AI and the fundamental shift in search that all marketers need to understand
By Tom Jones
Why AI Mode marks a break from 25 years of search convention – and what brands need to do next.
At Everybody we’ve been analyzing Google’s AI Mode since its launch at Google I/O in May 2025 (missed it? You can watch it here) and rollout to US users. As of July 28, 2025, it’s also made its debut to the UK market. Make no mistake – this isn’t just a new search feature. It signals a seismic shift in the entire model that’s underpinned search for the last 25+ years.
ChatGPT may have 1B monthly users but Google still serves 5T+ searches annually
Of course, LLMs such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude have been busy pioneering how a billion monthly users interact with technology to find information and solve problems1 , but Google remains the global leader in search, serving 5 trillion searches in 20242.
AI Mode is the forerunner of a reimagined search experience for everyone, everywhere. It’s a very big deal – especially with $200B/year in ad revenue hanging in the balance (but that’s a topic for another day).
Upending the value exchange?
AI Mode, and search via other LLMs more generally, represents a fundamental break from how the web has worked for the last 25 years. The status quo deal was clear: publishers create relevant content and get relevant traffic in return; search engines monetize their useful search results; and end users easily find content that answers their search needs. Broadly speaking, everyone wins (we can debate the equity of this value exchange later).
But now? Google, following ChatGPT’s lead, wants to answer questions without sending users to websites. This creates zero-click search at scale – and poses an existential risk to organic traffic. (Spoiler: brands that become trusted sources for LLMs will still win – just in new ways.)
New challenges? Check. New opportunities? Absolutely!
It’s not all bad news. In fact, this shift creates a powerful opportunity: to become the go-to source cited in AI-generated answers that shape consumer perception and behaviour. The brands that move fast and adapt to the new model will be the ones that grow their influence – and share of voice – in unprecedented ways.
Thought starters for marketing approaches
There’s a lot to unpack about how AI Mode works (and we’ll be sharing more), but here are a few key ideas to get you thinking.
Understand user intent at a deeper level
AI Mode uses the deep reasoning power of Google’s most advanced Gemini 2.5 model to figure out not just what users say, but what they mean. Marketers need to piece together a complete picture of consumer intent and needs, not just identify keywords to rank for. It’s more important than ever for brands to align consumer intent with true domain expertise and value, focusing intensely on that intersection.
Ranking for one keyword won’t cut it
Through a process called query fan-out, Google now turns every search into a cluster of related searches. If someone searches for ‘wearable wellness device,’ Google also explores price, features, comparisons, and more. Ranking for the original term is no guarantee you’ll get cited if you can’t demonstrate relevance across the full landscape of intent.
Every paragraph must stand on its own
Google now pulls content at the paragraph level, not the page level. Content structure and quality have always been vital – but now every paragraph must be complete, well-structured, and citation-worthy on its own. Comprehensive pages that ramble won’t win.
‘Multimodal’ sets an expectation for outputs as well as defining inputs
Just as you can ask questions via text, speech, video, or live camera, Google seeks to solve queries via whatever media is most appropriate – graph, text, image, video, or other format. That means considering what type of content is best to address the question being asked.
Traffic metrics will eventually become irrelevant
In a world where Google answers questions without sending people to your site, traditional metrics break down. Success will mean something different: becoming the source that Google, ChatGPT, and other AI systems cite – or, dare we say, endorse – when they respond to your customers.
This shift is already happening
Brands that adapt their visibility and content strategy to the parameters of AI-driven search will establish themselves as authoritative and frequently cited sources. The question isn’t whether search is changing. It’s whether your brand is showing up in the answers.
We’re excited by what this new era means for marketers. If this post has struck a chord, please get in touch – we’d love to help you shape your strategy for what’s next.
