Understanding E-E-A-T: The Cornerstone of Quality Content

Google's quality guidelines emphasize E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) as the framework for evaluating content quality, especially as AI-generated content becomes more common.

In 2022, Google added "Experience" to the previously known E-A-T framework, highlighting the importance of first-hand, real-world knowledge. This means successful content should demonstrate the author's actual experience, such as personal product use or location visits.

E-E-A-T isn't a single ranking metric but rather a framework that influences how algorithms evaluate content. Google's systems look for signals of each component:

• Experience: Content showing first-hand expertise and depth of knowledge
• Expertise: Clear demonstration of subject matter knowledge
• Authoritativeness: Establishing credibility through author bylines, bios, and references
• Trustworthiness: Clear sourcing, evidence of expertise, and background information about authors or sites

This framework is crucial because it underpins Google's helpful-content standards. Google has clarified that content quality matters more than who (or what) created it—meaning even AI-generated content must earn trust by meeting E-E-A-T criteria

Low-quality, automated content created merely to manipulate rankings is treated as spam, while original content demonstrating E-E-A-T is more likely to rank well. Remember: quality over quantity is key, as Google prioritizes content providing real value.

The Impact of AI on Content Creation and SEO

AI content tools are transforming how marketing teams generate and scale content. BrightEdge users have used Copilot for Content Advisor to generate millions of briefs and drafts to aid in optimized content creation. It assists in automated content drafting, on-page optimization, and keyword research. Generative AI can dramatically speed up content production – for example, writing a page that might take hours can be done in seconds with a prompt.

These technologies must be coupled with original human elements. This means infusing AI drafts with original anecdotes, examples, and strategic thinking that set your content apart.

Challenges and Opportunities in the AI Era

The Growing Impact of AI Tools

SEO professionals are increasingly adopting AI tools for content creation and optimization, seeing significant improvements in publishing speed and content iteration capabilities. While AI delivers clear benefits, many professionals still prioritize maintaining content quality and authenticity when leveraging these technologies.

Quality Standards Remain Paramount

Google's position is straightforward: using automation isn't prohibited, but automated content must be high quality and "helpful and people-first." Content generated solely to manipulate search rankings violates spam policies. The best approach is using AI to enhance your strategy—BrightEdge's Copilot for Content Advisor exemplifies this balanced approach, helping teams generate idea lists or first drafts while maintaining focus on user value.

Evolution of Search Behavior

AI is transforming how users interact with search. Generative AI features like Google's AI Overviews are appearing more frequently. These direct-answer features can reduce clicks to traditional results since users often find their answers without leaving the search page. This doesn’t mean AI-assisted content can’t serve AI and traditional results. In fact, maintaining strong organic rankings helps ensure your content appears in AI-generated answers as well.

Overall, AI offers tremendous opportunity to create and optimize content at scale, but it raises the bar on quality. Marketers must use AI tools strategically, uphold E-E-A-T, and adapt to new search formats. Done right, AI can free teams to focus more on strategy and user needs, while continuing to build content that humans and algorithms alike trust.

Implementing E-E-A-T Principles in AI-Generated Content

Infusing Human Expertise and Experience

Building true E-E-A-T into AI-assisted content requires deliberate steps to demonstrate expertise, authority, and trust. Google's quality criteria specifically look for content that shows first-hand expertise and depth of knowledge, such as actual product usage or location visits. To achieve this:

• Incorporate real experiences: Add case studies, personal anecdotes, or data analysis that only knowledgeable professionals could provide.
• Include subject-matter experts: Have specialists write or review content to ensure accuracy and add unique insights.
• Showcase credentials: Always include author bylines with relevant qualifications to help users judge credibility.
• Support with authority: Link to recognized sources, official research, and reputable websites to boost authority.
• Ensure accuracy: Fact-check all AI-generated statements and remove unsupported claims.
• Consider transparency: When appropriate, disclose AI assistance while ensuring human oversight is emphasized.

