The end of search as we knew it

Search as we’ve known it—ten blue links, keyword rankings, and organic click-throughs—gives way to AI-powered discovery. Tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are changing user behaviour: instead of browsing results, people are now asking questions and receiving direct answers. This shift means content must be structured, credible, and AI-readable to remain discoverable. Traditional SEO is no longer enough; brands must now optimise for AI summarisation and citation to stay relevant.

Google is still big. But it’s no longer alone.

Google processed over five trillion searches in 2024. But increasingly, users aren’t clicking through to websites. More than 58% of searches end on Google’s page, thanks to featured snippets, AI summaries, and “zero-click” outcomes.

At the same time, AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are becoming go-to destinations for users looking not just for options, but for answers. The mechanics of search are being replaced by something more interpretive, more synthetic, and less dependent on your domain ranking well in a list.

Users are no longer searching. They’re asking.

The difference between “best CRMs” and “What’s the best CRM for a startup with a small sales team?” isn’t just semantic. It reflects a new way of looking for solutions—one where users don’t want options, they want recommendations.

LLMs are built to respond to that kind of prompt. They analyse context, summarise the most credible sources, and deliver a single, human-like answer. Often, they won’t cite at all. And when they do, it’s only to a small number of trusted sites.

This shift mirrors what we outlined in “The rise of AI search: from pages to paragraphs”, where user queries are increasingly conversational and context-specific.

This isn’t just a new channel. It’s a new gatekeeper.

AI search engines don’t index the web like Google. They read it. And then they decide which sources to trust. The result is a shrinking list of “reference brands” that get quoted or recommended.

If you’re not one of them—because your content isn’t clear, structured, or authoritative—you’re unlikely to appear. In this new model, visibility is earned through clarity, credibility, and the ability to answer a question better than anyone else.

Discovery is becoming a one-step experience.

The traditional marketing funnel was multi-step: awareness, consideration, action. Every click gave you a shot at influence.

But AI summarisation compresses that process. One query. One answer. One source.

If that source is your competitor, you don’t get another chance.

So what does this mean for you?

Your job isn’t just to rank anymore. It’s to be cited. Summarised. Recommended by name.

That means:

• Writing with clarity and purpose
• Structuring content with headings, summaries, and FAQs
• Being current and trustworthy, with visible authorship and verifiable data
• Offering distinctive insights, not just repeating what others have said

It also means thinking about how AI reads: from the structure of your site (semantic HTML) to the inclusion of structured data and schema markup.

Common Questions About AI Search (FAQ)

What is zero-click search?
A search where the user doesn’t click any result because the answer is shown directly in the search engine or AI interface.

How does AI search differ from Google search?
Traditional search indexes pages and ranks them. AI search reads content and generates a summarised answer, often quoting only one or two sources.

What is AIO (AI Optimisation)?
AIO is the practice of structuring content so it’s readable, trustworthy, and quotable by AI tools. It goes beyond SEO by optimising for how LLMs summarise and cite sources.

For a deeper dive into the concept and practice of AIO, see our post “SEO is evolving—AIO is what’s next”.

How can I get my content cited in AI search?
Make it clear, current, and credible. Use FAQs, cite your sources, show author expertise, and structure your pages semantically. Avoid ambiguity or overly promotional language.

What’s llms.txt, and do I need it?
Like robots.txt but for AI crawlers, llms.txt tells AI systems which pages to read or prioritise. It’s an emerging standard, but increasingly useful for discoverability.

Final thought: The old map won’t take you to the new territory

The mechanics of discovery have changed. If your content isn’t ready to be parsed, summarised, and quoted by AI, it’s likely to be skipped, no matter how well it ranks on Google.

This isn’t a pivot from SEO. It’s an expansion into a new paradigm: one where trust is calculated by models, not just page authority. And where the reward for clarity is to be part of the answer, not just another link.

About Glafos
Glafos builds tools that help businesses become machine-readable, AI-visible, and contextually cited. If you want your site to be found by the systems shaping tomorrow’s search, join our beta.

Everyone deserves a great marketer—even if that marketer is AI-powered.