Speaker 1: 1:00

Okay, imagine this you type best subscription management software into Google, but instead of that you know familiar list of blue links we all expect. An AI summary just pops up right at the top it's outlining pros and cons before you even see a single organic result. Or maybe you ask ChatGPT the same thing and you just get a straight answer Concise, confident, no ads, no links. Now, this isn't like science fiction we're talking about. This is happening right now.

Speaker 2: 1:26

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:26

And it's fundamentally changing how businesses well, how they connect with customers online. The whole digital landscape is really undergoing a massive shift. It really is.

Speaker 2: 1:36

It's quite profound and our mission in this deep dive is really to unpack that, to look at how AI is transforming online discovery, why these AI agents are becoming sort of the ultimate gatekeepers for visibility and, maybe most importantly, what actual steps you can take to keep your brand visible. You know, front and center in this AI-first world, we're drawing on some really cutting-edge insights and real-world results that we're seeing play out.

Speaker 1: 1:59

Exactly. That's why this deep dive is really for you. Maybe you're prepping for a big meeting or just trying to get your head around this field that's changing so fast, or maybe you're just like super curious about what's coming next online. Okay, let's dive in and unpack this. So let's start with the fundamental change here. For years, we all knew it. Page one of Google, that was the goal, the gold standard. But that whole traditional search model, the one built on blue links, it's rapidly giving way to these AI explanations, these summaries. It's a completely different way people are finding information now.

Speaker 2: 2:33

And the data? Well, it really shows how significant this shift already is. Research indicates that by May 2025, fully half of all Google results pages featured one of these AI generated overviews. But here's the kicker the impact on click through rates. It was immediate when that AI overview appeared. Clicks to websites, just well. They plummeted. On desktop, it went from roughly 28% down to about 11%.

Speaker 1: 2:53

Wow, that's huge.

Speaker 2: 2:54

Yeah, and on mobile it was even more stark 38% down to 21%. This isn't just tweaking the system, it's a fundamental move. We're shifting from a click economy to what you might call a visibility economy. Being named in the AI answer is often way more valuable than ranking first, just below it.

Speaker 1: 3:13

Right, that attention piece is so, so critical. I read about those eye tracking studies. They show users are mostly just skimming. Right, yeah, like a very top part of the AI summary.

Speaker 2: 3:22

Exactly About 70 percent never even scroll past that top third 70%. Which means if your brand gets cited early, right up top in that block, you capture almost all the attention. If you're mentioned lower down or not at all, you might as well be invisible.

Speaker 1: 3:36

It's like being picked first for the team or just left on the sidelines entirely.

Speaker 2: 3:40

And as if that wasn't enough disruption we're already heading into the next frontier. Ai assistants aren't just search tools anymore. They're evolving into well autonomous buyers. There was a McKinsey survey, I think late 2024, found that 41% of Gen Z consumers already use AI tools for shopping and task management 41%. All right, yeah, and that number's climbing fast. So picture this. A procurement lead just tells their AI find me. A project management platform needs to meet our security for, say, smaller businesses or newer brands.

Speaker 1: 4:26

If your product isn't already in the AI's kind of trusted knowledge base, you hit this cold start problem. That's the new visibility dilemma. Right, If the AI doesn't shortlist you, your potential customer might literally never know you exist. It just completely rewrites the rules of getting discovered. So, okay, we've got this picture huge shift, big challenges. But if the landscape is changing this dramatically, what actually makes an AI choose your brand? Is it still just about having the right data points, or is something else going on?

Speaker 2: 4:55

Well, it actually comes down to something very human. It comes down to trust. Think about it. When a user sees an AI answer, they're going to be like what's the first thing they often glance at?

Speaker 1: 5:04

The sources, like where it got the information.

Speaker 2: 5:07

Exactly the cited sources. If they recognize a name or respect the publication maybe it's a well-known brand or a high authority domain like edu or gov they accept that AI response much more readily. One study found 58 percent of clicks went to links from those familiar or authoritative domains 58 percent Wow.

