AI is no longer just enhancing search—it’s replacing it as we’ve known it. Between Google’s Gemini 2.5 models, AI Overviews, and AI Mode, search has become agentic, conversational, multimodal, and hyper-personalized.
Here’s how that breaks down—and what you should do differently as an SEO strategist, marketer, or digital leader.
To cut to the chase: It’s time to rethink your entire SEO strategy—starting now. -Theo Moulos CEO Growthrocks
Old SEO:
New AI Search:
Search is becoming agentic. Users will ask AI to:
Google’s Project Mariner and Agent Mode enable this by combining AI with browser automation, personalized data, and real-time commerce.
AI search is becoming visual and live:
AI will increasingly answer based on what users see or show, not just what they type.
AI Mode is now using personal context:
This renders traditional search rankings less deterministic.
Search now powers:
Search is becoming the store.
product
, offer
, review
, aggregateRating
, howTo
, FAQ
.Users are now typing queries 2–3x longer than before. Example:
“I need a 3-bedroom apartment with a washer/dryer under $1,200 near downtown Austin.”
Google’s Gemini handles this with multi-hop reasoning, generating compound answers instead of blue links.
Multimodal means creating Text, Audio, Image, Video, and Code combined
Gemini, Imagine 4, and V3 models allow AI generation of:
With tools like Imagine 4, V3 video generation, Gemini code assistants, and Chrome’s new DevTools, AI is no longer a bolt-on—it’s the default way to create, publish, and analyze.
Chrome’s newest DevTools:
Every search starts a task journey, not a traffic session. You’re not chasing clicks anymore. You’re designing answers that lead to actions, visuals, purchases, or summaries.
Your job isn’t “optimize a page.” Your job is:
“Design the best answer unit for every stage of user intent—then structure it so AI can use it, show it, act on it.”
The old SEO asked: “How do I rank for a keyword?”
The new AI SEO asks: “How can I be the best atomic answer to a real, specific human need?”
You are no longer building pages. You’re building answer units, decision tools, and data-rich blocks that can be surfaced independently in a web-free, voice-first, AI-agent world.
Theodore has 20 years of experience running successful and profitable software products. In his free time, he coaches and consults startups. His career includes managerial posts for companies in the UK and abroad, and he has significant skills in intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship.
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