Search interrupted? How AI is reshaping SEO and brand strategy

As generative AI continues to reshape the search landscape, it’s becoming clear that brands can no longer rely on traditional SEO practices to drive organic discovery. The rise of AI-powered interfaces like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini has upended how users access information, introducing zero-click answers, conversational search behaviour, and algorithmic gatekeeping that often bypasses websites entirely.

“Organic is declining for Canva, Figma, HubSpot... and?” quips Amit Verma, CEO and founder of DigitUp. “If there are five products available in the market where 80% of users are going, organic growth declining means nothing—it’s just being redirected through ChatGPT and Gemini, which is also Google.” Verma’s point underscores a larger truth: users are no longer ‘googling’ the way they used to. They’re asking AI.

This behavioural shift has sent marketers scrambling to adapt. A recent study by GroupM predicts that global search advertising spend will exceed $300 billion in 2025, with a growing chunk of that focused on AI-optimised platforms. But amid this influx of automation, the fundamentals of SEO are not vanishing—they’re evolving.

Similarly, according to Insider Intelligence (eMarketer)'s March 2025 Global Ad Spend Forecast, search advertising remains the single largest digital ad channel, with spend expected to reach $320.5 billion globally in 2025, accounting for over 42% of total digital ad spend. However, the report notes a key inflection point: growth is slowing for traditional search, while investment is increasing in AI-powered discovery channels, including conversational interfaces like Gemini, Microsoft Copilot (Bing Chat), and ChatGPT plugins.

Supporting this trend, Forrester’s Q1 2025 “AI in Customer Experience” survey found that nearly 1 in 3 marketers now report a decrease in organic search traffic, with 52% attributing it to AI-generated answers displacing traditional search listings. What’s more, 40% of Gen Z users now say they prefer using AI tools like ChatGPT for product discovery, bypassing search engines entirely.

The implications are profound. As SEO Clarity’s March 2025 benchmark report notes, zero-click searches now account for over 65% of all search queries—meaning users are getting their answers directly on the search results page or within an AI snippet, never visiting a website.

Prasun Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer at Magicbricks, believes that this shift is less of a disruption and more of a call to return to the roots of good content. “The entire SEO strategy has been keyword-based. Now, it will be more natural language-based. The way you and I talk is the way people now ask questions,” he says.

According to Kumar, traditional ranking strategies are losing relevance in an era dominated by AI-generated overviews and answer snippets. “If those snippets themselves provide the answer, then why would you go beyond the fold? Ranking does not matter anymore because the user will never look at you.” The challenge, then, is not just being seen but being selected by the AI.

Verma echoes this sentiment, but wryly. “They keep talking about nonsense keyword search, but that’s just organic drama,” he says. Instead, he sees a renaissance of creativity. “What AI is saying to humans is: please put more effort into creativity because your mundane efforts are now done by me.” For Verma, the future of SEO lies in the human touch—ebooks, gamification, personalisation, visuals, animations, and storytelling with edge and expertise. “There are 100 content buckets in the world... AI has started using and highlighting them. So? It will still highlight those with the strongest strategy.”

That strategy, he insists, remains the exclusive domain of human marketers. “Strategy is an area which is unique and specific to the human brain. AI will read your strategy, but it has to be created first. Its creation will remain the cornerstone of how we do business. The bars and thresholds have just become higher.”

These elevated standards are already influencing the kind of content brands produce. “Rather than relying solely on traditional SEO, brands are embracing strategies that prioritise clarity, credibility, and tangible value,” says Tejas Maha, Group Head – Media at White Rivers Media. “Content is now carefully structured to cater to both consumer needs and AI preferences, focusing on clear, concise answers to real questions, and adopting a conversational tone that anticipates user intent.”

Maha points to the growing importance of structured data, schema markup, and authoritative backlinks. “Brands are enhancing credibility through expert reviews, user testimonials, and mentions on trusted platforms—all of which significantly influence AI-generated recommendations.” There’s also a marked shift toward visual content, with infographics, explainers, and short videos gaining importance as key assets in the AI SEO toolkit.

This layered, multidimensional approach stands in stark contrast to the keyword-stuffing strategies of yesteryear. “The fundamentals of good SEO haven’t changed,” says Kumar. “Creating high-quality content was always a requirement. Just that, now it has become a real pressure.”

One senior digital marketer, who requested anonymity, adds that the very definition of performance is changing. “It’s not just about getting clicks anymore. AI answers the question before the user ever reaches your website. You have to optimise not for the algorithm, but for intent—and that means understanding behaviour at a granular level.”

This behavioral lens is perhaps where AI's promise shines brightest. Kumar notes that while AI is a challenge, it’s also a powerful tool for marketers. “Nothing can analyze and deliver an insight on data like an AI tool can. That can be used to optimize and enrich content in a way traditional analytics never could.”

The net result? A smarter, more intuitive form of content marketing—one that prizes strategy, creativity, and authenticity in equal measure. It’s no longer enough to rank; the goal is to resonate.

For brands that embrace this evolution, the opportunity is massive. For those who don’t, well —AI may not penalize them outright, but it certainly won’t remember to mention them