AI Search Functionality Will Completely Change the Way You Create Content

The Changing SEO Landscape

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and its accelerated application for content, SEO, and smart search functionality will quickly transform the way consumers conduct online searches. As such, we are witnessing the advent of AI-powered search engines (Bing and Google AI expansions and in varied formats, newer entrants such as Neeva and You.com) as they become increasingly sophisticated thereby resulting in a dramatic paradigm shift when it comes to the refinement of online search and the way in which search results are delivered.

AI is rapidly transforming how online searches are and will be done (via search engines and tools like ChatGPT) by making them more customized, personalized, and relevant to the search request. With regards to websites, SEO, as well as on-page content, social posts and blogs, businesses will need to significantly rethink the format and creation of their content in order to address the expanded capabilities to create search terms and the in-depth, hyper-targeted results that will be generated from such searches.

Businesses will need to consider a number of key elements as they transition to an AI-friendly search and marketing structure in addition to how they can adapt in order to stay ahead of the curve and prepare for the game-changing landscape.

Customized, Personalized and Relevant Results

Search engine AI will offer businesses the opportunity to enhance marketing efforts by delivering results that are more personalized and efficient, thereby improving customer engagement and driving growth.

In order to continually improve the relevance of search results, AI-driven search engines analyze complex data including user behavior, search history, aggregated feedback, and other information in order to provide more germane results for each individual search. This will create a landscape in which search results are truly tailored to each individual user query as compared to today’s results which return millions of common results in response to similar searches by a wide swath of consumers. 

Companies will now need to create ‘intelligent’, conversational content that is optimized for search engines, and studies consumer patterns based on expanded long tail searches as opposed to traditional keyword and broad phrase search terms. Well-entrenched SEO strategies such as keyword optimization, meta descriptions, and even backlink creation will all be fiercely impacted by AI search innovation. In other words, search results will now have to deliver information that appeals to users and does not simply provide a list of responses that are connected to the initial search query.

As an example, searches for ‘restaurants near me’ are popular with locals and especially with tourists while traveling. Taking that search a step further, you might search for ‘best Italian restaurant nearby’ from which you’d get a list of results from Google or Bing, Yelp, Trip Advisor, and a host of other search and review portals.

However, AI will significantly change the way people conduct that search and how those results are generated. The restaurant(s) in the search sample above will no longer achieve SEO success with content that refers to their great pizza and lasagna. Because AI algorithms can analyze NLP (Natural Language Processing) used by customers on a website, site owners and SEO or, more appropriately, content specialists will now need to create conversational SEO that mimics a detailed search or actual discussion between two human beings. 

New online searches will look more like an actual question being posed among friends; something like this; ‘can you recommend a great Italian restaurant in New York for thin crust pepperoni pizza near Central Park that is open after 11 PM and serves wine’.

If that is your restaurant, the content on your site will have to account for these types of NLP searches as they are much more specific but hugely relevant to the person searching.

In a separate but related discussion, a new model for search advertising and PPC is likely to emerge. The legacy model of bidding on limited keywords will slowly become antiquated as advertisers will no longer bid solely for terms such as ‘cheap flight to Miami’ but instead look to capture the consumer who searches for ‘what is the cheapest flight from Atlanta to Miami Monday morning that offers free baggage check in’. In turn, this will also likely lead to new user interface presentation formats for search results but that is still a ways off.

Traditional SEO Methodology Evolves

Historically, SEO has required a focus on keyword optimization best practices, on-page optimization of content, tags, page URL’s, site speed, mobile optimization, and more. And while AI-driven SEO won’t change this overnight, it will certainly start to impact the way we build and implement SEO strategy sooner rather than later.

Because the web continues to evolve as a place for imagery and video, tagging photos on your site may once again regain prominence as an SEO factor. For example, a website promoting outdoor biking paths may have pictures on it and the corresponding meta tags may contain content that says ‘outdoor biking’ or ‘bike path in Los Angeles’. AI-generated search, in this case for images, will certainly require that you rethink the way in which you tag images. An image that is optimized for an AI search will be better suited with much more specific tagged content such as ‘bike path overlooking Santa Monica with lights for evening riding that also has a walking path and restaurants nearby’. 

