AI SEO (LLM Visibility): What's Actually Different? Evolution or Overhyped?
The term "AI SEO" has been popping up everywhere lately, leaving me wondering if it's just another marketing buzzword designed to grab attention or a genuine shift that demands new online marketing strategies.
After digging deep into this topic, the truth (as it often does) lies somewhere in the middle.
While some dismiss AI SEO as "overhyped" or even a "grift," I think we can all agree that AI is fundamentally changing how people search for information, and by extension, there will be some changes in how businesses need to think about showing up online.
Anyway, let's dive in.
Traditional SEO Still Reigns Supreme
Despite all the noise on the internet, the core SEO practices that have always mattered for your website's visibility remain essential for AI.
Strong Headlines (H1s) that clearly communicate your content's purpose
Structured Content including FAQs, short paragraphs, and bullet points
Fresh, Updated Content that stays relevant over time
Quality Citations and Backlinks from authoritative sources
Schema Markup to help search engines understand your content
SEOs claiming they've discovered "black magic" to guarantee #1 rankings on Large Language Models (LLMs) are selling snake oil. Despite the introduction of new terminology, such as Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and LLM SEO, the underlying principles remain focused on relevance and comprehensiveness.
The goal hasn't changed. We still need to continue to provide solutions to problems, regardless of how users search.
AI Visibility Tracking Tools
Several tools have emerged to track how often LLMs mention your brand. They perform what is called “AI search queries" and measure your brand's share within AI-generated answers.
Here are a few of the most popular ones:
https://www.tryprofound.com/
https://scrunchai.com/
https://www.seopital.co/
https://surferseo.com/
While I am skeptical of 100% of the "AI SEO" concept they represent (Or that marketers are pushing on us), these tools are genuinely helpful for tracking brand visibility in AI search results. Because that is actually real. And I will jump into that next.
Why AI Search Optimization Actually Matters
Despite the "grift" arguments, AI search represents a significant and irreversible shift in how we discover information.
People like you and I are adopting conversational and question-based queries with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI Assistant. I use Google’s traditional keyword search about 20% of my time now. These new ways of searching are far more efficient and accurate.
They can search at a capacity that I could never. For example, when I use Perplexity, I can give it a vague query. It will synthesize data from 20 sources and deliver a focused answer. Whereas with Google, I would have to click each link and would be overwhelmed with irrelevant results.
Perplexity is faster, more efficient, and gives you a concise, conversational summary instead of a list of links.
The new search method is fundamentally a better experience. It cuts through the noise.
And while LLMs don't currently generate high traffic volumes (compared to Google), the traffic they do generate is of extremely high quality and with serious intent. An LLM interaction can transform someone from entirely unaware to product-ready in about 10 minutes, dramatically shortening sales cycles. A point that I will bring up in the next section of this post.
Creating Content for AI Digestion
Your content needs to serve humans but be "wrapped for AI", meaning easily digestible by machines. Remember what I said about how Perplexity AI efficiently consolidates answers for users? This means we must be more thoughtful about creating content for AI consumption in the future as well.
Structure Is Everything
Explicit, Answer-Based Content. In traditional marketing funnels, we are taught to build our website funnels like a salesperson. In the AI world, we have to develop it more like a teacher. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and direct answers.
Schema Markup. This code informs Google and AI precisely what your business does, the services you offer, and which pages address specific questions. It's crucial for knowledge panels and LLM training data.
AI-Friendly Formats. FAQs, bullet points, numbered lists, and tables aren't just user-friendly. They're quotable by AI and ensure no key points get lost.
