Search results pages increasingly open with an AI-generated summary. For many informational queries, that summary answers the question before anyone scrolls. This is a real shift, but it changes less about good SEO than the headlines suggest.
What changes
Simple informational queries send less traffic. If the question can be answered in two sentences, the answer engine will do it. Pages built only to capture those queries will see fewer clicks.
Being cited matters as much as ranking. The summary quotes a handful of sources. Clear, well-structured, well-sourced pages get chosen. See our note on Generative Engine Optimisation for how to earn those citations.
Intent gets sharper. The clicks that remain come from people who want more than a summary: comparisons, tools, detailed guides, opinions, and things to buy.
What stays the same
- Technical health: fast pages, clean structure, working links, mobile first.
- Real expertise on the page, with named authors and evidence.
- Links from other credible sites, which remain a strong trust signal.
- Content that matches what the searcher actually wants, not just the keyword.
Practical moves
Audit your pages by intent. Keep and deepen the ones that answer complex needs, merge thin ones, and make every important page easy to quote: a direct answer up top, headings that mirror the question, and a source for every claim. Then measure citations and brand mentions alongside rankings, because that is where visibility is moving.
