AI-POWERED SEARCH HAS CHANGED SEO

AI SEO
Future-Proof Your Search Visibility

 

AI Search is reshaping how people find answers, and SEO has never been more critical in steering those results. This is what we call being search everywhere optimised: showing up across AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and traditional Google search.
 
Let StudioHawk take the wheel and make sure your brand appears where it matters most, in the answers your customers see first.
 
Book a Free AI SEO Audit
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How is AI Changing Search?

AI is transforming how people discover information, from Google AI Overviews to ChatGPT, the way answers are delivered has shifted from links to conversations.

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What
exactly is
AI Search

aka AI SEO
  • What AI Search Really Means
  • AI Search vs Other Terms
  • What Good AI Search Gets You
mystery What AI Search Really Means

We get it, there are a lot of terms flying around, and it can be confusing. Let’s break down what AI Search really means, and why it matters for your brand’s marketing strategy.

AI Search is how brands stay visible everywhere people search, getting cited, quoted, and trusted by AI-driven platforms like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.

In short: More AI visibility. More citations. More authority.

forum AI Search vs Other Terms

Different names. Same mission: helping your brand show up everywhere AI is delivering answers.

  • arrow_cool_down AI SEO
  • arrow_cool_down AI Search
  • arrow_cool_down LLM SEO
  • arrow_cool_down Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)

They all encompass the same thing: What matters is that it’s not a separate service; it’s SEO evolved for how search works today.

award_star What Good AI Search Gets You

Here’s what investing in AI-driven SEO actually delivers for your website:

 

  • check More Visibility
  • check Stronger Brand Authority
  • check Better
  • check Future proof growth

AI Search isn’t new SEO — it’s next-gen SEO, built for a world where AI delivers answers, not links.

Book a Free AI SEO Audit

The Core of AI SEO

Prompt &

Intent Research

What It Is
Understanding the longer, conversational questions people ask AI.
Why It Matters
Helps your content align with how users now search, in sentences, not keywords.

Entity &
Topic Clusters

What It Is
Structuring connected content that shows your brand’s expertise on a subject.
Why It Matters
Makes it easier for AI tools to understand your authority and cite your site.

Authority &
Trust Signals

What It Is
Building E-E-A-T through content quality, brand mentions, and Digital PR.
Why It Matters
Boosts your credibility and likelihood of being referenced in AI answers

Technical
Foundations

What It Is
Schema, site 
architecture, and clean markup AI can parse.
Why It Matters
Ensures your content is discoverable and quotable by AI engines.

Why Does AI SEO Matter?

AI search is already influencing billions of results — and the funnel is getting longer.

People are no longer typing short keywords; they’re asking full, conversational questions and refining them through multiple follow-up prompts before deciding. Platforms like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are reshaping how people discover and trust brands.

Frame 2383
800m
Monthly ChatGPT Users
Relies on Bing search

SEO results feed its answers
Frame 2383 (1)
15m
Monthly Perplexity Users
Always cites live sources

Clear structure = direct quotes
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13%
Of Google Searches
Trigger AI Overviews

 As of early 2025 (desktop)
Frame 2383 (3)
88%
Of AI Overviews
Always cites live sources

Clear structure = direct quotes
Frame 2383 (3)
2.5B
Prompts Per Day
A new search habit - Billions of questions are answered by ChatGPT every single day.
Early visibility doesn’t just mean more clicks — it means being trusted, cited, and chosen across every step of this extended journey.

AI search is rewriting the rules. Make sure your brand stays visible.

Get a free AI SEO audit and see exactly how your website stacks up in AI search.
Zero obligation. Maximum clarity.

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Welcome to Multi-Channel Search.
What Modern SEO Looks Like.

From Google to Generative Search, SEO has changed. At StudioHawk, we help brands win visibility across AI, LLMs, and traditional search, so you’re found everywhere your audience looks.

Before: 
SEO = Keywords + Links + Google
Layer_1
After:
SEO = Authority + AI Visibility + Multi-Channel Search
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Emerging Search Channels
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Traditional vs AI Search: What’s Changed

SEO has moved beyond keywords and clicks to conversations and instant answers. Traditional SEO still matters, but AI is rewriting the way visibility works.

Traditional SEO - Search is transactional. 

comic_bubble
User Behaviour
  • Short keywords typed into Google
area_chart
Results
  • Blue links in ranked order
conversion_path
Journey
  • Click
  • Land on site
  • Find info
center_focus_strong
SEO Focus
  • Keywords, backlinks, content volume
visibility
Visibility
  • SERPs, featured snippets, local packs

AI Search (GEO) - Search is conversational.

comic_bubble
User Behaviour
  • Natural questions & voice search, longer prompts
area_chart
Results
  • AI summaries with source citations
conversion_path
Journey
  • Answers delivered instantly, fewer clicks
center_focus_strong
SEO Focus
  • Semantic relevance, E-E-A-T, structured content
visibility
Visibility
  • Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity

Search Isn’t a List Anymore.
It’s a Full Stack.

