Among the areas that AI continues to disrupt, one high-stakes segment is online visibility. Traditionally, the domain of SEO, the evolving ways that AI engines surface content means there are new rules for making sure your business is invited to the party.
This is the topic of BIA’s latest podcast episode, which you can watch below.
One of the reasons for these shifting rules of online visibility is the changing ways that people search. They’re using full sentences and natural language, as opposed to the “caveman-speak” (e.g., “coffee near me”) that Google has conditioned us to use over the past 25 years.
To quantify that, SOCi’s Local Visibility Index found that AI-engine queries average 23 words in length, compared to 4 words for traditional search. That’s almost a 6x difference, which means much more specific user intent. They’re using all those extra words to say exactly what they want.
Those specifics can include things like menu items, food allergies, dog friendliness, or the best place to get a goat milk caramel latte within 1.5 miles of the freeway on your drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. You get the point… things are getting a lot more specific and needy (Millennials will be right at home).
So how does that go back to the art of online visibility? Like SEO, the name of the game is reverse engineering – anticipating what people will search for, and making sure the content on your website and online listings align. And that’s no longer defined by the traditional art of “keyword research.
For example, to answer such granular queries, AI engines and LLMs have to dig deeper to find answers. And they usually find those answers where there’s lots of long-tail content on various subjects. That means places like Yelp reviews, or sub-Reddits where people talk endlessly on specific topics.
That means that businesses today have to be in those very locations. These have always been important in traditional SEO, but the stakes are higher in the new flavor of AI SEO, or AIO, that’s emerging. And the more market share that AI search grabs, the more important all the above is.
But all the above just scratches the surface. You can see more analysis in the latest episode of BIA’s Leading Local Podcast. Listen here or watch the full episode below and subscribe here.