Speaker 2: 5:27

Yeah. So this signals a massive shift. Authority in many ways is starting to outweigh simple keyword relevance. For businesses, this means you have to instantly signal trust. That could be through things like expert authorship, getting third party endorsements, showcasing security certifications, getting coverage and respected outlets. And to really get this, there are some fascinating insights from folks like Courtney Turin. She's a Yale-trained neuroscientist at Exponent 21. She points out that AI SEO isn't just technical tinkering. It's deeply about understanding human psychology what grabs attention, what builds belief, what actually drives decisions? You know people don't really want to search, they just want to know. Every search query is basically an expression of uncertainty and your content's job is to reduce that uncertainty quickly without adding more complexity.

Speaker 1: 6:13

So it's less about just stuffing in keywords and more about being the clearest, maybe the most reassuring voice for both the human and the AI.

Speaker 2: 6:20

Precisely. Take cognitive load, for example. That's the mental effort needed to process something. If your content is hard work, people just move on. It feels expensive mentally. They're also doing what's called information foraging. They're scanning fast, looking for cues, good headlines, bullet points, clear summaries, signals that tell them this is worth my time, like a bird looking for the best seeds. And then there's cognitive fluency when information is easy to process, it actually feels more true, more reliable. So you need to simplify, guide the user, make it feel effortless. You're kind of designing for these mental shortcuts the brain takes. And think about the buyer's psychological journey. Your content needs to meet them wherever they are. Are they just becoming aware of a problem? Are they investigating solutions, comparing options, or are they ready for commitment? You need content for each stage. This is where you see that shift from exploration, where they're looking around, to exploitation where they decide okay, this source is reliable, I'm sticking with it.

Speaker 1: 7:21

Ah, okay, so you want to be that trusted source they stick with, yeah right.

Speaker 2: 7:24

If your content gives a good answer but doesn't help them take that next step, their brain might keep that task open it's called the Zeigarnik effect remembering unfinished things and they might wander off. You want to be the one that helps them close that loop, and what's really interesting is how the AI overview itself almost acts like a social learning tool To the user. Seeing that summary feels a bit like pulling the room, getting a quick, confident consensus from what AI thinks are the best sources.

Speaker 1: 7:52

Like getting the group wisdom instantly.

Speaker 2: 7:53

Kind of, yeah, psychologically, users get this borrowed credibility if your brand shows up there. The AI did the homework, presented the consensus that feels trustworthy. And while logic supports decisions, let's be real emotion often drives them. So great content. It evokes relief, confidence, hope, maybe even belonging, often through narrative transportation, pulling people into stories they connect with. The big goal here is building this continuum of confidence, consistent presence, making people feel understood. That leads to brand salience being top of mind and it fosters psychological safety, that feeling of okay, this brand gets me. They have the answer I need.

Speaker 1: 8:31

Wow, that's a lot to think about, but it makes a ton of sense. So if this is the new reality driven by trust, easy answers, humans and psychology, what does it mean for what you listening right now should actually be doing? How do you build that kind of trust and visibility in practice?

Speaker 2: 8:46

Well, the answer really lies in a strategy that's gaining a lot of traction. It's called predictive SEO.

Speaker 1: 8:50

Predictive SEO.

Speaker 2: 8:51

Okay. Yeah, it's essentially the proactive practice of identifying search queries that are just starting to emerge, questions people will be asking soon, and then creating really high authority content for them before they become super popular. It's about building the definitive answer early, so when that wave of interest finally hits, your content is already there. Already seen as the trusted resource, this head start, it's not just nice to have anymore, it's becoming kind of essential.

Speaker 1: 9:19

That sounds really different from traditional SEO, which mostly reacts to trends that are already happening, right?

Speaker 2: 9:24

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:24

Looking at existing high volume keywords.

Speaker 2: 9:27

Exactly. Traditional SEO often plays catch up. Predictive SEO tries to anticipate what's next. It looks at, you know, evolving conversations online, new tech coming out, cultural shifts. What questions will these things spark? And this is especially critical for AI search, because often being the first one to provide a really good, comprehensive answer helps cement your brand as the go-to authority in the AI's mind, so to speak.

