How to survive the new era of AI search

Search is changing, and as consumers, we have quickly adapted to AI Overviews (Google's generated responses). People easily get used to anything that simplifies their lives.

However, for those who have spent years building search traffic, optimizing content, and adapting to algorithm changes, the arrival of AI Overviews in May 2025 was a heavy blow. So, what are the facts? Does investing in SEO still make sense? And how can you board the AI train while it is still leaving the station, rather than being left behind on the platform?

How AI Overviews function in search engines and how much traffic they truly cost you

AI Overviews are not just another search feature; they represent a new intermediary step between the user and your website. Google has been experimenting with them globally since May 2024, and in the Czech Republic since May 2025.

Within a year of their launch, the share of affected queries in the Czech Republic has doubled. For companies relying on organic search traffic, this marks a major shift: Google now answers approximately 20% of your queries itself via AI Overviews, with no click-through to your site. For informational queries, this number is significantly higher.

To what extent is Google harming businesses?

Companies complain that AI Overviews are stealing the clicks they spent years trying to acquire. Google, on the other hand, claims that AI Overviews actually help businesses. So, what is the truth?

AI Overviews genuinely reduce your organic search traffic. When an AI Overview appears for a Google search query, the click-through rate (CTR) of the top organic position drops by an average of 34.5%.

For typical informational queries ("how to...", "what is...", "why..."), the CTR decline can reach up to 88%. In other words, even if you maintain your previous rankings, your traffic drops. This is easy to overlook in Google Search Console because your ranking still shows up as solid.

Furthermore, AI Overviews currently appear for about 20% of all queries, 90% of which have informational intent. This means the shift primarily damages the various tutorials and customer Q&As that companies previously created specifically for SEO.

Lawsuits and regulation: How companies are defending themselves

A pivotal event took place in September 2025. Penske Media Corporation, publisher of magazines like Rolling Stone, Variety, and Billboard, filed the first major lawsuit against Google over AI summaries. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C.—hardly a coincidence, as this is where a judge ruled in 2024 that Google held an illegal monopoly over internet search.

Penske argues that Google summarizes content for users, eliminating the need to click through. Media outlets that offer free content rely entirely on advertising; without clicks, they are essentially producing free content for the entire world.

More lawsuits followed. In early 2025, the educational company Chegg filed a suit on identical grounds. The issue also extends beyond AI Overviews. The European Union has launched an investigation into whether Google is abusing its dominant market position by using content from third-party websites to train and operate its AI services without fair terms or compensation.

While companies are fighting for at least partial control over these changing search mechanisms, user behavior is already shifting. People are quickly getting used to using chatbots as their primary information sources instead of traditional search engines, and no regulation will reverse this trend.

The pragmatic approach is to accept that this change is permanent and to start doing two things simultaneously: meticulously measure exactly where you are losing traffic, and build alternative conversion channels that do not rely on Google clicks.

Regardless of how the lawsuits and upcoming regulations unfold, the shift has already happened, and adapting is the best strategy. Here are a few steps you can take today:

• Do not expect a swift return to the past: Even potential legal victories will not revert Google to its pre-AI state. In the long run, everyone must adapt. However, if Google is eventually forced to pay compensation, it makes sense to position yourself to benefit.
• Document your losses: If you are a publisher or content creator, track your traffic declines and compile documentation to substantiate your losses. At the same time, analyze what type of content is still worth producing in the AI era and adjust your strategy accordingly.
• Join industry associations: If this current trend is costing you a significant amount of money, you will likely not secure compensation on your own. Large associations, which also represent smaller players, hold much more leverage. Membership will not only help in a potential legal battle for compensation but will also keep you informed about upcoming changes.
• Monitor regulatory developments: This applies even if AI trends are not hurting you right now—especially in the EU, where stricter regulations on AI and copyright are being drafted. If you use AI tools on your websites, expect to adapt to these new regulations.

