You know what I’m starting to realize? Our customers see the entire search engine results page (SERP). So, if they do, shouldn’t we?
Back in February 2024, Gartner predicted a 25% decrease in traditional search volume by 2026. But guess what? That didn’t happen. Google’s search revenue soared by 17% year-over-year, hitting over $63 billion in just the last quarter of 2025. While query volume is surging, clicks per search are on the decline. It’s like the pie got bigger, but the slices are being divvied up differently, and many of us are still optimizing for that old pie.
I have a question for you: Are we stuck rifling through endless spreadsheets of organic keyword rankings like it’s still 2003? Our customers don’t care about where they get their answers; they just want them to be trustworthy. And they’re finding those answers across a wide array of platforms that our standard rank trackers might not even be aware of.
If our organic, paid, and AI search strategies are operating in separate silos, we might be optimizing for a search experience that’s obsolete.
What Search Really Looks Like Today
Go ahead and Google “best tax software” right now. I’ll wait.
Notice the variety on just one results page: top sponsored ads, an AI Overview citation, a Reddit thread (because people trust real people more than brands), organic listings from CNET and H&R Block, a video carousel, discussion forum links, a product carousel with prices, more sponsored results at the bottom, and a “People also search for” section directing the next inquiry.
This is one search with one keyword, and nobody truly owns it.
Reflect on how different folks use that page. I’ll scroll right to the Reddit thread, seeking genuine human recommendations. My dad clicks the first sponsored ad, trusting Google to display the best option up top. Someone else might read the AI Overview and feel content enough with the answer to avoid further clicking. A fourth person might watch that Smart Family Money video and depart satisfied.
Same query, four distinct paths, four different “winners.” As a brand, if we’re celebrating being third in organic ranking on this page, we should realize that most of the attention and user engagement may be happening beyond those blue links.
That’s why I emphasize understanding the total SERP experience. If our customers are seeing the whole picture, shouldn’t we?
The AI Layer Changes the Equation
AI Overviews now appear on around 25% to 48% of Google queries, according to various studies. ChatGPT processes 2.5 billion prompts daily. Perplexity’s up by 239% year over year—hard figures from platforms shaping consumer opinions about our brands. Yikes, right?
But let’s not start panicking. AI might be shifting the terrain, but it only represents less than 1% of U.S. web traffic. Google, on the other hand, drives referrals 300 times more than all AI platforms combined.
The significant transformation lies in consumer behavior. According to Wynter’s 2026 research, 68% of B2B buyers initiate their research within AI tools before heading to Google. They use ChatGPT to narrow down options, then verify them on Google. AI evaluates, Google validates, and it’s on us to convert. If we aren’t in that initial AI conversation, we’re missing the chance to be a go-to choice.
Why the Click Data is Intriguing, Not Alarming
A Search Engine Land study of 25 million organic impressions revealed that organic CTR drops by 61% when an AI Overview is present, with paid CTR plummeting by 68%.
It’s tempting to go into panic mode but don’t hit the alarm just yet.
Here’s an interesting finding: brands cited in AI Overviews experience a 35% increase in organic clicks and a 91% rise in paid clicks. The AI Overview acts as a trust signal, boosting user engagement below the overview itself.
Interestingly, ranking high in organic doesn’t automatically put you in the AI’s radar. Research by Tom Capper at Moz shows that 88% of AI Mode citations don’t appear in the organic SERPs for the same query. Organic and AI sources differ. You could be the top Google result but completely invisible in a ChatGPT response to the same query.
But here’s a glimmer of hope—traffic from AI tends to convert at quadruple the rate of organic traffic. Its audience arrives informed and ready to make decisions after preliminary evaluation in the AI space.
The Organizational Chart is the Roadblock
Most organizations have SEO reporting to content, PPC to demand gen, and AI search to no one, effectively stranding strategic coherence. BrightEdge found 54% of organizations delegate AI search solely to SEO teams, akin to entrusting your plumber with your electrical work because it’s all in the same house.
The losses here are tangible. One Performance Max campaign paid a staggering $500,000 for clicks that were coming naturally through organic referrals. Google’s studies confirm that when you’re organically ranked first, half of your paid clicks might as well have been free.
Moreover, McKinsey’s findings show a brand’s own website contributes only 5% to 10% of sources AI refers to. AI aggregates from Reddit, review sites, affiliates, and more. A top-tier SEO program might still leave you out in the cold when it comes to AI, as it’s influenced more by collective sentiment than official content.
A unified strategy works wonders. At Level, we cut acquisition costs by 18% and increased SEO leads by 22% by merging paid and organic efforts for a B2B SaaS client. Our Level Intelligence Suite connects performance signals across search surfaces, proving that compartmentalizing these efforts is a missed opportunity for synergy.
Three Audits You Can Kickstart on Monday
If you’re looking for a fast start, here are three audits using your top 20 keywords to pinpoint gaps and opportunities.
Lens 1: Check Where You’re Really Visible. Analyze your organic rankings, paid ad presence, and AI search visibility across platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. Use Semrush’s free AI visibility checker to see where you really stand.
Lens 2: Identify Unnecessary Ad Spend. Correlate your top organic rankings with active PPC bids. Begin with branded keywords, where over-expenditure from paying for organic reach is typically largest.
Lens 3: Discover AI Overlooking. Compare your organic presence with AI citations. Only 11% of domains are noted by ChatGPT and Perplexity, so strength in one area doesn’t ensure visibility in the other. Ensure your robots.txt isn’t blocking AI crawlers, or you’ll be invisible in those discussions.
This revealing diagnostic paves the way for action. I’m laying out a detailed unification framework at SMX Advanced, and I’d love to see you there.
The Window Won’t Stay Open Forever
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) keyword difficulty currently floats between 15 and 20, far lower than traditional SEO terms, which can span 45 to 60. This disparity will soon narrow, as favored sources selected by LLMs end up being perpetually referenced.
Some companies are watching their search traffic nosedive, yet they are surging in actual business growth. These firms stopped isolating channels and started analyzing their customers’ comprehensive search journey.
We’re introducing our unified search strategy at SMX Advanced in our session titled “Organic, Paid, and AI Search: One Strategy to Rule Them All.” If you’re eager to blend your strategies into one cohesive plan, join our session or visit us at Booth #9.
Remember, the search experience we had in 2023 has evolved, and our strategies should too.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
