As generative AI transforms how people search, brands are facing a major shift in online visibility. Not long ago, search engine optimization meant adding the right keywords into webpages to climb rankings. Today, success depends less on keyword tactics and much more on how users behave. What they click, how long they stay, which brands they trust. AI-driven systems increasingly use these behavior signals to decide which brands appear first while traditional keyword tactics lose relevance.
“Organic is declining for Canva, Figma, HubSpot… and why” says Amit Verma, CEO of DigitUp. “It is just being redirected through ChatGPT and Gemini. Users are no longer googling the way they used to. They are asking AI.” Verma captures the new reality. People are bypassing old search pages and turning to AI assistants. The rise of platforms like ChatGPT and Google Gemini has created direct answers, conversational queries and algorithmic filters that stand between brands and users. The gatekeepers of discovery have changed and SEO has changed with them.
The shift from keywords to intent
A recent GroupM study predicts global search advertising spend will reach over three hundred billion dollars in 2025. Yet a growing share of that is moving to AI-first ecosystems. Traditional search is not vanishing, but the growth curve is flattening as more discovery moves into conversational and AI modes. Users increasingly get answers directly, without needing to click a website.
Data reflects this shift. Forrester’s Q1 2025 marketing survey showed that nearly one in three marketers worldwide has seen a decline in organic website traffic. More than half attribute it to AI generated answers replacing traditional search result pages. Zero click searches now account for well above sixty percent of global queries. Younger audiences are moving even faster. About forty percent of Gen Z prefers AI assistants for product discovery. In one digital commerce study, one in three Gen Z shoppers said they turn first to AI platforms for shopping advice.
All of this reshapes discoverability. If an AI assistant can answer “What is the best phone under fifteen thousand rupees” instantly, it will mention one or two brands based on behavior data and user trust. There is no second page of links. Brands are competing to become the recommended answer, not just the top ranking link.
“If those answer snippets provide the solution, why would you go beyond the fold” asks Prasun Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer at Magicbricks. “Ranking does not matter anymore because the user will never look at you.” According to Kumar, the real competition now is for intent based visibility. “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.”
Since modern AI search systems learn from user interactions, they also use engagement to evaluate relevance. If users read a brand’s content longer, follow up positively or choose the same brand again, AI models take it as a signal of trust. Brands that deliver helpful experiences are rewarded with more visibility in future answers.
“Nothing can analyze and deliver an insight on data like an AI tool can” says Kumar. Large AI models can analyze countless behavior signals, identify emerging patterns and help marketers shape content that matches user expectations. AI is both the disruptor of old SEO and the tool for mastering the new SEO.
Strategy replaces keyword tactics
Marketers agree that fundamentals have come back into focus. “They keep talking about nonsense keyword search, but that is just organic drama” says Amit Verma. “What AI is saying to humans is: please put more effort into creativity, because your mundane efforts are now done by me.”
This shift explains why high quality content is even more critical. “Creating high quality content was always a requirement” Prasun Kumar says. “Just that now it has become a real pressure.” Since AI can summarize generic information, brands must focus on original insight, storytelling, unique data, user engagement and interactive formats. These elements cannot be easily replaced by machine generated content.
Indian marketers are also redesigning how they format content. “Brands are definitely adapting their content for AI readability and recommendability” says Sanjay Krishnamurthy, President of GALE India. “It has become a key part of their content strategy. Essentially, they are structuring information in a more organized and explicit way so that AI algorithms can easily understand, categorize and ultimately suggest their content to users.”
Krishnamurthy points to increasing investment in structured data, schema markup and explicit labeling of product details and service information. These machine friendly elements help AI systems index information more accurately and recommend it confidently.
Another shift is clarity and conversational tone. “Rather than relying solely on traditional SEO, brands are prioritising 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.”
He adds that brands are strengthening authority signals. “Brands are enhancing credibility through expert reviews, user testimonials and mentions on trusted platforms which significantly influence AI generated recommendations.”
Voice search and multimodal discovery
Marketers are also adapting to the rise of voice search and visual search. Google reported that voice queries in India have grown sharply in the last few years. With Hindi becoming the most used language on Google Assistant after English, brands need to understand natural language questions that sound nothing like typed searches.
“If you have ever tried using voice search in a mix of Hindi and English, you will know AI assistants sometimes get completely lost” says Udit Agarwal, marketing head at Exotel. “The challenge is not just recognizing words but understanding context, intent and slang.”
Voice queries tend to be longer, more conversational and more intent rich than text queries. This requires content that answers questions directly and clearly. It also favors brands that can provide structured FAQs, how to guides and conversational content.
At the same time, discovery is increasingly visual. Users may search for a product by uploading a photo to Google Lens or Pinterest Lens. AI models then surface similar items based on patterns and attributes, not keywords. This rewards brands with clear product imagery, descriptive alt text and catalog level consistency.
Beyond Google: AI ecosystems become discovery engines
The new SEO extends far beyond Google. ChatGPT, Bing AI, YouTube, Instagram, Amazon Search and voice assistants all act as discovery engines today. Each uses its own model to rank brands.
On Instagram, for example, user engagement signals such as saves, shares and comment depth influence discovery. A brand with high engagement may surface in Explore pages even without targeted hashtags. On YouTube, watch time and retention are among the strongest ranking signals. These platforms matter because young consumers increasingly treat them as search alternatives.
Marketers now view SEO as a broader discipline that includes optimizing for all the places where people search: social feeds, video platforms, AI chat interfaces, assistant devices and e-commerce ecosystems.
Human strategy shapes AI discovery
While AI systems handle much of the mechanical ranking work, the strategic layer remains human. “Strategy is an area which is unique and specific to the human brain” Amit Verma says. “AI will read your strategy, but it has to be created first. Its creation will remain the cornerstone of how we do business.”
SEO teams are shifting from keyword research to user journey mapping, behavior analytics and content experience design. Instead of asking “What keywords do we target” they ask “What does the user want to achieve and how do we serve it better than anyone else”
The answer often lies in reducing friction. Faster pages, better explanations, stronger visuals, localized content and more intuitive navigation all produce positive behavioral signals. AI tools pick up on those signals and reward the brands behind them.
The rise of behavior based ranking marks a turning point in digital marketing. AI powered search does not reward keyword tricks. It rewards trust, clarity, authority, user satisfaction and consistent value. The brands that stand out will be the ones who create content that resonates with humans and is comprehensible to machines.
The new SEO is simple to describe but hard to execute. Brands must design content for users and AI at the same time. They must anticipate natural language queries, build authority through credible sources, and deliver meaningful experiences end to end. Those who adapt quickly will thrive in the AI driven discovery era. Those who cling to old tactics may find themselves invisible.
The search landscape is changing fast, but one principle remains constant. To win visibility, brands must win trust. AI algorithms now act as intermediaries that reward the brands people trust most. As AI becomes the primary gateway to information, the brands that understand behavior better than keywords will lead the next decade of digital discovery.
Disclaimer: All data points and statistics are attributed to published research studies and verified market research. All quotes are either sourced directly or attributed to public statements.
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