How to adapt content so AI uses it for summaries (SEO vs. GEO)

The term GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is gaining traction in the industry. You might also encounter AEO or LLMO, as the terminology is still settling. The core principle remains the same: AI does not look for specific keywords. Instead, it evaluates whether your content is clearly structured, easily extractable, and backed by brand signals outside your website. Link building and PR, which many companies have written off in recent years, are returning as crucial factors.

The main difference is that AI does not chase specific keywords like older algorithms did. It understands context much better and can evaluate relevance regardless of exact match keywords, keyword density, or word order.

According to research by Ahrefs, there is a strong correlation between brand visibility in AI summaries and three factors: the number of brand mentions on other websites, the number of inbound links to the brand, and the volume of branded searches. Link building has always been important, but its significance is now growing. You want AI tools to conclude: "This brand is mentioned everywhere, so it must be relevant.”

It is somewhat of a paradox: in the age of AI, PR is more important than ever. But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Artificial intelligence simply accelerates everything. If people are talking about you, your brand grows. AI aggregates information from countless sources simultaneously, meaning it knows who is being talked about much faster than your customers do.

Specific recommendations:

• Structure content for AI: Use clear headings (H2, H3), bullet points, and short paragraphs.
• Provide direct answers: The first paragraph should contain a direct answer (the BLUF concept—Bottom Line Up Front), followed by the details.
• Invest in PR and media exposure: Secure mentions in relevant media outlets within your industry.
• Build authority: AI prefers content from trustworthy sources with clear expertise.

Technical background: How AI reads your data and the robots.txt dilemma

To understand how to get included in AI summaries, we must distinguish between models trained on fixed datasets (like the basic ChatGPT) and those that search in real time (like Google AI Overviews). AI Overviews use RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) technology, meaning they construct their answers from the highest-ranking pages in current search results.

Research shows that up to 38% of citations in Google AI Overviews currently come from websites ranking in the top 10 of organic search. Seven months ago, that figure was 76%. This means AI is increasingly pulling from content beyond the first page; a good ranking alone is no longer enough. Today, getting cited by AI also depends on the depth of topic coverage, formatting (YouTube is currently the most cited domain in AI Overviews), brand mentions, and content recency.

This is actually good news. Times are changing, but if you have spent years building domain authority, you still have an advantage over those who neglected their SEO strategy.

Traditional SEO is not dead, but it is no longer enough. A year ago, 76% of citations in Google AI Overviews came from top-10 organic search content; today, it is only around 30–40%. AI digs deeper into videos and specialized sources. Having strong SEO is a major advantage, but it is no longer a guarantee. On the other hand, blanket-blocking AI bots (like GPTBot, Google-Extended, or ClaudeBot) via robots.txt is the nail in the coffin today. By doing this, you voluntarily cut yourself off from the AI space. I understand it is a tough decision driven by the need to protect content, but the trade-off currently leans heavily in favor of visibility.

In a panic, many companies are blocking agents like GPTBot or Google-Extended. However, by doing so, they are willingly disconnecting themselves from a new generation of customers who use AI platforms instead of classic Google search.

Specific recommendations:

• Check your robots.txt file: Verify with your developer that your website is not blocking key AI search engine crawlers (unless your explicit strategy is to hide your content).
• Maintain strong traditional SEO: High domain authority and solid rankings in standard search are essential prerequisites for appearing in Google AI Overviews. The investments you have made over the years are still paying off.
• Use structured data: Schema.org markup continues to help bots quickly understand your content type (e.g., article, product, recipe).

How to adapt content so AI includes a link and users actually click it

Getting AI to extract information from your content for its summary is probably not enough for you. It is much more useful if people click the link and visit your website directly. A user who clicks through after reading an AI response is either looking for more detailed information or was not fully satisfied with the general summary.

You may hear claims that aggressive marketing CTAs (Calls to Action) hidden in the text will force the AI search engine to display a link to your site. This is entirely false. AI Overviews ignore and remove sales slogans. You will only secure a link (click-through) if your text offers deep informational value, unique data, or an interactive tool that the LLM itself cannot replicate.

