What happens when AI-agents begins to account for an increasing number of searches online?
A person searches for something online, and then an AI service presents relevant answers. Or does it?
In the past, SEO work has largely involved getting AI services (such as (ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Claude) to recommend a company or a website to the person behind the search. But it is no longer as simple as people searching and AI responding. Increasingly, it is AI agents that both search for and analyse information, make comparisons and formulate answers and results.
For businesses, this means that your next customer might not be a human – but an AI agent.
What exactly is an AI agent?
A standard AI service answers a question asked by a human. An AI agent can take this a step further. Instead of merely providing an answer to a question that has already been asked, the agent can ask questions itself, search for information, visit websites, compare different options and solve complex tasks. This development means that a search does not have to end with a person clicking on a search result; instead, the AI can be the ultimate “customer”.
Google is one of many organisations that have begun to develop so-called ‘search agents’, which constantly operate in the background and gather information from the web. These agents do everything from finding a supplier to comparing different products or investigating which company best suits a particular need. In the future, it is likely that all AI services will evolve towards more agent-based approaches.
Does SEO become less important when the customer is an AI??
If it is no longer people who visit websites, does that mean websites are becoming less important? No, on the contrary, it is more important than ever to have a website optimised for AI SEO.
People, of course, still visit websites, and will continue to do so. The difference now is that it may be an AI agent that finds and reads the content first. That is why businesses need to adapt their digital presence to both people and AI.
The companies that stand out the most are quite simply those whose websites are written by and for people, whilst at the same time being easy for AI search engines and agents to understand. This creates better conditions for being visible online and becoming part of the new search experience.
Will people stop searching online?
It is important for SEO that texts are written by people, something we highlight in the article VWhat is EEAT, and why does Google assess the author of a piece of text? It has, in fact, become clear that AI tools are increasingly filtering out texts written entirely by AI, partly due to a lack of expertise.
It may sound contradictory that websites need to be written by people – but not for people. Yet one does not necessarily preclude the other. We humans will continue to search online. That is why content needs to be relevant, easy to read and useful to us. At the same time, texts need to have a clear author and be structured in a way that makes them easy for search engines and AI tools to understand as well.
How do AI agents find my business?
For an AI agent to be able to search for, find and ultimately recommend your business, it needs to understand the company.
- What do you sell?
- Which customers are you targeting?
- In which geographical areas do you operate?
- What sets you apart from your competitors?
- Is there any evidence that you’re good at what you do (reviews, etc.)?
- Is there any information about the company’s background (on an ”About Us” page or similar)?
This is where clear and well-structured content becomes particularly important. This also applies when the recipient of the information is an AI service.
AI agents can also retrieve information from a variety of sources. It is therefore not only important what is on the company’s own website, but also what information about the company is available elsewhere on the web.
Is traditional SEO on the way out?
No, traditional SEO isn’t going away. Good content, structure, relevant keywords and links will always be key elements of a strong website. But they need to be viewed in a broader context.
In the past, we have mainly optimised our content so that a search engine can understand and rank a page. Now we also need to consider how the information can be used by AI to generate an answer, compare options or recommend a business.
For businesses, this means that SEO work becomes even more closely linked to branding, content and trust. It is not always enough simply to write the longest article or add a few extra keywords to a page.
We keep track of developments in SEO
No one knows exactly what AI search will look like in a few years’ time. But the trend is clearly towards search engines and AI services becoming increasingly autonomous.
At seodr.®, we use AI-SEO to help businesses appear in search results – whether the search is carried out by a human on Google or by an AI agent.
We keep track of developments and new trends in search, so that you and your business can feel confident that your website is optimised for the search behaviour of today and tomorrow.
Do you need help with SEO on your website?
Contact us at seodr.® and we will guide you through the new ways of searching for information.