Semantic Richness and EEAT
AI prefers content that sounds natural, not keyword-stuffed. Instead of repeating "plumber" 50 times, use related words like "pipe repair," "water heater installation," and "drainage expert." Your content should prove you know your stuff through
Experience through real-world case studies and examples
Expertise with industry knowledge and technical accuracy
Authoritativeness via credentials and recognition
Trustworthiness through transparency, citations, and balanced perspectives
Search Everywhere Optimization
LLMs crawl the entire internet, not just websites. This demands "Search Everywhere Optimization", maintaining a consistent presence across
Google Business Profile
YouTube
Reddit
Social platforms (LinkedIn, X, Pinterest)
Trusted directories (Yelp, industry-specific platforms)
This comprehensive presence builds a strong "entity" that AI can confidently reference.
The Power of Third-Party Signals
Getting your brand mentioned is crucial, and it's heavily influenced by what others say about you.
Editorial backlinks from respected publications
Brand mentions in listicles and industry articles
Podcast interviews and guest appearances
Diverse reviews across multiple platforms
Review diversity provides more training data and quality proof for LLMs.
Practical Implementation Steps
Want to actually implement this stuff? Start with these three moves.
1. Comprehensive Site Audit
Make sure your website is easily crawlable by AI systems. Consider implementing an LLMs.txt file, a proposed standard that tells AI crawlers what information to prioritize. Think of it as leaving breadcrumbs for the bots.
2. Let AI Help You Find Better Keywords
Use AI tools to uncover high-potential keywords, especially those long, conversational phrases your customers actually type. "Emergency plumber near me open Sunday" beats "plumber" every time.
3. Use AI as Your Writing Assistant (Not Your Ghostwriter)
AI shouldn't replace your unique voice, but it's killer for generating content ideas, structuring articles, creating SEO-optimized titles and meta descriptions, and suggesting internal links. Think co-pilot, not autopilot.
The Matt Metros Take
Here is what I think. AI is definitely changing the SEO industry, but the claims are somewhat overblown.
Statements like "If you stick to old-school manual SEO, you'll fall behind" feel like BS to me.
The fundamentals remain. Answer user questions and build authority.
But AI is reshaping how we execute those fundamentals in five key ways. Here are a couple of points I’d like to make.
Classic SEO isn't dead. Much of 'AI SEO' is traditional SEO with new tools. The principles remain essentially unchanged.
Smaller, More Efficient Teams. Where we once needed large content teams, a handful of people with AI tools can accomplish more. AI automates keyword research, content creation, and technical audits, compressing days of work into minutes.
Optimize for Bots. You're not just trying to rank on Google anymore. Now you need ChatGPT and other AI tools to recommend your business when people ask questions. That means writing more like how people actually talk and less like a keyword robot.
Be Everywhere That Matters. AI doesn't just look at your website. It scans Reddit, YouTube, review sites, social media, everything. If people are talking about you online, AI finds it. So you need to show up wherever your customers hang out
Real-Time: AI SEO tools can monitor and adapt to algorithm changes in real time. Whereas traditional SEO relies on slower, manual updates.
Think of AI SEO as an upgrade to traditional SEO. A new workflow. We used to work in steps. Now, AI handles multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritizes fixes.
But the core goal? Still the same. Answer user questions and build authority.
Overview
Is "AI SEO" overhyped?
The label might be, but the underlying shifts that I mentioned are very real.
AI hasn't reinvented SEO. It's more like SEO got a significant software update. The main thing is still about answering questions and being trustworthy, but now you're playing on multiple fields at once.
For anyone running a business, focus on two things:
First, consider where you show up. Not just Google. Get on review sites, social media, YouTube, wherever people in your industry hang out. AI pulls information from all these places when making recommendations.
Second, write for humans, but format the content for the robots. Use FAQs, bullet points, and straightforward answers. Make it easy for both your customers AND AI to understand what you do and why you're the best choice.
These are the two fundamental things we should focus on right now.
So, has AI changed SEO? Kind of. There's nothing radically "new" to add, but the emphasis on what matters has shifted.
Start thinking about how your company can become the best answer and the most trusted online. The businesses winning with AI are the ones creating helpful content everywhere online and making it stupid-simple for AI to recommend them.
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