In recent months, we’ve heard a lot about how AI is changing the way people search for and discover information. For businesses that rely on traffic from Google- and who doesn’t?- the new trend of looking to LLMs like ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews raises lots of questions and concerns. Many are already reporting a drop in traffic, and most are trying to figure out the best course of action, which, given current limitations, usually comes down to resources. Most CMOs will admit that getting more budget to put a strategy in place to ensure AI visibility is a challenge and can mean other tasks are relegated to the back burner.

We’ve been in the digital space for 20+ years now, and over this time we’ve seen some significant shifts, not the least of which was the move to mobile, but this is very different. And while it’s easy to rattle off a list of what to do in theory, it is always a tad reductive - organisations don’t (typically) work that way; rather, it takes a very structured approach with a rationale, predetermined goals and KPIs and support from senior management.

In this blog, I’ll attempt to provide material and recommendations for all three.

​But first, I want to start by ensuring we are all on the same page and understand what certain terms thrown about indiscriminately mean.

AI visibility is a catch-all phrase for how discoverable and citable your brand or content is across various AI-powered tools and interfaces. So think LLMs and Google’s AI Overviews.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) refers to optimising content so it's chosen as the answer by AI-driven answer engines, rather than just ranking as a link.

AI Overviews (AIOs) are the AI-generated summaries that now appear above traditional search results, synthesising information from multiple sources into one answer.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) means optimising your content specifically for generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.) so it gets pulled into AI-generated responses.

The main reason we need to focus on AI visibility is simple: Google is no longer the default search engine. People are increasingly using other platforms, especially ChatGPT, which means that where once ranking on Google was the number one goal because that’s where people found you, now people are looking elsewhere, and so what they find there will be important. The fallout from this? According to one report from McKinsey, consumer use of AI-powered search is set to impact $750 billion in revenue by 2028. In other words, there will still be winners and losers; the point is which side will you be on?

Now, before you think, well, why don’t we just switch all of our focus from Google to LLMs if that’s where the action is happening? The answer is like SEO: AI visibility is not that simple.

Google is still the top dog. The sheer volume of searches on Google means that even though other dogs (to keep with the metaphor) have entered the building, Google is still number one. Over 90% of the search engine market still belongs to Google, and it is continuously evolving its service, very aware of all of these contenders nipping at its heels.

Adding to this is the news that traffic that originates from AI assistants is converting at a notably higher rate than traditional organic search traffic. Andy Crestodina looked at data from 97 GA4 accounts across a range of B2B lead generation websites, totalling 29 million visits over one year, and found that visitors from AI were 3x more likely to convert than visitors from other organic traffic sources.

And in case you were wondering, ChatGPT sent the most traffic. Now, of course, as with all things lead gen. There are probably multiple factors at play here, and not all of the conversions were the same- some were higher in the funnel than others. Regardless, the point is that our changing behaviours suggest that brands who ignore AI visibility do so at their peril.

Everyone loves a before-and-after story. And while many tools on the market are ready to show you how much you are showing up and where, there are many ways to judge your presence and success. GA4 now offers a default channel that automatically captures referral clicks from specific chatbots, but it’s limited and doesn’t track zero-click brand mentions, invisible LLM citations, or traffic stripped of referrer headers. 

That’s only part of the story though. Setting goals from the outset around ranking on page 1 is a very narrow approach.  Instead, brands must start to think of AI visibility as a more comprehensive strategy that involves content, technology, and an understanding of both agent and human behaviour.

We’ve developed a matrix that we use as part of our process:

• Discoverability & Authority: Are AI tools sourcing the website? How current, credible, authoritative, and machine-verifiable is the site’s content?
• Structure for AI-Generated Journeys: Is page structure modular and machine-readable?
• AI-Flow & Intent Continuity: How well does the site support entry from AI deep links?
• Conversational & Interactive AI Features: Does the site itself provide AI assistance that feels integrated into the journey?
• Conversion Readiness: Do the AI-led journeys lead smoothly to meaningful next actions?

We then undertake a very thorough review of each site against these criteria and generate a score so the client has a sense of where they currently stand, a benchmark from which to gauge progress. We also assess each client against its competitors doing it well in each category to build a fuller picture of how each is performing.

We also supplement these findings with surveys of human visitors, asking questions such as

• Are you currently using AI to <insert relevant industry>?
• What is your top reason to choose AI over a website?
• Would you click to an official site from AI?
• How satisfied are you with AI for <insert industry>?
• Have you experienced incorrect or misleading information when using AI?

The insights we generate from the data help inform our strategy and add to the full AI visibility picture for each client.

Yes, you could argue that you need executive support for all new initiatives and strategies, and you’d probably win. But sometimes this fundamental alignment is overlooked. AI visibility is a strategy that requires continuous action; it isn't a checkbox activity where, once certain actions are taken, you can wash your hands of it and say we’re good to go. 

Yes, there are specific actions to take; we always recommend clients start by considering the following:

• Implement Schema Markup: Review your existing pages to assess current structured data and implement consistent schema to help AI systems parse and understand entities, facts, and relationships.
• Improve Content Structure and Hierarchy: Missing H1/H2 tags and poor chunking make content difficult for AI to parse. Deploy a standard, intent-based heading structure to help your site surface in snippets and AI citations.
• Enhance Freshness Signals: Since AI systems may struggle to assess content reliability, add visible "last updated" or "last verified" timestamps to build trust and signal recency.
• Add Intent-Based, Structured Content: To increase the likelihood of inclusion in AI summaries, create concise "at-a-glance" information blocks, summaries, and clearly attributed statistics that are easy for AI to extract.
• Control Snippet Quality: Clear meta descriptions are key to improving how AI classifies page purpose and selects content for its answer.

However, AI visibility is also about how others view you-from industry publications to reviews- LLMs and other AI-powered platforms pull responses from multiple sources. And Google’s EEAT is as relevant and applicable to AEO and GEO as it is to SEO. It comes back to being there, being the source cited to answer the question/s being asked. 

​Marketers, assuming the responsibility falls to them, and more often than not it does, must make sure they convey all of this to leadership if they want to succeed and have their brand appear wherever customers are conducting their research.

AI visibility takes time and effort. However, the brands that treat this as a structural content investment now, rather than an afterthought, will be the ones AI systems reach for when someone asks, "which one should I choose?"

From our experience helping clients be seen across all platforms, we built Flow Discover. We update your schema, your content architecture and LLM visibility agents. 

Want to learn more? Book a demo here 

Additional reading

These are both highly recommended.

• Q3 AI Traffic Trends Report - takes a deep dive into how AI traffic is impacting retail, travel and financial services industries.
• And then for those of you wondering what to do about old content that’s online and was most definitely not built for AI, there’s this advice from the Content Management Institute.