Is SEO Dead? How AI and GEO Are Transforming Search

In just about every industry, all around the world, the potential applications and impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) continue to dominate the conversation.

Digital marketing is no exception: the advent of AI-based tools and AI-powered search engines should push marketers to question established search engine optimization (SEO) practices.

Some marketers rushed to announce the death of SEO, at least as we know it. These sorts of attention-grabbing claims have cropped up plenty of times over the years – and every time, they’ve proven premature.

Let’s look past the hype, block out the noise, and map out what we know.

Is This the End of SEO?

Spoiler alert: No, AI tools and generative search engines are not killing off SEO! Nevertheless, they hold the potential to fundamentally transform online search.

These emerging technologies appear to fuel shifts in user behavior, pressuring digital marketers to overhaul their strategies in response. This is nothing new in itself: successful online marketing always involves adaptation and evolution.

More urgently, AI search continues to evolve at pace. After Microsoft integrated its Copilot technology into Bing Search, Google followed suit in 2024 with its AI Overview. Meanwhile, traffic from generative search engines, such as SearchGPT, Perplexity, and Arc Search, continues to show strong growth.

In this fast-moving environment, digital marketers must also evolve quickly to stay relevant. So, while many fundamental SEO practices remain every bit as important, recognizing and adjusting to changes in how and where people search for information will be vital.

Time to Embrace AI Search

Since late 2024, Google Search rankings have been subject to heightened volatility. Some commentators have pointed to regular algorithm updates, alongside the growing prevalence of AI tools.

In parallel with algorithm changes, experts have also identified fundamental changes in user behavior. These include a shift from semantic to conversational search queries, likely fueled in part by voice search as AI assistants become increasingly capable.

That doesn’t mean we should underestimate the established players. Despite outlandish claims from some quarters, ChatGPT’s search market share remains below 1%. As of February 2025, Google still retains roughly 90% of the global search market. Despite the differences between conventional and generative search engines, the two technologies share an overarching focus: supplying users with the information they want, as efficiently as possible, while foregrounding high-quality, people-centered content.

In truth, the launch of its AI Overview forms part of Google’s longer-term shifts towards zero-click search. Along with its Featured Snippets, Google continues to aim for users to find answers as quickly as possible.

How Does Generative Search Optimization Differ?

Generative search optimization (GEO) operates essentially like SEO for generative search engines. Some experts also dub this large language model optimization (LLMO) or generative AI optimization (GAIO). Of course, how that optimization works is more important than the acronym.

Generative search engines rely on different functional principles to their conventional counterparts. Rather than cataloguing and ranking content based on specific factors, generative engines examine context and interpret natural language to synthesize a precisely tailored response to each search query.

This results in significant differences between SEO and GEO best practices. If you’d like to explore this distinction further, check out our detailed explainer on SEO vs. GEO.

Adapting to AI Search: Four Key Focuses

Don’t over-correct. Conventional platforms still dominate the global search market – so, even as they integrate AI-powered features, many established SEO practices still hold true.

Instead, try to gain a more holistic understanding of how AI tools fit into the online ecosystem and influence user behavior. Reconsider changes in how and where consumers are searching, while maintaining a laser focus on their underlying search intents.

Just as Google committed to promoting high-quality, people-first content, AI-powered search tools favor human-focused content. In turn, you should focus on expanding your existing strategy, rather than starting from scratch: target an integrated, whole-web approach. This could mean incorporating new channels, like Reddit and TikTok, or supplementing your site with an AI chatbot.

If you’re aiming to optimize for AI search in 2025, let’s look at four non-negotiable focuses: visibility, reputation, engagement, and conversion.

Visibility: Standing Out from the Crowd

Claiming listings across numerous business directories, and updating them with accurate and consistent information, remains essential for both SEO and GEO. Multi-location brands can streamline this step by implementing AI-powered listings management software.

Next, enrich your business profiles with engaging posts, eye-catching photos, and high-quality videos. Authentic images boost conventional SEO efforts and supplement AI-generated search results.

Finally, set up and optimize local pages for your stores. Ensuring clear and well-contextualized content makes it easier for generative engines to understand and synthesize informative answers.

Reputation: Leverage the Power of Reviews

Reputation management plays a central role in modern online marketing. If anything, it is even more relevant for GEO than SEO, as AI-powered platforms place a strong emphasis on human, conversational content.

With this in mind, any GEO strategy should place excellent review management front and center. In practice, that means actively soliciting reviews from your customers, providing a direct and authentic response, and addressing any issues they raise.

Review management is a time-critical task: you should respond to new reviews promptly, ideally within 24 hours!

Engagement: Foster Connections with a Local Focus

In addition to conversational content, AI search tools value clarity and context. This allows them to gain an accurate understanding and effectively synthesize tailored responses.

In practice, this could include linking your locations’ social media profiles to their directory listings. On top of providing context, social posts showcasing special offers and in-store events allow generative engines to enrich their output with local services and insights.

This way, you flesh out your listings while demonstrating how firmly your stores embed themselves in local communities. However, this also places a renewed focus on effective social media management – built around high-quality, brand-aligned, and authentic posts.

Conversion: Optimizing Content to Drive Sales

Although generative search engines rely on large language models (LLMs) to interpret natural language, implementing clear structures and formatting remains crucial.

Clear and concise language is essential. Building on those fundamentals, you should implement a straightforward structure that takes full advantage of schema markup. This also makes it easier for LLMs to parse your content, understand your offering, and synthesize responses.

Finally, review your on-page CTAs for an optimized user experience, making them both unmissable and engaging. You should also strive to feature CTAs in your locations’ business profile posts and social media content. This way, you consistently signpost the next steps in the customer journey.

Future-Proofing Your Business for AI Search

The disruptive potential of AI search can’t be overstated.

Despite overlaps between SEO and GEO, and although some established principles still hold true, digital marketers should adapt their strategies toward this new reality. Brands that fail to keep pace with the shifting online landscape risk hurting their search visibility.

With that said, you should focus on adaptation, not wholesale reinvention. From boosting visibility with accurate location data to effectively managing customer reviews, many of the priorities for AI-driven search optimization align closely with SEO best practice.

Two Uberall experts recently hosted a webinar to pull apart how AI-powered tools continue to transform online search, and how businesses should respond. Their deep dive into the nitty-gritty of AI search highlighted multiple pressing consequences for SEO.

We’ve also put together a handy cheat sheet that condenses our key recommendations. Of course, catching up today won’t mean you can check AI search optimization off your to-do list altogether: like SEO for conventional search engines, GEO remains an ongoing assignment. All the same, these actions should help you hit the ground running.

Download our cheat sheet to start future-proofing your company for AI search!