Search Marketing Loses Ground as AI Reshapes Consumer Discovery

For years, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have relied on search engine optimization (SEO) to drive discovery, traffic and sales. But the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing how people find information online, and with it, the businesses behind them.

Instead of surfacing website links, AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity and others now deliver direct answers — often without the user ever clicking a link that leads to a website.

That transformation has big implications, experts said. The traditional SEO model, built around keywords, backlinks, and content density, is losing effectiveness as AI-driven tools dominate the discovery phase.

“The traditional SEO game is breaking down,” Joy Youell, owner of Winsome Marketing, told PYMNTS. “SMBs can’t just rely on ranking for search terms anymore. They’ll need to focus on visibility inside generative AI platforms — whether that’s structured data, verified listings, or integrations through plugins, APIs or partnerships.”

The model is shifting from visibility on search engine results pages to inclusion in AI-generated summaries. “Brand matters more now,” Youell added. “Building recognition, getting cited and being seen as a trusted source in your niche is how you stay in the loop.”

David B. Wright, president of W3 Group Marketing, told PYMNTS that “this is the biggest evolutionary ‘great leap forward’ in search that I’ve seen in almost 20 years of doing SEO.”

Wright’s advice is to make sure the AI chatbot knows the business exists. “Ask what it knows about your company, your founders” for example. “If it’s not in the repository, asking it questions and including your website URL will make sure it logs your site in the first place.”

Also, Wright said use Google’s auto-suggest to figure out what questions people are asking and make sure to structure the company’s content to answer those questions well. “If AI deems your answer to be the best, the most relevant, then you’ve got a much better shot at being included.”

Wright advised using “those exact questions and their answers in a FAQ on your site — and it not only wouldn’t hurt to have a small FAQ section on each relevant page of your site, I’d recommend doing exactly that.”

For business owners selling products online, Wright recommended that they submit their product pages to ChatGPT using this link.

The change in search visibility could not be more ill-timed for SMBs, with Main Street businesses struggling following the post-pandemic rebound, according to a June PYMNTS Intelligence report.

“Faced with stubborn inflation, cautious consumer spending and the U.S. government’s whipsawing global tariffs agenda, small firms saw their rate of growth fade in late 2024 and during the first three months of this year,” according to the report, “Main Street Businesses Are Struggling.”

Since early 2024, small businesses with annual revenues of less than $10 million grew at just two-thirds the average rate of all U.S. firms during the same period, according to PYMNTS data. The trend is troubling, given that these businesses account for 36% of U.S. establishments, provide 29% of jobs and pay a quarter of the nation’s wages.

Read more: Main Street Businesses are Struggling

Search Is Dead: Long Live New Search

For SMBs, being part of the AI’s answer means building authority and credibility across more digital touchpoints. “Brand matters more now,” Youell said. “If the AI mentions your name directly, that’s the new gold.”

“Rather than crawling your site for target phrases, AI scours its trust graph, examining coverage in reputable media, expert commentary, partner sites, and customer reviews,” Christine Wetzler, president of Pietryla PR and Marketing, told PYMNTS. “AI’s algorithms prioritize credibility and relevance — not just keyword density or backlinks.”

Wright recommended using the “right schema markup” since “this is more important than ever in telling AI and search engines more clearly what your page is about.”

Wright listed the following as some key attributes to include, but encouraged SMBs to check Schema.org for more details:

ID: Unique product identifier

Title: Product name

Description: Brief summary

Link: URL to the product page

Image link: URL to the product image

Price: Current price

Availability: Stock status

Brand: Brand name

GTIN: Global Trade Item Number

MPN: Manufacturer Part Number

Condition: Product condition

Finally, Wright said not to forget infusing EEAT — or Expertise, Experience, Authority and Trustworthiness — in the business information. These include things like years in business, client reviews, awards, press, certifications, partnerships and the like.

“All of those credibility factors are going to help you if you’ve got them in place,” Wright said. Also, “getting on podcasts, radio and TV is another way to establish and showcase your expertise.”

Going through the trouble of recalibration is crucial since business visibility today isn’t about who ranks at the top in Google Search, but about who shows up in the one AI-generated answer.

“The old SEO playbook ranking for long-tail keywords and optimizing product pages isn’t enough anymore,” Phurba Sherpa, director of eCommerce at Wrist Aficionado, told PYMNTS. “We’re not watching the death of search, but we are watching the end of search as we knew it.”

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