If you want clicks, you must offer what AI cannot: depth, context, a unique perspective, practical tools, visual content, or case studies. However, beware of outdated sales tactics.

Many marketers mistakenly believe that inserting a punchy Call-to-Action (CTA) into the text will prompt the AI to show it to the user. This is a misconception. Artificial intelligence paraphrases the text and strips it of marketing fluff. You won't get a click by writing 'Buy our product,' but rather by creating an asset so valuable—such as a unique calculator or an original research report—that it makes sense for the AI to cite you directly as a source.

Research shows that AI Overviews frequently cite sources that provide visual content, interactive tools, comprehensive step-by-step guides, and up-to-date data.

Specific recommendations:

• Create content that is hard to summarize: Provide a quick answer in the very first section, followed by in-depth information or a personal story.
• Use visual content: AI cannot display your unique infographics, so it will often provide them as a source link instead.
• Offer interactivity: Calculators, quizzes, and configurators increase the likelihood that AI will add a link to your solution. Just make sure to place easily summarizable text above the tool.
• Use content as a magnet: Instead of inserting sales CTAs (which the AI will delete), link to specific data, templates, and downloadable tools.

How to ensure AI tools recognize your company and recommend it as a relevant supplier

On traditional Google, you could pay for PPC ads to appear at the top. In AI search, you cannot. AI models generate recommendations based on what they know about you from their training data and online sources.

The global PR agency Edelman has issued a clear statement on this:

"Visibility in AI cannot be bought. Up to 90% of the citations that drive brand visibility in LLMs come from earned, organic media. Trusted media and authoritative content carry more weight than keywords and backlinks."

However, there is another technical layer that companies must master. We have moved from keywords to entity-based search.

To artificial intelligence, your company is not just an internet address; it must be a clearly defined entity in the Knowledge Graph. If your brand is missing from Google Business Profiles, industry portals, registries, or Wikipedia, you are in a very weak position. AI will much more willingly recommend competitors who have these basics covered.

Again, think of AI simply as an accelerator of real-world events. If every expert knows you and your company is listed in every relevant directory, map, and encyclopedia, your credibility will soar. Compare this to someone seeing your billboard but then failing to find you on a map or anywhere else online.

AI knows where to look and which directories matter for specific industries. Therefore, it is not just about the number of links, but their relevance.

Specific recommendations:

• Build your company as an entity: Maintain accurately filled-out business profiles (Google Business Profile, your company address on Google Maps, Firmy.cz) and ensure you are listed in relevant industry databases.
• Test what AI knows about you: Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI tools questions related to your industry. Do you appear in the answers? (Create a baseline report).
• Build a systematic PR strategy: Earn mentions in relevant media outlets, podcasts, and webinars. Both the quantity and quality of these mentions shape what AI says about you.
• Create thought leadership content: Publish expert opinions, research, and whitepapers on platforms like LinkedIn or Medium.
• Use Google platforms for your presentation: Google owns YouTube. If your brand is active on YouTube, you have a massive advantage. For the same reason, Google Maps and an updated Google Business Profile are crucial. If you sell products, do not forget to link your catalog to Google Merchant Center. Local marketplaces help, but Google's native marketplace helps even more.
• Use GEO monitoring tools: Start tracking your AI ranking using tools like Ranketta.com, Burson, or Jellyfish.

At first glance, it might seem like AI has sparked a revolution. In reality, the battle for clicks is moving in the exact same direction it always has. Those who create high-quality, unique content, who are trusted by users, and who are recommended by other relevant players in the industry will always rank better.

In the early days of SEO, you could game the system simply by using the right ratio of keywords, often at the expense of content quality. However, algorithms continued to evolve, learning how to better identify what was truly high-quality and relevant. AI is simply perfecting this process. Ultimately, the goal remains unchanged: connecting the user with the best possible solution to their needs.

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