A number of the essential questions which might be high of thoughts for each SEOs and CMOs as we head right into a multi-search world are: The place is search going to develop? Is ChatGPT a risk or a chance? Is optimizing for giant language fashions (LLMs) the identical as optimizing for engines like google?
On this two-part interview collection, I attempt to reply these questions to offer some clear route and focus to assist navigate appreciable change.
What you’ll study:
- Ecosystem Evolution: Whereas it’s nonetheless a Google-first world, study the place native AI search platforms are rising and what this implies.
- Alternative vs. Risk: Why AI platforms create unprecedented model visibility alternatives whereas demanding new return on funding (ROI) pondering.
- LLM Optimization Technique: Why search engine marketing has develop into extra very important than ever, whatever the AI and Search platform, and the place particular nuances to optimize for lie.
- CMO Priorities: Why authority and belief alerts matter greater than ever in AI-driven search.
- Organizational Alignment: Why CMOs have to combine advertising and marketing, PR, and technical groups for cohesive AI-first search methods.
The place Do You Assume The Present Search Ecosystem May Develop In The Subsequent 6 Months?
To reply the primary query, I feel we’re witnessing one thing actually fascinating proper now. The search panorama is present process a elementary transformation that can speed up considerably over the subsequent six months.
Whereas Google nonetheless dominates with about 90% market share, AI-powered search platforms are experiencing explosive progress that’s inconceivable to disregard.
Let me put this in perspective. ChatGPT is displaying 21% month-over-month progress and is on monitor to hit 700 million weekly lively customers.
Claude and Perplexity are posting related numbers at 21% and 19% progress, respectively. However here’s what has caught my consideration: Grok has seen over 1,000% month-over-month progress. Supply BrightEdge Generative Parser and DataCube evaluation, July 2025.
Certain, it’s ranging from a tiny base, however that trajectory makes it the darkish horse to observe. In the meantime, DeepSeek continues its gradual decline following its January surge, which highlights the volatility on this rising market. I’ll share extra on that later.
In A Google First World, Person Conduct Is Additionally Evolving On A number of AI Platforms
What is especially fascinating is how consumer conduct is evolving. Individuals are not simply switching from Google to AI search — they’re beginning to combine and match platforms based mostly on their particular wants. I’m seeing customers flip to:
- ChatGPT for deep analysis.
- Perplexity for fast info.
- Claude, after they want dependable info.
- Google when they need complete breadth.
Picture from BrightEdge, August 2025The CMO AI And search engine marketing Mindset Shift
From a advertising and marketing perspective, this creates an enormous change in pondering. search engine marketing is not only about Google anymore – although that’s nonetheless the place many of the focus must be.
Entrepreneurs might want to contemplate optimizing for a number of AI engines, every with its personal distinct information ingestion pipelines. For ChatGPT and Claude, you want clear, structured, cited content material that AI fashions can safely reuse. For Perplexity, timeliness, credibility, and brevity matter greater than conventional key phrase density.
It’s now not about optimizing only for clicks; it’s about optimizing for affect and citations and ensuring you seem within the correct context on the proper second inside all these distinct varieties of AI experiences.
The Search Bot To AI Person Agent Revolution
ChatGPT and its ChatGPT-Person agent are main the cost.
In July, BrightEdge’s evaluation revealed that ChatGPT’s Person Agent real-time web page requests practically doubled its exercise. In different phrases, it reveals that customers counting on real-time internet searches to reply questions virtually doubled inside only one month.
For instance, suppose you wish to evaluate “Apple Watch vs. Fitbit” from present opinions. In that case, the ChatGPT consumer agent is performing as your shopping assistant and working in your behalf, which is essentially completely different from conventional engines like google and crawlers.
Picture from BrightEdge, August 2025In abstract, I imagine the subsequent six months will set up what I time period a “multi-AI search world.” Customers will develop into more and more comfy switching between platforms fluidly based mostly on what they want in that second. The chance right here is very large for early adopters who work out cross-platform optimization.
Is The Rise Of AI Platforms Like ChatGPT An Alternative Or A Risk That CMOs Want To Be Conscious Of?
It’s all alternative.
Every AI platform is carving out its personal distinct id. Google is doubling down on AI Overviews and AI Mode. ChatGPT is making this fascinating transition from conversational Q&A into full internet search integration.
Perplexity is cementing itself because the premier “reply engine” with its citation-first, mobile-focused strategy, and they’re planning deeper integrations with information suppliers and real-time information.
Claude is increasing past dialog into contextual search with superior fact-checking capabilities, whereas Microsoft’s Bing Copilot is positioning itself as this search-plus-productivity hybrid that seamlessly blends doc era with internet search.
The rise of AI platforms represents each a transformative alternative and a strategic problem that CMOs should navigate with sophistication and strategic foresight.
Be taught Extra: How Enterprise Search And AI Intelligence Reveal Market Pulse
CMOs And The Shift From Rating To Referencing And Citations
And that brings me to an enormous mindset shift: We’re transferring from “rating” to “referencing.” AI summaries don’t simply show the highest 10 hyperlinks; they reference and attribute websites throughout the reply itself.
Being cited inside an AI abstract might be extra impactful than simply rating excessive in conventional blue hyperlinks. So, CMOs want to begin monitoring not simply the place they rank, however the place and the way their content material will get referenced and cited by AI in all places.
Technical Infrastructure Necessities And CMOs Leaning Into search engine marketing Groups
On the technical facet, structured information and clear info structure are now not nice-to-haves – they’re foundational. AI depends on this construction to floor correct info, so schema.org markup, clear technical search engine marketing, and machine-readable content material codecs are important.
Picture from BrightEdge, August 2025Manufacturers, The CMO, And The Authority And Belief Premium
Right here is one thing that’s turning into essential: Authority and model belief matter greater than ever. AI tends to tug from websites it considers authoritative, reliable, and regularly cited. This places a premium on long-term brand-building, thought management, and repute administration throughout all digital channels.
It’s essential deal with these E-E-A-T alerts (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) for each people and AI algorithms.
The CMOs’ search engine marketing And AI Aggressive Benefit
The CMOs who’re proactively adapting to those shifts – rethinking measurement, technical search engine marketing, model belief, and cross-team integration – are those positioning their enterprises for continued visibility and affect.
The transfer to AI-driven search is fast, however savvy enterprise entrepreneurs are seeing this as a chance to deepen model engagement and develop into a trusted supply for each human customers and AI engines.
It’s difficult, however the potential upside for manufacturers that get this proper is gigantic.
It’s a complete new mind-set about ROI.
Be taught Extra: How AI Search Ought to Be Shaping Your CEO’s & CMO’s Technique
Do You Assume Optimizing For LLMs Is The Similar As Search Engines, As Google Suggests?
Following Google Search Central Dwell in Thailand, and Gary’s recommendation that SEOs don’t have to optimize for GEO, I feel that Gary’s completely proper, and placing any acronym debates behind us, foundational search engine marketing stays the identical, significantly with Google search.
search engine marketing has by no means been extra very important, and AI is accelerating the necessity for specialists on this space. Your web site nonetheless must be quick, mobile-friendly, and technically sound. Search engines like google and AI techniques alike have to crawl and index your content material effectively. Technical optimizations like correct URL buildings, XML sitemaps, clear code, and quick loading occasions are nonetheless paying dividends.
The CMO, search engine marketing, And LLM Optimization Fundamentals
Now, once we speak about optimizing for all LLMs, there’s a similarity within the actuality that success nonetheless lies in core search engine marketing – primarily technical search engine marketing – and content material fundamentals.
Sturdy inside linking helps AI crawlers perceive how your pages join. Ensure all pages are simply crawlable. Reply associated questions all through your content material utilizing clear headings, schema markup, and FAQ sections, and work out what individuals are making an attempt to perform to offer them the reply and be the cited supply in AI outcomes.
LLM Platform-Particular Differentiation
Nonetheless, as extra manufacturers are being found and interpreted throughout a number of AI platforms, it’s also very important to grasp that every has its personal interface, logic, and manner of shaping model perceptions.
Every platform has developed distinct strengths: ChatGPT Search gives a complete narrative context. Perplexity shines with visible integration and associated content material. Google AI Overview excels at structured, hierarchical info.
Here’s a nuanced instance. When customers ask comparability questions like “what’s one of the best?,” ChatGPT and Google’s approaches are related. However when customers ask action-oriented questions like “how do I?,” they half methods dramatically. ChatGPT acts like a trusted coach for decision-making, whereas Google AI stays the analysis assistant.
Picture from BrightEdge, August 2025Belief Sign Variations
Completely different platforms additionally present distinct belief sign patterns. Google AI Overviews tends to quote assessment websites and neighborhood sources like Reddit, asking “what does the neighborhood suppose?”.
ChatGPT seems to favor retail sources extra regularly, asking, “the place can you purchase it?”. This means these platforms are growing completely different approaches to belief and authority validation.
Three-Part AI Optimization Framework For The CMO And Advertising Groups
Here’s a framework for organizations to comply with.
- Begin by monitoring your AI and model presence throughout a number of AI engines. Monitor how your visibility evolves over time by means of citations and mentions throughout AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and past.
- Subsequent, deal with understanding variations in model mentions throughout key prompts. Rapidly establish which prompts from ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and different AI engines like google generate model mentions so you may optimize your content material effectively.
- Lastly, dive deeper into particular prompts to grasp why AI techniques suggest manufacturers. Using sentiment evaluation gives exact insights into which model attributes every AI engine favors.
Be taught Extra: The Triple-P Framework: AI & Search Model Presence, Notion & Efficiency
The CMO: AI, Search, And Cross-Crew Integration Considering
One factor I’m seeing work effectively is tighter integration throughout advertising and marketing and communications groups. Paid and natural methods should align greater than ever as a result of adverts and natural AI overviews typically get introduced collectively – your messaging, branding, and focused intent must be solely constant.
Plus, your PR and content material groups want higher coordination as a result of off-site mentions in media, opinions, and authoritative websites instantly affect who will get cited in AI summaries.
Conclusion: Embracing The Multi-AI Search Transformation
The CMOs who’re proactively adapting to the shifts are positioning their organizations for sustained aggressive benefit on this evolving panorama.
Large Image, to place this all in perspective.
The three Large Questions From CMOs On AI And Search
- AI would kill Google: No, it has turbocharged it.
- search engine marketing is useless: No, it’s truly extra essential than ever. AI is reshaping search, which implies we have to perceive what this transformation entails. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) builds upon core search engine marketing foundations and requires extra built-in, higher-quality technical approaches.
- Every thing modifications? The extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical.
In Half 2 of this collection, matters coated will embody the way forward for conventional SERP search and the way agentic search engine marketing would possibly change the search funnel. Learn the way these modifications impression the function of search engine marketing and all groups that fall below the CMO remit.
Extra Sources:
Featured Picture: jd8/Shutterstock