Speaker 1: 9:51

It's like drawing the map before everyone else realizes they need directions.

Speaker 2: 9:55

Precisely, and a really key part of this is identifying what we call most valuable questions, or MVQs.

Speaker 1: 10:02

MVQs okay.

Speaker 2: 10:03

These aren't your standard generic FAQs. Ok, these aren't your standard generic FAQs. These are the specific, often quite loaded questions maybe emotionally, maybe financially significant, that your ideal customers ask right before they're about to make a decision. They signal real urgency and high intent. Can you give bone loss? See how that carries a lot of weight for the person asking.

Speaker 1: 10:32

Yeah, you can feel the need behind those questions.

Speaker 2: 10:35

Exactly. And MVQs matter because answering them well means you show up right when your audience is actively looking for solutions. It builds trust because you're addressing their specific high-stakes concern. It earns you that crucial visibility in AI overviews and those featured snippets and ultimately it drives traffic that's much more likely to convert. Now to actually get quoted confidently by an AI, your content needs to nail what you might call the anatomy of the best answers. This means it has to be really thorough, written with confidence and structured clearly. It needs to clearly define the problem, explain why it's important, offer practical, actionable advice. Maybe share comparisons, if relevant, make confident judgments, include visuals, maybe augment with audio or video clips, build the reader's confidence, link out to related helpful content, address cost or benefit, really align with the user's deeper intent and even anticipate potential objections or follow-up questions. You pretty much need near-perfect marks across all these areas If your answer is lacking even just a bit.

Speaker 1: 11:35

The AI will just pull from someone else who do it better.

Speaker 2: 11:37

Exactly Someone else who checked all those boxes.

Speaker 1: 11:40

That sounds incredibly thorough, almost demanding, but I guess the payoff could be pretty huge. I saw that Exponent 21 case study you mentioned earlier. That was really striking.

Speaker 2: 11:49

It really was. Back in August 2024, interest in AI SEO was just a tiny blip right. Barely anyone was searching for it, but their team went ahead and proactively published these super detailed answers to the questions they anticipated would emerge.

Speaker 1: 12:04

So they got in really early they anticipated would emerge.

Speaker 2: 12:05

So they got in really early, super early, and by mid-2025,. The results were staggering. They saw an 80x, that's 8-0 increase in total impressions for that content 80 times. And an 18x jump in organic traffic. Crucially, they secured that top citation status in the AI overviews for those key terms.

Speaker 1: 12:24

That's a massive return for being proactive.

Speaker 2: 12:26

Absolutely, and there was another key lesson from their experience too Consistency really matters. They mentioned their content creation kind of stalled over one holiday season, and they actually saw their positions start to slip a bit.

Speaker 1: 12:39

So you can't just set it and forget it.

Speaker 2: 12:41

Definitely not. But the good news was, by recommitting to regular updates and putting out fresh content, they quickly regained that lost ground. So predictive SEO it's not a one-off campaign. It's really an ongoing commitment to staying ahead.

Speaker 1: 12:55

Okay, this is all making sense. So, for everyone listening, if you want your brand to be seen and trusted and ultimately picked by these new AI advisors, what are the concrete things you can start doing right now? Where do you even begin with all this?

Speaker 2: 13:07

Okay, let's break it down. There are probably five core strategies to focus on for earning a place in those AI results. First, structure your content for machines. Use really clear headings, H2s, H3s, bullet points, FAQ sections. Definitely use schema markup. Surface the key facts early and clearly. This makes it easy for AI to parse.

Speaker 1: 13:26

Okay, structure for machines Got it?

Speaker 2: 13:28

Second, establish authority everywhere. This means publishing expert-written articles, yes, but also getting high-quality backlinks from reputable sites highlighting certifications or awards, and actively seeking mentions in respected media or industry publications. Build that credibility profile.

