AI search is about to change the SEO industry

[fisicx]

Do they need organic results?

Ask a questions and if Google provides the answer there is no need to visit the website.

Shopping is a little different but Google wants you to use their channels and sponsored listings not visit your little online store. You may be seeing some results for your clients but I’m not sure this will last.

 

[Shopclicks]

Do they need organic results?

Ask a questions and if Google provides the answer there is no need to visit the website.

Shopping is a little different but Google wants you to use their channels and sponsored listings not visit your little online store. You may be seeing some results for your clients but I’m not sure this will last.

Do they need organic results? Yes, or organic would have disappeared from Google search and Google would become a purely paid Ad platform. They get that not every business is going to pay for advertising and users need the organic results.

I'm primarily focused on what Google will do with product and service AI search (as the previous AI tools like Bard & ChatGPT are useless for this).

I'm only seeing clients website links on Bing AI search and the standard Bing & Google search pages. What Google looks like when SGE takes over is the big unknown.

 

[WaveJumper]

OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed creator of ChatGPT, has confirmed the chatbot can now browse the internet to provide users with current information.

ChatGPT can now access up to date information

The chatbot's knowledge previously only included data up to September 2021, but not any more.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Shopclicks]

OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed creator of ChatGPT, has confirmed the chatbot can now browse the internet to provide users with current information.

Sure .... if you want to pay USD$20 a month. ChatGPT usage will drop drastically when Google unveils SGE. It's a money grab while it lasts.

 

[DontAsk]

Does anyone actually use search engines when at the buying stage?

Yes.

Over 40 orders from Amazon (over 60 last year)

I use Amazon to get an idea of what I want and prices, then often find it cheaper elsewhere by using Google.

 

[fisicx]

Ignore shopping for now. There are billions of searches everyday where people are looking for answers, information and advice.

It’s these searches that will have the biggest effect. If you want legal help Google will provide the answer. You won’t then need to visit a website. It’s the zero-click option. If you are a news site that relies on advertising revenue and your visitors dry up so does your revenue.

The other issue of course is the quality of source content will fall as more inaccurate AI generated articles are published and used for the LLM. This is already happening.

 

[Shopclicks]

I use Amazon to get an idea of what I want and prices, then often find it cheaper elsewhere by using Google.

I think it's interesting that while Amazon feature prominently in organic search results on Bing and Google search engines, I have yet to see an organic Amazon entry on Bing AI Chat product search. I believe this is because Amazon have never focused on product category descriptions and don't display any sort of product expertise or informative content.

 

[fisicx]

are Amazon interested in organic search results? When I want to buy something I use the eBay and Amazon apps on my phone. Same with screwfix. I rarely use Google to search for products.

 

[DontAsk]

I think it's interesting that while Amazon feature prominently in organic search results on Bing and Google search engines, I have yet to see an organic Amazon entry on Bing AI Chat product search. I believe this is because Amazon have never focused on product category descriptions and don't display any sort of product expertise or informative content.

Amazon search is pretty crap, but it sometimes throws up some interesting things. That's what I mean by get an idea of what I want.

 

[DontAsk]

If you are a news site that relies on advertising revenue and your visitors dry up so does your revenue.

You just throw a hissy fit and demand a link-tax for linking to your news. The linkers capitulated in Australia, but have put up more of a fight in Canada.

 

[Shopclicks]

are Amazon interested in organic search results? When I want to buy something I use the eBay and Amazon apps on my phone. Same with screwfix. I rarely use Google to search for products.

My point is that in regular organic search on Google or Bing, Amazon is placed #1 or #2 in millions of product searches. But don't rate a mention on Bing's AI chat product searches.

So far ... better for the little guy.

 

[thetiger2015]

My point is that in regular organic search on Google or Bing, Amazon is placed #1 or #2 in millions of product searches. But don't rate a mention on Bing's AI chat product searches.

So far ... better for the little guy.

Maybe Bing is trying to be different - Amazon product pages are the opposite of what you'd suggest someone does when building a website. They hide the description down the bottom, below product suggestions, buying options, delivery dates etc. The product descriptions themselves are just copied and pasted from the manufacturer, yet, Amazon is top for almost every major product search. It's almost as if SEO is a waste of time, because Amazon gets the top spots in the categories it wishes, with little to no effort on their part. The website has largely remained the same for over a decade.

Bing is maybe trying to differentiate itself a little, otherwise it's just a Google clone. The problem they have is that Google is involved in more than just a search box on a white page. They have Google Maps, which is integrated with lots of sat navs. Our car for example, we don't need to use our phone, it's fully integrated with Google so I can just ask it for directions to the nearest shop, petrol station, restaurant....parking. No need to pick up a phone at all, no search boxes, it shows all of the nearby points of interest. I'm sure it also shows things like cinemas/theatres etc. That's where Google is too far advanced for the competition, you use it without even knowing you're using it.

 

[fisicx]

So far ... better for the little guy.

On bing. Which has such a tiny audience it’s really not worth the effort. Even with all the integration in other MS products it’s still not getting much traction.

I’ve got a site that has thousands of visitors daily from the search engines. Bing is under 1%

 

[Shopclicks]

On bing. Which has such a tiny audience it’s really not worth the effort. Even with all the integration in other MS products it’s still not getting much traction.

Bing might be tiny audience. Nobody relies on Bing, I get that. But they are leading the way in free AI search. This thread is talking about that. And how Google may follow suit or may not.

I’ve got a site that has thousands of visitors daily from the search engines.

Have you checked if that site is being picked up by AI search for the same keywords?

 

[fisicx]

Have you checked if that site is being picked up by AI search for the same keywords?

No. Because it’s a very specific search. People ask a very direct question that doesn’t have an AI answer.

 

[Shopclicks]

It's almost as if SEO is a waste of time, because Amazon gets the top spots in the categories it wishes, with little to no effort on their part.

It does seem like something of a paradox. But what I do know is that if I apply the principles I know about SEO, pages rank higher. The reason Amazon is at the top of search results is because Google knows people like Amazon and it would be foolish not to include them towards the top.

 

[Shopclicks]

No. Because it’s a very specific search. People ask a very direct question that doesn’t have an AI answer.

AI will be looking in the same way Google looks for relevant search results.

 

[Fagin2021]

OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed creator of ChatGPT, has confirmed the chatbot can now browse the internet to provide users with current information.

ChatGPT can now access up to date information

The chatbot's knowledge previously only included data up to September 2021, but not any more.

www.bbc.co.uk

Unless of course it's blocked from doing so. Here are the last two entries in The Guardian Newspaper's robot.txt file..

User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: CCBot
Disallow: /

Apparently this is becoming common practise for major sites.