The Impact of Generative AI on Search Behaviour

The way people search online is changing — and Generative AI is at the heart of this transformation. Traditionally, search engines focused on retrieving and ranking web pages. But now, with tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), and Microsoft Copilot, users are interacting with AI that can generate direct answers, not just list results.

This shift is redefining how consumers discover information, make decisions, and interact with brands online. In this article, we’ll explore how generative AI is transforming search behaviour — and what it means for digital marketers, SEO professionals, and content creators.

The Rise of Generative AI in Search 🤖

Generative AI refers to AI systems that can create new content—text, images, code, or even voice—based on the massive datasets they’ve been trained on. When integrated into search engines, Generative AI fundamentally changes the user experience: it doesn’t just retrieve a list of links; it synthesises insights from multiple sources and delivers a single, conversational, context-rich answer.

These innovations are transforming search into a conversation, where users expect deeper insights, faster answers, and personalized recommendations without leaving the search environment.

Key Examples of Generative AI in Search

• Google SGE (Search Generative Experience): Provides AI-generated summaries before traditional search results, answering the query directly at the top of the page.

• Bing Copilot (Powered by GPT): Offers interactive, chat-based responses and provides verified citations within the chat interface, encouraging refinement and follow-up questions.

• Perplexity AI: Combines conversational search with strong, verifiable citations, positioning itself as a research-friendly experience that prioritizes source transparency.

How Generative AI Is Changing Search Behaviour 🗣️

The integration of Generative AI is rapidly shifting how users interact with search engines, creating new expectations and patterns that marketers must adapt to.

a. From Keywords to Natural Language

• The Shift: Traditional search relied on short, keyword-based queries like "best running shoes 2025." Now, Generative AI encourages users to ask conversational, complete questions (e.g., "What are the best running shoes for marathon training with a high arch in 2025?").

• The Implication: Generative AI understands the context and intent, not just the keywords. This encourages longer, more natural queries, reducing the importance of exact-match keyword optimization in favor of semantic alignment.

b. Expectation of Instant Answers (The Zero-Click Search)

• The Shift: Users are becoming accustomed to direct, AI-generated summaries that synthesise multiple viewpoints—often eliminating the need to click through several pages of results.

• The Implication: Zero-click searches are increasing. People find their answers directly within AI chat results or summaries. This means the SEO goal shifts from securing the #1 link to securing visibility within the AI-generated summary.

c. More Personalised Search Experiences

• The Shift: Generative AI leverages a user's history, preferences, and real-time behavior to deliver highly personalized responses that are tailored to the individual.

• The Implication: For example, an AI search assistant can recommend specific running shoes based on your city’s weather history, your typical running pace (from fitness app data), or your stated budget. Every search session becomes tailored and highly relevant to the user's decision stage.

d. Deeper, Multi-Step Interactions

• The Shift: AI chat interfaces allow users to continue conversations, refine questions, and explore topics dynamically, something static search results can’t replicate.

• The Implication: Users condense a multi-step research process into a single dialogue. Instead of running multiple separate searches (e.g., "best cameras for beginners," then "mirrorless vs DSLR," then "camera brands"), the user has an ongoing dialogue with the AI to narrow down their ideal choice.

The Impact on SEO and Digital Marketing 📈

Generative AI is fundamentally transforming the SEO landscape, demanding a shift from technical link-building toward content quality, authority, and semantic depth.

a. Reduced Click-Through Rates (CTR)

• The Challenge: With AI-generated summaries dominating the top of search results, fewer users click through to organic website links, particularly for informational queries (e.g., definitions, simple facts).

• The Strategy: Focus on visibility within AI responses. Brands must earn the right to be cited or included in the AI summary, prioritizing the answer above the traditional SERP.

b. Rise of Conversational SEO

• The Challenge: Content needs to match the user's natural language queries.

• The Strategy: Optimise content for natural, question-based queries. Content structure should be designed to answer "who, what, why, and how" questions clearly and conversationally. This means developing comprehensive FAQ sections and integrating question-based headlines.

c. Increased Emphasis on EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

• The Challenge: AI-generated answers must be reliable. They rely heavily on trusted, authoritative sources to avoid hallucinating or spreading misinformation.

• The Strategy: Websites demonstrating high EEAT are significantly more likely to be cited in AI summaries. This means:

  • Showcasing author credentials and real-world experience.

  • Building a credible backlink profile.

  • Ensuring content is factually accurate and routinely updated.

d. Content Formats That Perform Better

AI systems are designed to extract structured information efficiently. Content needs to be easily digestible for the AI model.

• Optimized Formats Include:

  • FAQs and Q&A sections: Direct answers to common user questions.

