Last week, as part of its Google I/O conference on Tuesday, Google announced sweeping upcoming changes to how Google Search would function in the near future. Instead of typing in your keywords and getting a page back with links, future interactions would work much more like talking with a generative AI agent, or an “intelligent search box,” to quote Google. These Google Search changes might represent a sea level change for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but would they really throw out the algorithm for AI?
What is Google’s New AI Search Engine?
When the news broke on Google’s new plans for AI search (you can read a summary from Google here: A new era for AI Search), many tech, marketing, and content creators on the internet were in an uproar. TechCrunch ran an article with the title Google Search as you know it is over and Business Insider titled theirs Google is going to ruin the internet. Online, people are bemoaning the end of an era and the “sloppification” of the internet, while SEO experts and website owners fear their traffic may drop off a cliff. So what is and isn’t changing?
- Google’s pivot is an AI Agent. Called by them a “AI-powered interactive experience,” how it has been shown and explained will be familiar to anyone who has used an AI agent like ChatGPT.
- The new experience isn’t focused around links. Instead of the old “10 blue links” experience, the new experience focuses on questions and answers with Google to create “information agents” to bring the information to you.
- AI Mode isn’t the default experience. The new AI Mode will be present (similar to the current generative AI overviews), but you can still use Google normally for the time being. This is planned to roll out in the summer.
Is Google Trendsetting or Trend-Chasing?
For many internet users, this is yet another eye-rolling case of tech trying to inject AI into another product that doesn’t need it. But as generative AI agents like ChatGPT get better at providing information backed with sources, a growing portion of people are using them to answer their questions—a right traditionally reserved for search engines. According to a survey conducted by Eight Oh Two in 2026, 37% of consumers start their searches with AI rather than Google. This was only a survey of 500 users, so while it should be taken with a grain of salt, it does point to a trend that Google might fear.
What Does This Mean for Search Engine Marketing & SEO?
The big question is: does this mean your current website and marketing, geared towards traditional SEO, are all for naught? Some of the headlines and Twitter hot-takes are speaking about the end of the world, but as a 10-year vet of search engine and content marketing, I’m not as concerned. Here are 3 reasons:
- Google is Still Doing Google Ads: Google’s biggest money-maker is still Google Ads. If you’ve got search engine advertising as part of your marketing, you’ll still come out on top—maybe even more than before.
- Google Wants a Great Customer Experience: In the past, almost all of Google’s changes to SEO and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) have been aimed at closing loopholes and providing the best search results possible. If you focus on this, it will still matter.
- Google Isn’t Going to Throw Away Decades of Work: A ton of work has gone into the Google search algorithm, so this is likely an evolution based on that foundation instead of an entirely new thing, which means your SEO will still work.
What You Should Do for Your Website to Get Ready
While this change isn’t coming until sometime in the summer and will not be the default experience (and may never be), AI search is here to stay, and you need to devote some of your marketing to it. Ask Engine Optimization (AEO, sometimes known as GEO for Generative) has a lot of overlap with current SEO best practices, but with distinctions you’ll need to be familiar with. Learn more in our other article, Ask Engine Optimization (AEO) Isn’t Hard—If You’ve Done SEO.
So, for now, here at Vision, we recommend staying the course if you’re already doing SEO and AEO. If you’re not, it’s never too late to start. And if you need help, we can help you create better content for search engines and AI alike, including websites, blogs, and content marketing. Contact us today to learn more. Want more advice? Check out the rest of our Vision blogs, our enVisioning Success podcast, and our downloadable Marketing Strategies Playbook.
