The way people discover brands online is undergoing a fundamental shift—and it’s happening faster than most businesses expected. Search is no longer just about ranking on Google and driving clicks to your website. Instead, artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the primary gateway between users and information.
A revealing study by Pew Research Centre analysed 68,879 Google searches in March 2025 and uncovered a striking pattern. When users were shown an AI-generated summary, only 8% clicked on traditional search results. In contrast, when no summary appeared, click-through rates nearly doubled to 15%. Even more telling, about 25% of users who saw an AI summary didn’t click anything at all—they simply ended their session.
This shift signals a powerful change: users are increasingly satisfied with answers provided directly by AI. As a result, brand discovery is moving away from website visits and toward visibility within AI-generated responses.
With platforms like ChatGPT attracting 5.72 billion monthly visits as of January 2026 (based on SimilarWeb data), AI search is no longer experimental—it’s mainstream. The real challenge for brands today isn’t whether AI matters, but whether their content is structured to be found and featured by these systems.
To understand this new landscape, we need to explore two critical concepts shaping modern search visibility: Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
The Decline of Click-Based Discovery
Search activity is growing—but clicks are shrinking.
According to BrightEdge (May 2025), Google search impressions surged by 49% following the introduction of AI Overviews. However, during the same period, click-through rates dropped by nearly 30%. This disconnect highlights a crucial trend: users are still searching, but they are no longer engaging with traditional search results in the same way.
Further insights from Seer Interactive’s September 2025 study—covering 25.1 million organic impressions across 42 organisations—show how dramatic the impact has been:
- Organic click-through rate (CTR) fell by 61%, dropping from 1.76% to 0.61%
- Paid CTR declined by 68%, decreasing from 19.7% to 6.34%
- Even searches without AI Overviews experienced a 41% year-over-year decline in organic CTR
By March 2025, one out of every five Google searches generated an AI summary, according to Pew Research Centre.
These changes align with earlier predictions from Gartner, which forecast in 2024 that traditional search volume would decrease by 25% by 2026. While the exact percentage may vary, the direction is undeniable: search impressions are increasing, but user engagement with links is collapsing.
The implication is clear—the answer itself has become the destination. And the brands that appear within that answer are gaining visibility, trust, and influence.
Understanding AEO: Optimising for Direct Answers
Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) focuses on helping AI systems extract clear, concise responses from your content. It is designed for environments where users ask direct questions and expect immediate answers.
AEO is most visible in features such as:
- Featured snippets
- “People Also Ask” sections
- Voice assistant responses
- AI-generated summaries
To succeed in AEO, content must be structured in a way that makes it easy for machines to interpret and extract information. This involves:
- Using question-based headings that match user queries
- Writing direct, answer-first paragraphs (typically 40–80 words)
- Implementing structured data like FAQ and HowTo schema
- Keeping language simple, precise, and informative
For example, if a user searches for a specific question and your content provides the clearest and most relevant answer, AEO increases your chances of being selected as the source.
However, AEO operates primarily within traditional search ecosystems. It helps you win visibility in snippets—but that doesn’t guarantee presence in AI-generated responses beyond search engines.
Understanding GEO: Building Authority for AI Systems
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) goes beyond answering individual questions. It focuses on making your brand a trusted source for AI platforms that generate responses by combining information from multiple sources.
These platforms—such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini—use retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to build answers dynamically. Instead of pulling from a single page, they synthesise insights from across the web.
GEO requires a broader and more strategic approach, including:
- Creating interconnected content clusters around key topics
- Building strong entity signals (brand, products, expertise)
- Publishing multimodal content (text, images, videos, data)
- Earning mentions across third-party websites, directories, and media platforms
The key difference is that GEO is not just about what you publish—it’s about how your brand is represented across the entire digital ecosystem.
Why AEO Alone Is Not Enough
Many brands are investing heavily in AEO, believing that ranking in featured snippets will secure their visibility in AI-driven search. However, this assumption is flawed.
Research from McKinsey’s AI Discovery Survey (August 2025), which surveyed 1,927 consumers, found that a brand’s own website contributes only 5% to 10% of the sources used by AI platforms. The remaining 90% comes from external sources such as:
- Publisher websites
- User-generated content
- Review platforms
- Affiliate sites
This means a brand can dominate search snippets but still be completely absent from AI-generated responses.