Speaker 1: 13:44

Authority everywhere Makes sense.

Speaker 2: 13:46

Third, engage in validation communities. Participate authentically where your audience hangs out. That could be Reddit, specific YouTube channels, industry forums, review sites. Encourage happy customers to share their real experiences too. Ai models look at these signals.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Right Be where the conversations are happening.

Speaker 2: 14:04

Fourth, adapt your SEO thinking to conversational queries. Optimize for full questions the way people actually talk or type into AI tools. Monitor how AI cites sources for topics in your space and refine your content to match those successful patterns.

Speaker 1: 14:20

Think like a human asking a question.

Speaker 2: 14:22

Exactly. And finally, fifth, track your AI visibility. You have to actively test your key questions on ChatGPT, perplexity, google's AI overviews, whatever tools are relevant. Log where you show up, where you don't, and use that feedback to iterate and improve your content. So those are the strategies. Then there are four tactical steps specifically for putting predictive SEO into action. First, you have to spot the early signals of emerging demand. Don't wait for keywords to blow up. Look at Google Trends for those rising queries or breakout topics. Keep an eye on Reddit threads, industry forums what questions are just starting to bubble up? Check the People Also Ask boxes in Google Search and there are even AI-focused tools emerging, like Peakai, that try to track prompts, generating AI answers even if the search volume is still tiny.

Speaker 1: 15:07

So it's like being a digital detective, looking for those thing signals before anyone else notices them. That's challenging. For busy teams Is the main hurdle just dedicating time to look for things that aren't big yet.

Speaker 2: 15:17

That's often the biggest mindset shift. Yes, Investing resources in something before it shows up in the high volume keyword reports. It feels counterintuitive if you're used to traditional SEO metrics, but once you spot those signals, step two is to identify the MVQs, the most valuable questions that have real urgency. From all those potential emerging questions, prioritize the ones indicating clear pain points, maybe fears or immediate needs tied to big decisions. Those are your million-dollar questions.

Speaker 1: 15:44

Focus on the high-st stakes questions.

Speaker 2: 15:46

Right. Then step three create truly complete, structured content that works for humans and AI. Don't just write a short blog post. Aim to create the definitive resource. Cover the what, why, how. Next steps thoroughly Use those descriptive headings, bullet points, faq sections and especially schema markup things like FAQ schema, how-to schema. That structure is vital for AI. And, a key tip start the content with a concise, confident answer that an AI could easily quote.

Speaker 1: 16:18

Then you can expand with more detail for the human reader.

Speaker 2: 16:19

Give the AI the soundbite first, kind of yeah. And finally step four submit, track and refine. Proactively. Submit your new content to search engines via Google Search Console. Then you absolutely have to track where that content appears or doesn't in AI overviews and answers for your target MVQs. If you're not getting picked up, go back, look at the content, see what's missing, refine it. The mantra really has to be publish, measure tweak. It's a continuous loop. The mantra really has to be publish, measure tweak. It's a continuous loop.

Speaker 1: 16:47

That is a really practical, powerful playbook for anyone trying to navigate this. I mean, the core message seems crystal clear, doesn't it? The rise of AI in search? It's fundamentally raised the stakes If your brand isn't seen as the answer well, it might just not be seen at all. And this predictive SEO, grounded in understanding people and building trust, it really feels like the new standard for getting found online.

Speaker 2: 17:10

I think that's exactly right. At the end of the day, AI tends to amplify what's already good on the web.

Speaker 2: 17:13

So high quality solutions, genuinely helpful content, combined with these kinds of strategic, proactive visibility efforts, they will rise to the top of these algorithmic recommendations. The goal really is ensuring your business is seen, that it's trusted and, ultimately, that it gets selected by these increasingly influential digital advisors that are now guiding so many decisions so here's the final thought for you to chew on in this incredibly fast evolving ai first world, how will you position your brand?

Speaker 1: 17:42

will you just react to the changes as they come, or will you start trying to actively engineer the demand behind tomorrow's most valuable questions?