If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn or Twitter lately, you’ve probably seen some version of this take: “SEO is dead. AI search is the future.” And if you’re a marketer who’s invested years into building organic visibility, that’s a terrifying statement. It’s also wrong, according to Jenna Hannon, founder and CEO of Hatter (an SEO and AI search agency).
Jenna and her team at Hatter have helped clients navigate this new and often confusing space with great success. And, as she pointed out on our Best Story Wins podcast, SEO isn’t dead. But it is changing. Nowadays, if you want to win, you need to understand the differences between SEO and AI search, bridge the gap in your content strategy, and try more tactics to increase your brand visibility all around.
The Real Relationship Between SEO and AI Search
“Traditional SEO is search on Google,” Jenna says. “AEO, also known as GEO or AI search, is appearing in LLMs.” That means showing up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other AI-powered search tools that are increasingly replacing Google for many users.
But the difference isn’t just where you show up; it’s how people are searching.
“In traditional search, you are used to typing keywords. Those keywords are broad, and you would search through the returned results to find what you’re looking for. Conversely, AI allows you to search more specific and descriptive prompts, and it returns consolidated answers for you.
This behavior shift is already changing B2B buying journeys. Enterprise buyers who used to rely on procurement teams to research vendors are now going directly into LLMs to do their own research. They’re asking detailed, specific questions and getting summarized answers that mention specific companies—or don’t mention them at all. This is a huge shift with serious consequences. If your brand isn’t showing up in those summaries, you’re invisible to a growing segment of your target market.
So how do you make that happen? Here are the key things to keep in mind.
1. SEO is still the foundation (so don’t abandon it).
According to Jenna, SEO is still crucial because LLMs rely on historical search data and real-time search engine queries to build their responses.
“The better you rank in the search engines, the more likely you’re going to show up in LLMs,” Jenna says.
Think of traditional SEO and AI search as a Venn diagram. There’s significant overlap, as all the fundamentals of good SEO still matter. But there are also new tactics you need to layer on top if you want to maximize your visibility in LLMs.
The good news? You don’t have to throw out everything you’ve been doing. The bad news? You do have to do more to cater to AI search. That means tailoring content to prompts, ensuring your internal site messaging is consistent, adding FAQ pages catered to relevant prompts, etc.
Tip: Audit your current SEO performance before diving into AI search tactics. If your traditional search rankings are weak, focus on improving those while layering AI-optimized content in.
2. Content and PR are your two biggest levers.
When Jenna looks at what’s actually moving the needle for AI search visibility, two things stand out: content and genuine PR.
Content really matters, as it’s the vehicle to teach LLMs about your business. That may sound similar to traditional SEO, but some of those old SEO tricks just don’t work anymore. For example, you can’t buy backlinks on the black market and expect results.
Instead, you need to focus on creating genuinely valuable content that trains LLMs to understand what your business does, who you serve, and what problems you solve. It’s also just as important to earn real media coverage that establishes your credibility.
This might sound like more work (it is), but it’s also more sustainable. You’re building a foundation that can’t be easily replicated by competitors trying to game the system.
Tip: Look for more ways to get third-party mentions in directories, listicles, industry publications, etc. Featured.com is a great platform for this, as it connects journalists with subject matter experts. You can submit quotes to relevant articles via their platform, helping you get third-party mentions without needing to reach out to individual journalists.
3. User behavior has fundamentally changed.
One of the biggest shifts Jenna is seeing is in how people actually use AI search versus traditional search.
When someone goes to Google, they typically type in a few keywords and expect to sort through a list of results. When they go to an LLM, they’re asking much more specific, conversational questions—and they expect a direct answer.
This creates both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that you can’t see what people are searching for in LLMs the way you can with Google keyword data. “You don’t actually know what your ICP is typing into an LLM box,” Jenna says. “So you’re usually using your best guess.”
The opportunity is that when your brand does show up in an LLM response, it carries more weight. These are higher-intent interactions with users who are asking detailed questions about their specific problems.
Tip: Think about the detailed, specific questions your ideal customers are asking at each stage of their buyer journey, then create content that directly answers those questions. Creating standalone FAQ pages or adding tailored FAQ sections to relevant blogs will help ensure that your content is surfaced when people ask questions.
4. Track the right metrics.
If you’re investing in AI search, you need to measure whether it’s working. But the metrics are different from traditional SEO.
Yes, you still care about traffic, page visits, and keywords. But now you also need to track:
- Brand visibility in LLMs: How often are you mentioned in AI search results? Jenna notes that when a company or a brand is mentioned in an answer, it’s a more impactful impression than a simple Google search result. This is because the user has asked a more specific question and is further along in their research process.
- Sentiment: When you’re mentioned, is it positive or negative?
- Citations with links: Are those mentions actually driving traffic back to your site?
Tip: Start tracking your AI search visibility now, even if you’re not actively optimizing for it yet. This gives you a baseline to measure against as you implement new tactics.
How to Adapt Your SEO Strategy for the AI Search Era
The bottom line? SEO isn’t dead; it’s just evolving. The companies that figure out how to optimize for both traditional search and AI search are going to have a significant competitive advantage, so it’s important to layer AEO into your SEO strategy ASAP.
- Keep doing good SEO. The fundamentals matter more than ever. If you’re not ranking in Google, you won’t show up in LLMs. Focus on quality content that demonstrates EEAT (experience, expertise, trust, authority).
- Layer on AI search tactics. Focus especially on creating high-quality content that trains LLMs about your business and earning genuine PR coverage. Optimize existing content for AI searches and readability (e.g., add FAQs, format headers as questions, etc.).
- Track new metrics. Start measuring your visibility, sentiment, and citations in AI search tools alongside your traditional SEO metrics.
- Play the long game. Just like SEO, AI search rewards consistent effort over time. You have to be patient, pay attention, and adjust as you go. There’s no quick hack that’s going to work long-term.
If you want to hear more about how Jenna and her team at Hatter are helping companies navigate this transition, check out her full episode of Best Story Wins. (And if you’re looking for help building a content strategy that works for both traditional SEO and AI search, we’re here to chat.)
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