In other words, AEO improves your visibility within search engines, but GEO determines your presence in the broader AI ecosystem.
The Changing Role of Rankings
Traditional SEO has long focused on ranking position as the primary measure of success. But in an AI-driven environment, rankings are losing their importance.
BrightEdge found that 89% of citations in AI Overviews come from pages ranked beyond position 100. This indicates that AI systems prioritise content quality, relevance, and structure over traditional ranking signals.
As a result, even lower-ranked pages can become highly visible if they are well-structured and contextually valuable.
This shift challenges long-standing SEO assumptions and requires a new way of thinking about visibility—not just where you rank, but whether you are selected as a source.
The Competitive Advantage of Being Cited
Being included in AI-generated responses offers a measurable advantage.
According to Seer Interactive, brands cited in AI Overviews experience:
- 35% more organic clicks
- 91% more paid clicks
This may seem surprising given the overall decline in click-through rates. However, being cited increases trust and credibility, which can drive higher-quality engagement when users do choose to click.
Visibility within AI responses acts as a form of endorsement. It positions your brand as a reliable source of information, influencing user decisions even without direct interaction.
Rising Investment in GEO
The importance of GEO is becoming increasingly recognised among marketing leaders.
Research from Conductor, reported by MarTech in February 2026, reveals that:
- 32% of digital marketing leaders consider GEO their top priority
- 97% report positive outcomes from GEO initiatives
- Around 12% of 2025 digital budgets were allocated to GEO
Perhaps more significantly, 93% of organisations are developing GEO capabilities internally rather than outsourcing them. This reflects the strategic importance of AI visibility—it is too critical to leave entirely in external hands.
High-maturity organisations are investing nearly twice as much in GEO compared to less advanced competitors. This investment gap is likely to widen over time, making it increasingly difficult for late adopters to catch up.
The Shift in Consumer Behaviour
Consumer preferences are also evolving rapidly.
McKinsey reports that 44% of users now prefer AI-powered search as their primary method for finding information. This marks a significant shift away from traditional search engines.
When users rely on AI to provide answers, recommendations, and comparisons, the brands included in those responses gain a decisive advantage.
If your brand is not part of these AI-generated insights, you risk being excluded from the decision-making process altogether.
How to Adapt Your Strategy
To succeed in this new environment, brands must combine AEO and GEO into a unified strategy.
1. Audit Your AI Visibility
Start by testing how your brand appears across AI platforms. Ask common customer questions and analyse:
- Whether your brand is mentioned
- Which sources are cited
- How competitors are positioned
This provides a clear baseline for improvement.
2. Strengthen AEO Foundations
Ensure your content is structured for direct answers:
- Use clear headings and concise responses
- Implement structured data
- Focus on question-driven content
This improves your chances of being selected for snippets and summaries.
3. Expand GEO Presence
Build authority beyond your own website:
- Publish content across multiple platforms
- Encourage reviews and user-generated content
- Earn mentions in reputable publications
- Develop topic clusters that demonstrate expertise
The goal is to create a strong, consistent presence across the web.
4. Invest in Content Depth and Quality
AI systems prioritise comprehensive, well-structured information. Focus on:
- Covering topics in depth
- Providing accurate, up-to-date data
- Using clear and accessible language
5. Leverage Multimodal Content
Incorporate different content formats such as:
- Videos
- Infographics
- Data visualisations
This enhances your visibility across various AI outputs.
The Future of AI-Driven Discovery
AI is evolving beyond simply summarising information. The next phase involves agentic systems—AI tools that can take actions on behalf of users, such as booking services, making purchases, or recommending products.
In this context, visibility becomes even more critical. The brands that AI systems trust and cite are more likely to be selected for these automated decisions.
This represents a shift from being discovered to being chosen.
Conclusion: When Clicks Become Optional
The digital landscape is entering a new era where clicks are no longer the primary measure of success. Instead, visibility within AI-generated answers is becoming the key driver of brand discovery.
AEO and GEO are not competing strategies—they are complementary approaches that together determine your presence in this evolving ecosystem.
- AEO ensures your content can be extracted as clear answers
- GEO ensures your brand is recognised as a trusted source across the web
As AI continues to reshape how users interact with information, the brands that adapt will gain a significant competitive advantage.
The question is no longer whether users will click on your content. The real question is: Will your brand be part of the answer at all?
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