Title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and other traditional SEO practices are going to require a tenacious rethinking of their application amidst evolving best practices for AI search functionality. In fact, you may now find yourself creating more page content and actual site pages rather than less content as you start to optimize pages for the AI conversational approach to SEO.

No longer will it be adequate to have a few FAQs on your site or a single-page URL that covers a vast array of topics. FAQs are some of the most conversation-driven content elements of a website and creating more FAQs in a conversational format may help drive SEO benefits. At the same time, pages such as ‘XXXX.com/about’ tell little to a search engine that is using AI to generate results and a more appropriate URL might eventually be ‘XXXX.com/law-firm-in-dallas-specializing-in-tax-law’. While some of this might be forward-thinking in terms of how long it will take for these types of changes to truly impact SEO, we do know it’s going to happen so businesses should start to develop a road map for the path ahead.

Optimizing Voice Search With AI

Voice search is another area that will be impacted by AI by way of NLP. As more users turn to voice-activated devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, optimizing content for these searches will play a key role in helping users find the information they need. Once again, SEO-driven conversational language content will facilitate the delivery of hyper-targeted results when voice-activated searches are performed.

Similar to an AI-driven SEO strategy, businesses will need to create easy-to-understand, natural language phrases and words as if they were part of an interaction between individuals. Verbal searches will expand beyond ‘hey Google, where’s the closest sporting goods store near me’ to something akin to ‘hey Google, where’s the closest sporting store that carries cross country skis and has a sale going on now’.   

Behavioral Tracking and Data

Useful analytical data is often considered the holy grail when it comes to understanding the user website journey and creating actions that move users in the right direction. AI is going to improve the usefulness and efficiency of that data by enhancing the tracking of user behavior on a website, including what pages they visit, how long they stay, and what they click on. While traditional tools like GA offer insights into the user journey, AI will expand further on this data helping to personalize the content and messaging that appears on a website and tailor it to the specific as opposed to general interests and needs of each individual visitor and not simply the audience as a whole.

AI-powered systems will also be able to better analyze data based on the content determined to be most relevant and pertinent to a user search subsequently acquiring the ability to suggest similar or analogous content. In doing so, businesses can increase the likelihood that customers will remain engaged and become more likely to convert as a result of highly targeted content that speaks definitively to the customer’s needs.

Using Tools Like ChatGPT to Create Your AI-Driven Content 

If you want to create content that is optimized for AI searching, then you need to think like an AI tool does. And what better way than to use an AI tool like ChatGPT to create the foundation of the content you want to optimize for search.

ChatGPT and other AI tools can be used to generate blog posts, social media posts, site and SEO-driven content, and a host of other pieces of information for your site. However, ChatGPT can offer more value if used to help you think like an AI tool rather than just use it to create content that still needs to be verified and adapted for your own unique needs.

For example, if you wanted to optimize the product descriptions on your website for AI search, ChatGPT could generate headings and content that are concise and conversational. Instead of trying to guess what content you need to create, look at the reply that a tool like ChatGPT delivers when you ask it to create AI-friendly headers for the products you are seeking to optimize. By using AI tools to generate AI-friendly content, you can gain insight into the type of content that a Google or Bing AI search might deliver for someone searching for your products.

Conclusion

Recent news about errors and inaccuracies with results on Google Bard and ChatGPT has led cynics to question the value and viability of AI as little more than a fundamentally flawed technology with limited applications. However, Google’s 9% stock slide after an error in one of their demos doesn’t tell us that people believe this is an unequivocal failure. On the contrary, it says that the market has high expectations for this technology to succeed and while these first results may have been underwhelming, technology companies like Google, Microsoft, and others are committed to improving, refining, and making it work. If past technological developments that were ridiculed are any indication, detractors will be better served by preparing for and embracing the coming wave of change.

In conclusion, the impact of AI on online searches will be significant and far-reaching. Businesses should be prepared to adapt their website content to remain relevant and accessible to users. The evolving focus for AI-generated content will be on purpose, personalization, voice search, and speed and efficiency. By embracing these changes, companies can ensure that their website content stays ahead of the curve and continues to drive traffic, engagement, and conversions.