How LLMs Are Disrupting SEO and Brand Discovery
Summary:
AI is changing the way customers search, decide, and trust brands. Traditional SEO is no longer enough, with LLMs like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews pulling answers straight from the web—often without crediting the original site. This executive briefing outlines what CMOs must do now: reset outdated KPIs, reallocate budget to AI-friendly strategies, and evolve brand positioning for a world where being summarized is better than being searched. Real-world brand examples and fCMO insights included.
Marketing leaders have always had to adapt. But rarely has the landscape changed this quickly—or this fundamentally.
With Google’s AI Overviews rolling out and LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity becoming the go-to interface for information, the concept of search has changed.
In fact, 43% of Google’s AI Overviews now link to Google-owned pages. The game has changed.
This isn’t an SEO problem—it’s a brand strategy problem.
Search Isn’t Dead—But Traditional KPIs Are
Most scaling brands are still tracking:
Organic traffic
Pageviews
Bounce rates
CTRs from SERPs
But what happens when your best-performing blog no longer gets surfaced?
Instead, marketing leaders must begin tracking visibility within AI ecosystems, including:
Share of summary – how often your brand, products, or data show up in AI-generated responses
Direct traffic and branded search volume – key proxies for recall and trust
Engagement across expert channels – podcast listens, webinar signups, long-form social interaction
Referral and mention rate from curated sources – niche media and user-generated content
It’s not about driving users to your site. It’s about making your brand unavoidable across LLM-powered discovery.
Where to Reinvest: Smarter Budget Allocation in an AI World
Old strategy:
60% of budget into SEO blogs, backlinks, and keyword-driven content
New strategy:
Budget allocation should now prioritize AI-native content and infrastructure:
1. Structured Content + Technical SEO
Use schema markup (FAQ, HowTo, Product) so AI models can "read" and repurpose your site
Organize content into clear, answer-based formats
Tag and source your data and stats so LLMs can cite you properly
2. Thought Leadership at Scale
Turn your founder’s POV into LinkedIn posts, podcasts, video clips
Publish insights that are quotable and referenceable
Don’t just write—speak, appear, and collaborate across platforms AI pulls from
3. User-Generated Content and Community
Encourage customers to post how they use your product
Create incentivized campaigns for creators, customers, or employees to post stories
Build branded forums or Reddit-style threads that AI models mine for “authentic” voice
4. First-Party Data and AI-Optimized Analytics
Centralize your content, CRM, and performance data so your team knows what actually gets surfaced in summaries
Audit what content is being “borrowed” by AI (tools like Perplexity and AlsoAsked help)
Pro Tips: How to Stay Visible
Run an “AI Audit”: Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google Overviews questions your customers would. Do you show up?
Own Your Category: If you’re a D2C cookware brand, be the cited expert on sustainability, recipes, or performance.
Shift team KPIs: Set internal goals not around traffic, but topical authority, content sourcing, and quote frequency.
Train your team to write in LLM-digestible formats: short paragraphs, strong sources, contextual phrasing.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t just a content marketing adjustment—it’s a strategic repositioning moment. Brands that treat this as a temporary dip will fall behind. Those who invest in AI-native brand visibility will own the next era of digital trust.
CEOs need to act fast—before the boardroom starts asking, "Why is our traffic down and leads slowing?"
How I.E Can Help
As your fractional CMO and strategic growth partner, I.E helps you:
Redefine marketing KPIs to reflect real brand influence in the AI age
Build content systems optimized for AI summaries, LLM scraping, and zero-click impact
Train internal teams to generate expert-led thought leadership that gets used by AI
Align marketing and business strategy—so every dollar drives visibility, trust, and performance
Ready to grow? Let's talk.
Sources:
WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-has-upended-the-search-game-marketers-are-scrambling-to-catch-up-84264b34?mod=cmo-today_lead_pos2
Search Engine Journal: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-links-to-itself-43-of-ai-overviews-point-back-t[…]paign=mkb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew
