If you’ve recently used Google to track down a quick answer, you may have read the summary at the top of the results page and moved on. When time is tight and the information is clear and straightforward, that instant snapshot can be enough to meet your immediate needs. Or perhaps you’ve taken the route increasingly favored by users and leveraged a generative AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude for research or shopping. Both those scenarios reflect a single truth: Competitiveness in the world of online search is becoming more and more about being the source an algorithm trusts enough to summarize, cite or synthesize.
Brands that have spent years tuning keyword strategies and chasing incremental ranking gains need to rethink their strategies. Recent findings underscore the stakes: A Pew Research Center analysis shows that when an AI summary appears at the top of a Google results page, users are less likely to click one of the links below. This means regularly winning a coveted spot on the first page of search results won’t necessarily drive steady traffic to your website.
In this moment, the real question isn’t whether SEO is “dead”; it’s whether your brand messaging is accessible and understandable for AI algorithms without being bland and forgettable to humans. The members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank live at the intersection of brand storytelling and AI-driven marketing changes. Here, they discuss practical, future-focused search strategies for brands, including how to make content easier for AI to interpret, the authority signals that make it worth surfacing, and how to balance visibility with authenticity and impact.
“While brands should structure their content so it’s easily interpreted by AI models, it’s critical to remember that content must serve people first.”
Structure for AI, Write for People
Rachel Perkins, Founder and Chief Strategist at Venturesome Strategies, frames the moment as both a technical shift and a trust-building opportunity.
“Brand visibility is evolving as generative AI transforms the way consumers discover and engage with content online,” Perkins says. “And while brands should structure their content so it’s easily interpreted by AI models, it’s critical to remember that content must serve people first.”
Perkins stresses balance: While AI-driven search rewards clarity, customers still ultimately reward relevance and trust.
“You should create content that addresses real audience needs, sparks engagement and fosters trust and loyalty,” she says.
For brands tempted to chase whatever the algorithm appears to favor in a given week, Perkins recommends taking a longer view.
“Algorithmic shifts are essential, but human connection drives conversions and long-term brand equity.”
Turn PR Into a Visibility Engine
Evan White, CMO at ERIN, explains that as AI reshapes how people find information, PR becomes one of the most powerful tools for visibility in a brand’s arsenal. He notes that third-party validation—such as press mentions—is exactly the kind of content AI trusts and repeats.
“It’s not just about backlinks or brand awareness anymore. It’s about being cited, quoted and embedded in the sources LLMs train on,” White says. “If your insights live in top-tier media or sector-specific media outlets, analyst reports and high-quality interviews, you win visibility even when no one clicks.”
White also points to a channel many marketers still treat as optional: podcasts. Not only do they resonate with listeners—in a recent study, 70% of respondents acknowledged that podcast hosts had led them to consider brands they’d never heard of before—but episodes live on long after they’re recorded.
“Podcasts add even more weight—long-form, conversational content that surfaces real expertise and gets transcribed, quoted and shared across channels,” White says. “If your CEO isn’t on the podcast circuit yet, now’s the time. AI is listening.”
“Long-term visibility will favor those brands that align messaging across channels and provide the necessary context for AI to surface the right story.”
Align Messaging Across Every Channel
Sarah Chambers, Fractional CMO and CCO at SC Strategic Communications, zeroes in on what brands need to be wary of as AI answers replace clicks.
“When search becomes zero-click, brands lose control after AI surfaces information,” Chambers says. “The question is, can it distinguish signal from noise?”
Her warning is rooted in a real-world test that mirrors what can happen when AI pulls brand information from everywhere at once.
“We deployed an AI chatbot in our intranet,” Chambers says. “When employees can’t get clear answers, it’s not because information is missing. It’s because context and priority aren’t clear enough for AI to make the right connections.”
She draws the line from her company’s internal tool to external visibility. “That challenge scales externally when AI pulls from multiple sources without understanding which should carry more weight.”
The takeaway for brands is uncomfortable, but essential: You can’t “fix it in post” after an AI summary misrepresents you.
“Brands can’t clarify after the fact,” Chambers says. “Long-term visibility will favor those brands that align messaging across channels and provide the necessary context for AI to surface the right story.”
And, she adds, alignment is not just a brand guideline issue.
“When internal teams aren’t aligned on priorities, external AI inherits that confusion,” Chambers cautions. “Trust fractures before anyone clicks.”
Teach Algorithms Where Your Authenticity Lives
Paul L. Gunn Jr., Founder of KUOG Corporation, examines AI-driven visibility through the lens of credibility and clarity.
“Building credibility by leveraging adaptive pathways that help others find what anchors your brand drives connection and is a meaningful and smart strategy to pursue,” Gunn says.
He argues that future-proof visibility comes from assets that are coherent, consistent and verifiable across contexts. And while “structured data” can sound like a purely technical fix, Gunn emphasizes the content substance underneath it.
“A smart brand that develops content both humans and machines trust will deliver clarity while retaining its voice,” he explains. “This makes storytelling an invaluable skill with tangible impact—especially when it is woven with a human-centered tone and supported by data.” High-quality stories told in a consistent voice help brands ensure their messages don’t get lost in translation.
“Move to educate through experience, and relate tangible outcomes,” Gunn concludes. “This may limit paths for gaming algorithms and instead teach them where the assets that reinforce brand authenticity reside.”
Best Next Moves for Brands in an AI-First Search World
- Design content for AI interpretation, but keep it anchored in real audience needs. Clear structure helps machines parse meaning, but relevance and trust are what keep people engaged.
- Prioritize PR as a core visibility strategy in a zero-click world. Third-party validation increases the odds your brand is cited or repeated, even when users don’t click through.
- Use podcasts to build durable, distributable expertise signals. Long-form conversations often get transcribed and recirculated, extending reach across search and social channels.
- Align messaging across teams and touchpoints so AI surfaces the right story. If context and priorities are unclear internally, external AI can amplify that confusion.
- Build credibility with consistent storytelling supported by data and outcomes. Verifiable proof points help both humans and machines understand what anchors your brand.
Maintaining Visibility—and Credibility—as AI Takes Over Search
AI-driven search is rewriting the visibility game. SEO strategies still matter, but being trusted enough to be summarized, cited or repeated increasingly drives which brands show up where today’s audiences are looking and listening. Brands that pair machine-readable clarity with human-centered relevance are better positioned to stay visible as zero-click behaviors grow.
Looking ahead, long-term SEO performance will look less like a ladder you climb and more like a system you design. The brands that win will make their expertise easy for AI to interpret, their messaging consistent enough to avoid misfires, and their proof points credible enough to travel across channels without losing meaning.
