Data shows traditional SEO traffic from '10 blue links' is flat, not declining. The rapid growth of LLMs represents an additive channel, increasing the total volume of search and discovery, rather than replacing existing search behaviors. Marketers should view this as a growing, not a shifting, market.
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Contrary to the narrative that AI will kill search, Google sees AI as an expansionary force. Features like AI overviews and Google Lens are driving a 70% YoY increase in visual searches, fulfilling new types of user curiosity and increasing the total volume of questions asked.
It's crucial to balance the hype around LLMs with data. While their usage is growing at an explosive 100% year-over-year rate, the total volume of LLM queries is still only about 1/15th the size of traditional Google Search. This highlights it as a rapidly emerging channel, but not yet a replacement for search.
Contrary to popular belief, new search interfaces like TikTok or AEO don't diminish Google's traffic. Instead, they grow the overall 'pie' of search and discovery, creating new channels. Google's VP of Search confirmed that traffic to publishers is not down. AEO is an additive channel, not a replacement.
With 80-90% of AI-powered searches resulting in no clicks, traditional SEO is dying. The new key metric is "share of voice"—how often your brand is cited in AI-generated answers. This requires a fundamental strategy shift to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), focusing on becoming an authoritative source for LLMs rather than just driving website traffic.
Marketers must evolve from SEO to GEO, optimizing content for how brands appear in LLM results. This requires a new content strategy that treats the LLM as a distinct persona or channel, creating content specifically for it to crawl and ensuring accurate brand representation.
