brand-new ones as Google struggles to crawl fresh content. This means you don’t need to constantly churn out brand-new blogs to compete. Your existing content library is a goldmine — by refreshing posts with new stories, client examples, and updated insights, you can leapfrog competitors who only chase new content. Google is now rewarding quality and consistency over sheer volume, which translates to less hustle and more strategy for you.

“Updating old content often outperforms publishing brand new posts, because Google is struggling to crawl the massive flood of AI-generated content. Fresh updates get indexed faster than net new pages.” Meg Clarke, SEO Strategist

All of these shifts — from AI search dominance to the rise of Bing, the importance of E-E-A-T, and the power of refreshing old content — point to one clear truth: the rules of visibility have changed.

TL; DR – SEO and AI Search Optimization

• SEO is evolving, not dying → Success now means showing up in Google, Bing and being quoted by AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. While 79.8% of Americans still prefer traditional search engines — adoption of AI tools is accelerating among younger generations.

• Experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness trumps keywords → AI search rewards authenticity, lived expertise, and clarity — things small businesses and personal brands naturally excel at.

• More entry points for visibility → Instead of fighting only for page-one Google rankings, you now have multiple ways to get discovered through SEO, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

📌 In the age of AI, content isn’t algorithm-obsessed—it’s user-obsessed.

That means your real goal has shifted from chasing rankings to becoming the most helpful, quotable answer on the web.

The good news? If you lean into these updates, you have more opportunity than ever to stand out. Now the question becomes: how do you take all of this and turn it into practical steps you can apply to every blog post you write? Let’s break down exactly how to create content that’s both SEO-optimized and AI-ready.

What Steps Should You Follow to Write SEO + AI-Optimized Blog Posts?

To stay visible, your content must serve both human readers and AI systems.

Step 1: How Do You Do Keyword Research for GEO and SEO?

Today, success starts with understanding user intent — the why behind a search — and shaping your content to meet it.

Before you write think about user intent and ask:

• Who is searching? (beginner, intermediate, expert)
• Why are they searching? (problem-solving, buying, learning)
• How do they want info? (checklist, tutorial, comparison)
• What’s their emotional state? (frustrated, urgent, curious)

These questions help you get inside the mind of your reader — and also align your content with how AI tools parse intent when delivering answers.

💡 Pro Tip: Instead of broad keywords like “SEO tips,” target long-tail, intent-driven phrases like “AI SEO strategy for coaches.” Long-tail queries may have less volume, but they’re more specific, less competitive, and more likely to convert.

Finally, don’t stop at keyword tools. Analyze the top search results for your topic to see what’s working — then look for content gaps you can fill. That might mean:

• Answering a question competitors overlooked
• Updating outdated data or examples
• Adding case studies or personal stories that make your content unique

✅ Why it matters: By starting with intent and gaps, your content becomes more relevant, quotable, and trustworthy — exactly what Google and AI search engines are looking for.

Step 2: How Should Your Writing Style Change for AI Optimization?

In the past (think 2020), SEO copywriting often felt mechanical. Writers repeated the same keyword over and over — like “lemon pie recipe” appearing 15 times in a single post — just to signal relevance to Google. It worked then, but today, both Google and AI are far too smart for that.

In the AI era, the winning style is conversational, expert, and semantically rich.
That means:

• Writing like you’d explain it to a client, podcast audience, or coaching call — natural, confident, and clear.
• Using synonyms and related terms instead of repeating one phrase (e.g., “doctor,” “physician,” “pediatrician”).
• Incorporating stories, examples, and lived experience to prove authenticity.
• Balancing authority with accessibility so your content feels helpful, not robotic.

✅ Why it matters: Search engines and AI tools no longer reward repetition; they reward clarity, credibility, and natural language. By shifting to a conversational expert tone, you not only improve your chances of ranking — you also increase your odds of being quoted directly by AI tools in response to user questions.

Step 3: How Should You Structure Content for AI Search?

Back in the old days of SEO, content structure was mostly about keyword density and following a rigid H1 > H2 > H3 hierarchy. Writers obsessed over making sure the exact keyword appeared in each heading, even if it sounded awkward.

But in the AI search era, structure isn’t just about keywords — it’s about making your content easy to scan, easy to understand, and easy to quote. Both Google and AI tools like ChatGPT prefer content that answers questions directly, then expands with detail.

Here’s how to structure your posts today:

• Use question-based headers (H2/H3s): Frame each section around the exact questions your audience is asking.
• Give the direct answer first (1–2 sentences): Don’t bury the lead — provide a concise, quotable response right away.
• Expand with examples, stories, or stats: Add depth and authority after the quick answer.
• Format for scan-ability: Use bullet points, numbered lists, and tables so readers (and AI systems) can quickly extract key insights.

✅ Why it matters: A Q&A-style structure mirrors how people search — and how AI delivers answers. If your content is already packaged in this format, you dramatically increase the chances of being featured in snippets or cited by AI tools.

Example:

❌ Old SEO: “Best hiking boots are important for hiking. When choosing hiking boots, consider features like…”
✅ New SEO: “Do you need expensive boots to start hiking? No — trail shoes under $100 work fine. Here’s why…”

Step 4: How Can You Prove Expertise and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)?

