From SEO to AEO: The Wake-Up Call Businesses Need to Survive the AI Search Shift

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June 4, 2025
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AI Engine Optimization (AEO)
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AI SEO
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Artificial Intelligence
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Content Marketing
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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engines aren’t gateways anymore. They’re filters—and AI is the one deciding what gets through. It determines what people see when they search, how answers are framed, and which brands stay visible. That shift has made traditional SEO feel slower, less reliable, and harder to measure in real time.

If your business isn’t actively working to be recognized across AI-powered search engines, it’s already fading into the background. These systems are drawing from knowledge graphs, structured data, and sentiment signals to build answers instantly. Whether you’re found now depends on how well you’ve trained the system to find you.

Samsung and Perplexity: A Deal That Could Reshape the AI Search Market

In June 2025, reports emerged that Samsung is in advanced talks with Perplexity AI to preload its AI-powered search features across new Samsung phones and integrate Perplexity into Bixby, Samsung’s voice assistant. If this deal moves forward, it could mark a massive shift in market share, further accelerating Perplexity’s rise as a dominant player in AI search—at the expense of Google.

Perplexity’s momentum is not coming out of nowhere. As of August 2024, Google’s own AI Overviews appeared in about 25% of search results. By June 2025, AI Overviews have doubled to nearly 50%. This means that half of all Google searches now result in an AI-generated summary instead of a traditional list of links.

Google’s AI Mode further upends the world of search. While AI Overviews still exist within the traditional search page, AI Mode transforms the entire experience—removing the classic list of blue links and replacing it with a full-screen, AI-generated interface. It’s designed to be the default for users who want answers, not options. This is more than a feature—it’s a redefinition of search itself.

For businesses, this has two profound implications:

  • Clicks to websites are vanishing. If you’re not cited in the AI-generated answer, your traffic is evaporating.
  • Users are beginning to expect AI to do the work for them—whether it’s finding an answer, comparing products, or even making decisions.

These shifts aren’t isolated to Google. Perplexity’s rise is fueled by its real-time, conversational search engine, which provides fresh, cited information—unlike tools like ChatGPT, which still rely on static knowledge cutoffs unless prompted to search the web. Users frustrated by outdated information in tools like ChatGPT may turn to Perplexity for more timely answers, especially as they become aware of the gap in data recency.

Meanwhile, Google is preparing to monetize AI search even further with the rollout of AI Max Ads, which will appear in AI Overviews and likely expand into AI Mode results. I first predicted this development back in May, and by late May 2025, Google confirmed it. This means that in addition to competing for visibility in AI results, businesses will soon face paid ad placements directly within AI summaries—further squeezing the organic reach of brands that haven’t optimized for this new paradigm.

ChatGPT Enters Search: Chrome Extension Signals Bigger Play

Screenshot showing ChatGPT’s promotion of it’s new search extension for Google Chrome. First seen on June 4, 2025.

OpenAI is also moving aggressively to capture search market share. In June 2025, ChatGPT began promoting a Chrome extension directly within its interface, encouraging users to make ChatGPT their default search engine. The extension promises “instant answers from trusted sources with every search”—a clear signal that OpenAI is positioning itself as a direct competitor to Google, Perplexity, and others in the AI search space. This shift reinforces the urgency for businesses to adapt their visibility strategies across multiple AI engines, not just Google.

The Business Cost of Falling Behind in AI Search

For businesses, these changes represent a fundamental challenge:

  • Traditional SEO remains important, but it is no longer sufficient on its own.
  • SEO strategies must now account for how AI models gather, summarize, and recommend information.
  • Brand authority, structured data, and sentiment in reviews and press coverage now play an outsized role in whether AI models trust your business enough to cite it.
  • If your business isn’t visible in AI summaries, your competitors likely are—and they’re capturing attention while you’re invisible.

We are already seeing the impacts. At Xponent21 and in our client metrics, we’ve observed an uptick in web traffic coming from Perplexity and ChatGPT. It’s a signal that as search behavior evolves, early adopters of AI SEO strategies will reap the benefits, while laggards risk falling behind.

From SEO to AEO: Rethinking Visibility in the Age of AI Engines

If your business hasn’t revisited its SEO strategy in the past six months, you’re most likely behind. Optimizing for AI-driven search isn’t just about tweaking a few keywords or publishing a blog post here and there. Ranking in AI search results requires a holistic, AI-first approach:

  • AI-Ready Content: Your content must be structured, authoritative, and up-to-date. AI models favor fresh, comprehensive answers that align with user intent.
  • Structured Data and Schema: Schema isn’t optional anymore. It’s how you tell AI what your content means.
  • Brand Authority and Sentiment: AI models rely on the knowledge graph—including reviews, press mentions, and third-party citations. If the sentiment about your brand isn’t positive, or if your brand lacks digital presence across platforms, AI is less likely to recommend you.
  • Multiformat Content: Text is no longer enough. AI models look at your presence across video, audio, podcasts, and even imagery.
  • Technical SEO: Your site must be technically sound—fast, mobile-optimized, secure, and well-structured—because AI models favor reliable sources.

This is not theoretical. Google’s AI Mode, Perplexity’s growth, and the coming wave of AI-powered search interfaces are real and here now. Businesses must act decisively to ensure they are part of this new search ecosystem—because the cost of inaction is invisibility.

How Traditional SEO Fits Into the New Era of AEO

Let’s be clear: traditional SEO is not dead. Ranking in search results, earning backlinks, and producing high-quality content remain foundational. But the definition of “high-quality content” has evolved. It’s no longer just about keyword density and backlinks—it’s about training AI models to trust your brand and cite you as an authoritative source.

Your SEO strategy must now serve two masters:

  1. Google’s evolving AI search features (AI Overviews, AI Mode, AI Max Ads), and
  2. The growing field of AI-native search engines like Perplexity, which offer an entirely different way for users to interact with information.

A Wake-Up Call for Businesses Who Are Behind on SEO

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If your SEO strategy hasn’t changed in the last six months, it’s already outdated.

You need a strategy that ensures your brand is visible across AI platforms, not just in traditional search results. That’s why I wrote this detailed guide on SEO investments, pricing, and the real costs of getting SEO right in 2025. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend starting here: How Much Does It Cost to Hire an SEO Company?

The Window Is Closing for Brands That Don’t Adapt to AI Search

With Google’s AI Mode, Perplexity’s rise, and the integration of AI into voice assistants like Bixby, the search landscape is fragmenting—and it’s fragmenting fast. Your customers may use Google today, Perplexity tomorrow, and something else next month.

Your brand must be ready to show up wherever they search—because the only constant in this new era is change.

At Xponent21, we’ve been helping businesses adapt to this shift by building AI-ready content ecosystems, securing brand citations in AI search results, and ensuring our clients don’t just rank—they get cited, recommended, and trusted in the AI-driven web.

If you’re ready to future-proof your SEO strategy and ensure your business stays visible in the AI age, let’s talk.

Will Melton
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