Ranking #1 used to mean top visibility. Today, visibility means showing up within Google's AI Mode, community threads and videos. Not just blue links. This is snapshot of what you can expect to see when you next search:
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How StudioHawk Does AI SEO

At StudioHawk, we don’t treat AI SEO as something separate. It’s baked into every SEO strategy we deliver: technical audits, content, links, schema, and authority. What’s different is how we optimise for AI-driven platforms like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. Our process makes sure your brand is both discoverable and quotable across search engines and AI assistants.
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Step 1: 
Foundation First
We start by getting the essentials right, think technical SEO and site structure to content, internal linking, and backlinks. Without this, nothing else in AI search works.
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Step 2: 
AI-Friendly Optimisation
Next, we make your content easy for AI to find and quote. That means schema markup, semantic audits, and formatting (lists, tables, TL;DRs) designed for extraction. Beyond this, we also build entity/topic clusters so AI tools can recognise you as an authority across related subjects.
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Step 3: 
Authority Building
AI tools prefer trusted sources. We strengthen your brand’s authority with digital PR, brand mentions, and E-E-A-T signals, so your site becomes the one AI cites.
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Step 4: 
Visibility Tracking
AI search moves fast, so knowing where your brand appears is essential. We monitor how your content shows up across AI Overviews, chat-based engines, and traditional search, using platform data, manual checks, and entity analysis to understand your real visibility.

How SEO Fuels AI Visibility

AI doesn’t invent answers out of nowhere; it pulls them from the best-optimised, most trusted sources. By aligning traditional SEO tactics with how AI models extract and summarise content, we make sure your brand has every chance of being chosen, cited, and surfaced.

SEO Activity
How It Helps AI Search
Internal links & content depth
Helps AI group related topics for better answers.
Schema markup
Supports citations in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.
Lists, tables & TL;DRs
Easy for AI to quote directly
Comprehensive topic coverage
Ensures AI can answer multi-part, long-form prompts with your content.
Brand mentions & Digital PR
Builds authority and trust so your brand gets referenced.
Technical SEO & Bing indexing
Essential for ChatGPT visibility.
Semantic audits
Matches how LLMs rank content relevance.
Book a Free AI SEO Audit
OUR CLIENT RESULTS

Helping Australia’s favourite brands win in AI Search.

Kip&Co


Kip&Co came to us wanting stronger visibility, smarter content, and a search strategy that could scale with their fast-growing brand. By restructuring their site for AI Search, tightening technical foundations, and building topical authority across their key categories, we helped them turn organic search into one of their highest-performing channels.

72%
Increase in new organic users YoY
33%
Growth in organic revenue
67%
Increase in page 1 keyword rankings
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AI SEO, trusted by Australia's leading brands

Increase in leads
86%
Increase in leads
Taking an already thriving business coaching program and giving it an absolutely deserved online presence.
View case study
Increase in organic traffic
60%
Increase in organic traffic
StudioHawk worked with Officeworks to optimise product pages, improve site structure, and target high-value search terms. The results speak for themselves...
View case study
Organic traffic increase
2000%
Organic traffic increase
How it’s possible to get a whopping 2000% organic traffic increase for a website serving medical supply needs.
View case study
Highest link DR obtained
DR 90
Highest link DR obtained
While they’re a leading brand in Australia, they wanted to further diversify their link acquisition efforts to complement their SEO campaign.
View case study
increase in organic traffic
555%
increase in organic traffic
‘Rise up’ the ranks and reach your authority! How Waverley Forklifts lifted more than just their profile.
View case study
growth in revenue
535%
growth in revenue
Increases in revenue and in organic traffic while also conducting a site migration? ‘Drop’ down and ‘bear’ the results.
View case study
increase in keywords - Australian market
94%
increase in keywords - Australian market
Bondi Sands wanted to holistically grow their visibility across multiple target markets.
View case study

A Practical Guide to Ranking in AI Search

We’ve published dedicated research on how AI is reshaping search behaviour and what it means for your brand. Download our whitepaper for practical frameworks and strategies to help your business appear in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and more.
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The latest AI Search insights from the StudioHawk team