This is where your human-ness and lived experience are no longer “nice to have” — they’re your biggest SEO advantage. Google and AI are drowning in generic, AI-written content. What they’re actively rewarding now is authenticity.

That’s why E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — is critical.

Again, this is great news because you get to write from your human perspective and voice. Your brand voice is unique and positioning yourself correctly will help get you visible in the age of AI.

Here’s how to apply E-E-A-T in your content:

• Add a clear author bio with credentials → This shows authority and builds trust. List your background, certifications, or unique experience. Don’t be afraid to highlight why you’re qualified to help.
• Share real-world experiences or client case studies → AI can’t replicate your lived experience. Use client transformations, personal anecdotes, or lessons learned to prove credibility.
• Cite authoritative sources, stats, and expert quotes → Support your insights with data. This shows you’re not just sharing opinions, but anchoring your advice in recognized authority.
• Be transparent → If you’ve tried something and it didn’t work, share that too. Honesty builds trust and keeps readers (and AI) coming back.
• Keep your brand voice front and center → Don’t dilute your tone. AI values structured content, but humans (and therefore Google) connect with personality.
• Use internal and external links to related content and credible sources.

✅ Why it matters: By proving E-E-A-T, you make it easier for Google to rank your content and for AI tools to select your answers. And as a coach or business owner, you already have the one thing that AI content lacks — real-world experience that builds trust.

Step 5: What Technical SEO Still Matters in AI Search?

It’s true that AI is reshaping how search works, but that doesn’t mean the technical foundations of SEO no longer matter. In fact, these basics are still essential — they help both Google and AI search tools understand and properly index your content. Think of them as the “plumbing” that keeps your visibility flowing.

Here’s what to prioritize:

• Fast, mobile-first design → Most searches (and AI crawls) happen on mobile. If your site is slow or clunky, you’ll lose visibility fast.
• Keyword placement in key spots → Include your primary keyword in the title, URL, the first 100 words, and at least one H2. This signals clarity to search engines and AI systems.
• Compelling meta description → Keep it under 160 characters, include your keyword, and write it like an ad — it’s your chance to stand out in search results.
• Schema markup → Add FAQ, How-to, and Article schema to help AI parse your content structure. Schema makes your content more “machine-readable” and snippet-ready.
• Descriptive alt text on images → This helps with accessibility and gives search engines extra context.

✅ Why it matters: Technical SEO is the invisible scaffolding that ensures your content gets found, crawled, and understood by both humans and AI. Without it, even the best writing can get lost in the shuffle.

And here’s the good news: you don’t have to figure all of this out alone.

We teach all of this in our Anti-Social SEO course (updated in 2025!) Being proficient in SEO is going to help you rank better for GEO and AEO.

Step 6: How Do You Expand Visibility Beyond Your Blog?

Here’s the truth: AI doesn’t just read your blog. It pulls from content across the internet to decide who the experts are and which sources to quote. That means if you’re only publishing on your website, you’re leaving visibility (and authority) on the table.

To increase your chances of being recognized by both Google and AI tools, you need to show up in multiple places with a consistent, credible presence.

Here’s some ideas to expand your reach:

• Repurpose posts into LinkedIn articles, Medium posts, Reddit threads, podcasts, infographics
• Submit your sitemap to Google and Bing
• Keep brand details consistent across directories and profiles (Google Business, Bing Places, Wikidata)

✅ Why it matters: Expanding your content footprint makes you more discoverable — not just in traditional search results, but in AI-generated answers, summaries, and citations. The broader your presence, the more likely AI systems are to recognize you as the go-to authority in your niche.

What Metrics Matter Most for SEO Success in the AI Search Era?

Success isn’t just about rankings anymore. Track these metrics:

• AI mentions & quotes: Are ChatGPT or Gemini citing your content?
• Engagement signals:
  • 10+ seconds of dwell time (10 seconds dwell time is the internet average — if you can keep users longer, Google rewards you with positive ranking signals.)
  • 25%+ scroll depth
  • At least 1 internal link click
• Brand authority: Mentions in roundups, directories, and expert lists

“If you can get people to spend longer than 10 seconds on your site, scroll 25% of the page, and click another internal link, you’re 80–90% of the way to SEO success.” Meg Clarke, SEO Strategist

How Can You Future-Proof Your SEO in the AI Driven World?

The future of search isn’t just about being seen—it’s about being trusted.

👉 To future-proof your visibility:

• Write for humans first
• Structure for AI second
• Repurpose and syndicate your expertise everywhere

Because the most important question is no longer “Can I rank?” — it’s “Am I quotable?”

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What Should You Do Next?

• Update old posts with AI-friendly formatting
• Add FAQ schema to your top-performing 10-20 blog posts (we teach you how to do this inside the Anti-Social SEO Course)
• Submit your sitemap to Google and Bing. Use Rankmath’s tutorial linked here to get step by step instructions to submit your sitemap.
• Syndicate your content across multiple platforms

Check out our Anti-Social SEO Course and get access to our Custom SEO GPT: Sage to help you write SEO (and GEO) optimized blog posts!

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