  • Long-form articles with clear summaries: Provides deep expertise while giving the AI an easy snippet to pull.

  • Schema-optimised content (JSON-LD): Structured data tags help the AI instantly understand the type of information presented (e.g., recipes, reviews, product specs).

  • Data-driven insights and expert commentary: Content that offers unique, verifiable value is highly favored for inclusion.

e. Brand Discovery Through AI Recommendations

• The Strategy: Generative AI opens a new, powerful channel for brand visibility—being mentioned or summarized by AI systems as a recommended option.

• The Action: Marketers should focus on semantic content optimization (deeply covering topic clusters) and credible link building to improve the likelihood of brand inclusion in AI-driven answers, essentially making the brand the authoritative choice for a given query.

What are the strategic implications of Generative AI for content marketing budgets?

The shift toward AI-powered search requires a fundamental change in how marketing budgets are allocated. The focus must move away from volume and link-bait toward authoritative depth and technical structure.

Budgetary Shifts for Marketers:

• Allocate More to EEAT & Trust Signals: Budget should be directed toward building and demonstrating expertise. This includes hiring qualified authors, investing in third-party expert citations, and obtaining credible press mentions, all of which boost AI citability.

• Shift from Short-Form to Comprehensive Content: Reduce budget spent on chasing low-value, exact-match keywords. Reallocate to producing deep, long-form content that answers entire topic clusters, making it a valuable source for AI summaries.

• Invest in Structured Data & Technical SEO: Dedicated resources must go toward implementing Schema Markup and optimizing site architecture. This improves the AI's ability to ingest and cite content accurately.

• Measure AI Visibility, Not Just CTR: Adopt new KPIs that track inclusion in AI-generated summaries and the quality of brand mentions within them.

To understand the current trends in SEO and the necessary budget shifts, I will perform a search.

The strategic implication of Generative AI for content marketing budgets is a fundamental shift in allocation from quantity-driven SEO (keywords and volume) to quality-driven Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Authority Building. Budgets are increasingly moving away from mass content production toward deep, strategic investment in content structure, expertise, and cross-channel integration.

Strategic Implications for Content Marketing Budgets 💰

The rise of Generative AI in search (like Google SGE) is directly challenging the traditional return on investment (ROI) of volume-based content strategies. As zero-click searches increase and organic traffic is predicted to decline (by 50% or more by 2028, according to some reports), marketing leaders must strategically reallocate budgets to survive the shift to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).

Key Budgetary Shifts Required for AI-First SEO

Redefining Content Production

Generative AI tools (like ChatGPT) can automate the production of basic content, but this doesn't reduce the overall budget—it simply shifts the labor cost.

• Automation of Production: Use AI for first drafts, meta descriptions, or content outlines. This saves time and cost on routine writing.

• Reallocation to Strategy and Editing: The saved funds must be reallocated to human editors, fact-checkers, and subject-matter experts to ensure the content meets high EEAT standards and is unique. The value is now in the refinement and authority, not the generation.

Overcoming Challenges in AI Personalisation

While Generative AI presents massive opportunities, its integration requires navigating serious technical, legal, and creative challenges.

The Future of AI-Powered Personalisation 🔮

As technology advances, the future of digital marketing is moving beyond simple keyword matching toward deep understanding and predictive engagement—combining AI precision with human empathy.

Emerging Trends in Personalisation and Search

• Generative AI in Creative (Multimodal Content): Tools that create personalized visuals, video snippets, and copy instantly. This means a single campaign can generate hundreds of dynamic ad variants optimized for different user segments in real-time.

• Voice and Visual Search Optimization: AI is making content discovery happen through conversational assistants (voice) and cameras (visual). This requires optimising product images with detailed alt-text and structuring content to answer conversational long-tail queries.

• Omnichannel Personalisation: AI will unify the user experience across all touchpoints (web, mobile, email, and in-store). A customer who browses a product on their app will receive an email and see a personalized ad, ensuring the brand experience is seamless and context-aware.

• Ethical AI and Bias Mitigation: The industry is moving toward transparent and bias-free algorithms. Brands must audit their AI models to ensure that personalized recommendations are fair and compliant, building essential consumer trust.

The next wave of digital marketing will succeed by combining AI's precision and scale with human empathy and strategic authority.

Your Agency's Imperative: Move from SEO to AEO

The age of simple keyword optimization is over. Your clients need a partner who can navigate the zero-click world and guarantee visibility in AI-generated answers.

Undivided Digital Marketing Agency specializes in this transition, leveraging Neuroscience and Generative AI Optimization (GEO) to ensure your brand is cited and recommended by LLMs. We don't just optimize for the algorithm; we optimize for the human brain's attention and trust signals that AI models prioritize.