How AI Is Changing The Way People Search The Internet

Big Pond Digital

Something has shifted in how people search for things this year, and if you haven’t noticed it yet, you will soon.

The search results page you’ve been familiar with for the past decade (a list of blue links, some ads at the top, maybe a map pack) looks different now. Increasingly, the first thing you see isn’t a list of websites at all. It’s a summarised response to your specific query generated by AI before you’ve had a chance to click anything.

This is Google’s AI search, and it’s here to stay.

The Rise of AI-Powered Search
Google has been rolling out two key features reshaping the experience. The first is AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that now appear above organic results and paid ads for many search queries. You’ve probably seen them without really registering what they were. The second is AI Mode, a more conversational search experience powered by Gemini, Google’s own AI model, built for longer and more complex queries.

Google is going all in with these AI features : faster, more confident answers. And the numbers back it up. According to Google, 75% of users report making quicker decisions when using AI Mode compared to traditional search. That’s a significant shift in behaviour, and it’s happening right now.

Google isn’t alone in this either. Perplexity AI has been building serious momentum as an AI-first search engine, and they’ve gone a step further by launching Comet, their own AI-powered browser. They’re not the only ones heading in that direction. Companies across the board are waking up to the fact that AI responses do a better job of aligning with what users actually want, and they’re building products around that idea fast.

The way people phrase searches is changing. Instead of typing “plumber Ayr”, people are asking “where can I find a reliable plumber in Ayr who does emergency callouts?” Longer, more conversational queries are what AI search is built for, and users are taking full advantage of this.

So Where Do Businesses Fit In?
Here’s where it gets interesting for local businesses. Ads haven’t gone anywhere. Businesses can still appear within AI search results through paid advertising, so Google hasn’t pulled the plug on that revenue stream. But the algorithm is more discerning about what surfaces organically.

Google’s AI is being trained to prioritise genuinely helpful, relevant results. That means your reputation matters more than it ever did. Review ratings on Google, Tripadvisor, Yell; these aren’t just nice to have anymore. They’re a signal to AI that your business is worth recommending. Your website content, how relevant it is to what people are actually searching for, and how trustworthy your overall online presence looks, all of this feeds into whether you show up in those AI-generated answers.

Think of it less as gaming an algorithm and more about actually being good at what you do, and making sure that’s visible online. Not a bad thing, really.

What About SEO? Is It Dead?
No. And anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.

Google itself recently addressed this head-on. In updated guidance for webmasters, they stated clearly that good SEO equals good GEO, which stands for Generative Engine Optimisation. Worth noting that GEO is just the latest in a long line of acronyms handed the “New SEO” badge. Before it there was AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), before that LLMO (Large Language Model Optimisation), and no doubt something else is being coined as you read this.

The reality is that strong SEO has always covered what each of these terms describes. The fundamentals that underpin strong search performance, clear and relevant content, technical site health, strong backlinks, a consistent online presence, are the same things that help you appear in AI-generated results. The rules haven’t changed. The playing field has just expanded.

GA4, the analytics platform most businesses use to track website traffic, has started incorporating AI-driven search traffic into its reports. So you can actually see when someone finds you through an AI-generated result. That visibility matters for understanding where your leads are coming from and adapting accordingly.

The honest truth is that traditional search isn’t going anywhere. The majority of traffic and enquiries still come from standard Google searches, and that’s unlikely to change overnight. What’s changing is the shape of the results page, and the types of queries people are using to find you. Longer, more specific questions. “Best” lists. “Near me” searches that expect a genuinely helpful answer.

Showing up well in those results is an important piece of the puzzle, but it sits alongside SEO, not in place of it.

Here at Big Pond, we’ve been watching this closely. The core advice remains what it always was: build a credible, well-optimised online presence, and both traditional and AI search will reward you for it. The businesses that panic and abandon what’s working will lose ground to those who adapt thoughtfully.

Learn More On Our Podcast
The iGaming SEO Show is now releasing on the Big Pond YouTube channel. We discuss topics exactly like AI on our new episodes. There are eight to catch up on. Check it out.