AI chatbots are rapidly transforming the search landscape. Just as the browser wars reshaped the web, the current battle between Google SGE, Microsoft Copilot/Bing Chat and Perplexity AI is poised to profoundly impact Google and Bing search visibility, traffic and conversions.
AI search result comparison
| Google SGE | Copilot/Bing Chat | Perplexity AI |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini | ChatGPT | ChatGPT/Bing |
| Displays above traditional results | Displays on the side of traditional results | Only chatbot dialogue displayed |
| High search behavior impact | Moderate search behavior impact | Complete shift in search behavior |
| High search traffic impact | Moderate search traffic impact | Extreme search traffic impact |
| In Beta | Available now | Available now |
Why is optimizing for AI search results important?
Although overall search result impact is currently moderate, AI has the potential to significantly alter how search results are displayed.
- Chatbots represent a new channel for discovery. Both Google SGE and Copilot/Bing Chat feature AI-generated responses directly within search results that contain links to external websites, presenting new ways for people to find your content.
- Optimization for AI is essential. To ensure these chatbots surface your content, you’ll need to adapt your SEO strategies accordingly.
Who are the key AI search result players?
- Google SGE (powered by Gemini) is in beta but offers a more radical experience, placing AI-generated responses above traditional results. Its potential impact is high to extreme.
- Microsoft Copilot/Bing Chat (powered by ChatGPT) displays responses alongside traditional results on desktop, with a moderate impact on search behavior.
- Perplexity AI (powered by ChatGPT and Bing) on the other hand only displays AI-generated results and does not display a list of standard search result listings.
- Standalone chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini (formerly Bard) also display links to external websites, but their overall impact on standard (Bing/Google) search traffic is currently low.
How do I optimize my website for AI search results?
While the exact mechanisms behind AI selection criteria are still under development, here are 4 areas of AI optimization to consider:
- Content clarity and authority: Chatbots favor content from well-defined, reputable sources. Think EEAT for both people and companies.
- Structured data: Leverage schema markup throughout your website to enhance content understanding. Mark up products, reviews, people, places and so much more.
- Backlinks, citations and web references: Mentions from other websites, UGC, comments and reviews remain important.
- Search intent: Align content with top-performing search types (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional). Focus on transactional searches, which are packed with high levels of intent and often elicit further research.
4 ways to start optimizing your content for AI
Should I use AI to create content?
Won’t Google penalize me? To be clear, Google does not penalize AI content. It penalizes low-quality content. It just so happens that a lot of low-quality content is AI-generated.
Here’s how to use AI to create meaningful, purposeful content with intent.
- Use AI to brainstorm by creating outlines and conducting research.
- Develop your prompts with original ideas and content.
- Have AI align your content with search intent and suggest relevant structured data to include.
- Generate ideas for page titles and meta descriptions.
ALWAYS refine your AI content, conduct fact-checking and make sure it is useful, helpful, original and satisfies aspects of EEAT.
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