How We’re Approaching SEO in the Age of AI Search

AI search has changed how people find and consume information. More and more, people get the answers they need without ever clicking through to a website. It might be an AI Overview in Google Search, a Perplexity summary, or a ChatGPT recommendation. Either way, the interaction ends before a brand’s site loads.

These zero-click searches are becoming the norm. They reduce traffic from search, making organic sessions a weaker measure of SEO success.

But that doesn’t make SEO irrelevant. It just means visibility must be measured differently. At Bonfire, we’re adjusting our approach to ensure brands still connect with their audience—even when a website visit isn’t part of the journey.

TL;DR

• Zero-click behaviour is surging as AI answers appear above traditional results.
• Optimisation must target citations, quotes, and mentions inside AI experiences, not just blue-link clicks.
• Strong structure and schema improve content comprehension for extractive systems.
• Success metrics must go beyond sessions, with visibility and impact reported across the business.

Our Updated SEO Approach

Search visibility in AI-powered results depends on how well content is built, both in what’s written and how it’s structured. We focus on four key areas:

1. Make Content Machine-Readable

Language models and search engines rely on clean structure to understand topics and extract answers. We:

• Use logical heading hierarchies and clear topic progression.
• Add short definition-style summaries at the top of key pages.
• Break content into labelled sections such as Key Features, Service Areas, and Process.
• Keep lists consistent and put the most important sentence first.
• Include TL;DR and FAQ sections for clarity, while noting Google now limits FAQ rich results to a small set of authoritative sites.

2. Use Schema for Meaning and Eligibility

Schema helps search engines and AI understand a page’s purpose and, in some cases, qualify it for special search features.

We prioritise types Google actively supports, such as Product, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList, and Article, and use descriptive types like Service to strengthen context. This combination improves comprehension and expands the ways a brand can appear in results.

3. Cover Topics with Clarity

Modern search rewards depth, coherence, and topic coverage over keyword repetition.

For a Perth buyers’ agency, we wouldn’t stop at “buyers agent Perth.” We’d also cover off-market property searches, auction bidding strategies, suburb profiles, investment yield analysis, and settlement processes—meeting the full scope of what a searcher might want to know.

We map core pages to semantic clusters, ensuring content is comprehensive and tightly aligned with search intent.

4. Counter Content Decay

Visibility fades when fresher sources dominate AI experiences. We run rolling audits on high-value pages to update:

• Headings to match current search language.
• Body copy to reflect updated services and offers.
• Sections to address emerging subtopics seen in AI results.

Fresh content stays in the conversation.

New Metrics for a New Search Era

Your audience can engage with your content without landing on your site—through AI summaries, voice assistants, or featured snippets. Traffic alone misses this impact.

We now track:

• Search impressions and SERP features, even with low click-through.
• Citations in AI Overviews and other generative answers.
• Presence in featured snippets, knowledge panels, or FAQ boxes.
• Cross-channel engagement originating from organic search, such as direct enquiries or branded search lifts.
• Qualitative brand signals like awareness, trust, and sales readiness.

Dashboards combine these with traditional metrics, giving leadership a clear view of value even when traffic trends are flat.

Search Is Still Here, It Just Looks a Little Different

People are still searching, asking questions, comparing options, and deciding who to trust. What’s changed is where those answers appear and how often they involve a click.

Visibility now may mean being quoted in an AI summary, cited in a sidebar, or influencing a decision before your URL appears. Your website’s role has shifted, but showing up still matters.

We help brands adapt by keeping SEO fundamentals strong and applying them for today’s AI-driven search. Platforms will evolve, but our goal remains: be present where decisions are made.

If you’re ready to build your SEO strategy for the AI era, we’re ready to talk. Get in touch via our Contact page.