SEO Strategy
The Definitive Guide to Google Business Profile Optimisation
A well-optimised Google Business Profile helps your business show up first when locals search for services.
Harry Sanders
17 November 2025
AI
How To Structure Your Blog Content for AI Search
Learn how to structure blog content for AI search so your answers are easy to find. Use clear headings, lists, tables and schema to lift visibility.
Lawrence Hitches
12 November 2025
SEO News
Google Search Console Ultimate Guide For SEO & AI Search
Use Google Search Console to boost SEO and AI Search. Track results, fix crawl issues, and optimise your site to stand out across billions of websites.
Harry Sanders
11 November 2025
Technical SEO
Implementing Article & FAQ Schema for AI Search
Learn to implement Article and FAQ schema to boost AI search visibility, improve indexing, and increase your content's credibility with structured data.
Lawrence Hitches
10 November 2025
Technical SEO
Structured Data for FAQs: Using FAQ Schema for SEO
FAQ structured data can increase user experience and, most importantly, CTR. To learn how to use FAQs to your advantage, read this post.
Lawrence Hitches
9 November 2025

Your AI Search questions answered.

AI doesn’t invent answers out of nowhere; it pulls them from the best-optimised, most trusted sources. By aligning traditional SEO tactics with how AI models extract and summarise content, we make sure your brand has every chance of being chosen, cited, and surfaced.
Do you offer AI SEO as a separate service?

No, and that’s the point. AI SEO or GEO (or anything else we call it!) isn’t a standalone product. It’s SEO evolved. The foundations, technical SEO, content, links, and schema are what AI tools like Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT rely on to find, rank, and cite your brand.

How do I get my content into AI Overviews or ChatGPT answers?
By doing SEO right. Google has confirmed that content that ranks in traditional search is eligible for AI Overviews. There are no “AI tags” or shortcuts,  just strong SEO foundations, structured content, and authority signals.
Is GEO the same as SEO?

GEO is a layer of SEO. Think of it as SEO adapted for a world where AI summarises results. You can’t do GEO without SEO, but when you have SEO in place, GEO ensures your content is clear, extractable, and trusted enough to be cited.

What results can I expect from AI SEO?

AI referrals are still small (~0.01% of web traffic today), but they’re growing fast. Early visibility builds trust signals, so your brand is more likely to be chosen as AI search evolves. Plus, everything we do for AI SEO strengthens your performance in traditional search.

Can AI SEO actually drive traffic and leads?
Absolutely. Even when AI summaries reduce clicks, brands that appear early in answers gain higher trust, stronger recall, and increased conversion intent. When you’re the source AI platforms rely on, users are far more likely to choose you first.
How do you measure success in AI SEO?
Traditional KPIs like rankings, clicks, and traffic still matter, but AI SEO adds new goals: citations, inclusions in summaries, and brand mentions within AI answers. Early visibility in these results builds trust and long-term authority.
How long does it take to see results from AI SEO?

Most brands begin to see early AI visibility and citations within 3–6 months, depending on current SEO health. Strong technical foundations, content depth, and E-E-A-T signals typically lead to quicker improvements.

Why is brand authority so important in AI search?
AI engines prioritise trustworthy, well-cited, expert sources. Brands with strong E-E-A-T, Digital PR, brand mentions, entity depth, and topical authority are far more likely to be used in answers. Authority is now one of the most influential ranking factors in AI search.
What industries benefit most from AI Search visibility?
Any industry where users research, compare, or ask multi-layered questions benefits from AI SEO — including eCommerce, SaaS, finance, legal, home services, healthcare, education, and travel. If your audience relies on search for decision-making, AI search matters.
What makes StudioHawk different from other AI SEO agencies?
We don’t treat AI SEO as a buzzword service or quick add-on. It’s fully integrated into every technical audit, content strategy, Digital PR plan, and schema implementation we deliver. You work directly with SEO specialists (never account managers), supported by our custom AI visibility tracking tools and Australia’s most awarded SEO team.
BOOK YOUR FREE AI SEARCH MASTERPLAN

Ready to grow faster with AI SEO?


Sign up for your FREE AI Search Masterplan to uncover hidden visibility gaps, AI ranking opportunities, and growth pathways for your brand.

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AI-Driven SEO Audit

Uncover technical, content, and entity issues holding you back from appearing in AI Overviews and AI Search results.

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AI Visibility & Traffic Analysis

See where you’re already showing up in AI Search — and where your competitors are winning across AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.

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Custom AI SEO Roadmap

Get a tailored action plan built for AI Search, including structured content fixes, schema updates, and entity optimisation.

Sign up for your free consultation with a Senior SEO specialist
(No middlemen. No juniors. No sales pitches. We promise.)
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