From Keywords to Conversations: How Marketers Can Build an AI Search Strategy

Why AI Search Matters for Marketers

The search landscape is changing fast after a long run with SEO as we have understood it for the last 25 years. This AI-first world, a transformational change from traditional SEO, represents both a challenge and an incredible opportunity to level the playing field.

As a marketer, your goal is no longer just “ranking” but ensuring your brand is discoverable, credible, and quotable in AI-driven environments.

Why AI Search Is Reshaping Discovery

Search is no longer limited to ten blue links. With Google introducing AI Mode Search and platforms like Perplexity and ChatGPT shaping buyer research, visibility now depends on whether your brand shows up in AI-generated answers and citations.

“If AI can’t see you, your buyers won’t either.”

This shift is critical: your buyers are asking AI tools questions in natural language, and those tools are deciding which brands get mentioned in the response.  So, do you throw the fine-tuned SEO baby out with the bathwater? Not quite.

Below is a roadmap for developing an AI Search strategy that complements your traditional SEO efforts while positioning your brand for visibility in the age of AI.

Step 1: Keep Your SEO Foundation Strong

AI platforms still rely on traditional search signals to determine authority and content credibility. That means your SEO fundamentals are non-negotiable:

• Keywords: Optimize for what buyers are searching and how you describe your services.
• EEAT content: Prioritize expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
• Reviews: Google Business Profile, G2, and industry platforms all matter.
• Backlinks & PR: Get cited by reputable outlets and publications.
• Technical SEO: Fix broken links, alt text, site maps, and oversized images.
• Ease of use: Ensure navigation, content hierarchy, and CRO help both humans and AI.
• Crawler access: Don’t block AI crawlers from your site.

These are the building blocks that help AI—and buyers—trust you.

Step 2: Optimize for AI Search Itself

Your next priority is shaping how AI tools present your brand.

• Ask AI directly: Use ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Mode to see what they look for when recommending solutions like yours.
• Translate queries: Convert keywords into conversational questions. Example: instead of “best SaaS CRM”, try “What CRM do fast-growth SaaS companies use to scale?”
• Leverage long-tail: Blogs, YouTube, FAQs, and help centers with niche long-tail queries are gold.
• Cross-link content: Keep FAQs and knowledgebase webpages in subdirectories and aggressively create natural internal links to build authority clusters.

Step 3: Audit Your AI Visibility

Think of this as your new “rank check.”

• Ask AI platforms what they know about your brand.
• Review whether you appear in the answers or citations.
• Compare what AI says it values with how it actually presents you.
• Update and correct inconsistencies across your website, business profiles, and third-party listings.

Your Google Business Profile is especially critical—optimize categories, location data, and descriptions.

Step 4: Grow Mentions & Sentiment

AI rewards brands that are referenced frequently and positively.

• Secure Best-of lists and directory mentions.
• Encourage UGC and affiliates to share content.
• Display reviews as plain text for crawler visibility.
• Contribute to industry forums where buyers ask open-ended questions.

“AI doesn’t just read your content—it reads the market’s perception of you.”

Step 5: Reverse Engineer Competitors

If your competitors dominate AI search, reverse-engineer why.

• Where are they being cited?
• Which backlinks and PR placements are driving mentions?
• What queries are they optimized for that you’re not?

This insight helps you differentiate your own content and uncover whitespace opportunities.

Final Takeaway for Marketers

AI search isn’t replacing SEO—it’s reshaping it. To future-proof your visibility:

1. Double down on SEO fundamentals.
2. Adapt your content for AI’s conversational queries.
3. Monitor and manage your AI visibility as actively as your Google rankings.

Marketing professionals who act early will not only stay discoverable but also stand out in a crowded, AI-filtered marketplace.