Worries over whether the changing dynamics of search marketing will affect major brands have finally reached the boardroom. In several earnings calls this month, executives at high-profile advertisers like Airbnb and Expedia fielded questions from analysts over the impact of generative AI chatbots or Google's AI Overviews feature on their businesses. It's a sign that alarm bells are ringing. "It's going to be really tricky for brands to play in this new space," said Daniel Moreno, a senior SEO and GEO consultant at Dept U.K.
When AI tools started taking off, Google faced a serious problem: the risk of its search results being flooded with AI-generated spam. If left unchecked, the world's most-used search engine would lose trust - and with it, revenue. Search drives almost 57% of Alphabet's income, totaling over $198bn annually. And that revenue was at risk. AI spam isn't like old-school SEO spam. It's better written, harder to detect, and convincing enough to fool algorithms.
AI visibility means your content is included, cited, and recommended in AI-generated answers. If you think ranking at the top of the SERPs is still the way to go, think bigger. AI has become a primary factor in online search strategy. If AI systems can't read your brand, you could become invisible. Below, I share how AI visibility differs from SEO and five strategies to make your brand AI-visible.