By blending AI efficiency with real expertise, demonstrating clear authoritativeness, and building trust through accuracy, AI-assisted content can meet Google's highest quality standards.

Optimizing Content for AI Search

As search evolves, strategies must adapt to align with how AI systems interpret and present content:

• Use structured data: Implement schema markup (FAQ Page, HowTo, Product) to help AI systems recognize authoritative answers.
• Format for clarity: Use clear headings and bullet points so AI can easily parse your content.
• Prioritize page experience: Ensure fast loading times and follow Core Web Vitals for better user engagement.
• Create concise answers: Structure content with key answers immediately visible, as AI-driven interfaces often pull short summaries.
• Monitor engagement: Track metrics like click-through rate and session duration to gauge content effectiveness.
• Update regularly: Refresh top-performing content to stay aligned with evolving AI patterns.

The most successful approach combines structured content, excellent user experience, and data-informed updates while always prioritizing user needs and questions. This human-centered strategy ensures content thrives in the AI-driven search landscape.

Measuring E-E-A-T Success in AI Search Environments

As AI search features become more prominent, measuring E-E-A-T effectiveness requires specialized metrics that reflect both traditional SEO and AI-specific performance:

AI Feature Inclusion

Track how often your content appears in AI search features like Google's AI Overviews or generative answer boxes. Being consistently cited in these AI-generated summaries indicates your content demonstrates the expertise and authority that AI systems recognize. Monitor which specific pages and topics receive the most AI citations to identify your strongest E-E-A-T content.

Organic Traffic Patterns with AI Integration

Analyze traffic changes as AI features expand. Look for correlations between strong E-E-A-T signals and content resilience against potential traffic declines from AI answer boxes. Pages with robust expertise signals often continue receiving clicks even when competing with AI summaries, as users seek deeper information from trusted sources.

Query Intent Satisfaction

Measure how well your content addresses the complete user journey in AI-first search. AI systems evaluate content based on how thoroughly it answers user questions and anticipates follow-up needs. Track whether users who land on your page from AI-influenced search results engage deeply or quickly return to search results (indicating incomplete answers).

AI-Specific Engagement Signals

Track new engagement patterns emerging in AI search interactions. This includes metrics like zero-click searches (where users get information directly from AI summaries) versus full-content engagement. Content with strong E-E-A-T often drives users to seek more detailed information beyond AI summaries.

Structured Data Effectiveness

Measure how your schema implementation impacts AI feature inclusion. Content with proper structured data (FAQPage, HowTo, etc.) that aligns with E-E-A-T principles is more easily parsed by AI systems. Track whether improvements in structured data lead to better representation in AI search features.

Authority Recognition in Competitive Analysis

Compare your AI feature inclusion rate against competitors for the same queries. If your content appears more frequently in AI-generated answers for shared keywords, it suggests your E-E-A-T signals are stronger. Use this comparative data to identify opportunities for enhancing expertise and authority markers.

For successful measurement, combine traditional analytics with AI-specific tracking tools that monitor your content's performance across emerging search features. This holistic approach ensures your E-E-A-T strategy remains effective as search continues its evolution toward AI-first experiences.

Finally, adopt a mindset of continuous improvement. Regularly review performance data to spot underperforming content. A drop in traffic or engagement might mean E-E-A-T elements need strengthening (e.g., adding expert quotes, updating references, or clarifying trust signals). Use this feedback loop: refine content based on metrics and re-test. In summary, E-E-A-T implementation for AI search is not a one-time task but an ongoing strategy. By grounding content in real expertise and trust now, you’ll be ready for whatever AI-driven search engines bring next.

Site migrations have always been one of the riskiest moments for organic search—but in 2025, the stakes have grown higher. Search isn’t just about rankings anymore. It’s about how you appear in AI-generated answers, summaries, and recommendations. Whether you’re rebranding with a new domain, launching a redesign, or moving to a new CMS, the wrong migration decisions can erase years of hard-earned search visibility across both traditional SERPs and AI search.

This guide was created to reflect the new search reality—where AI models not only crawl and rank your content but decide whether to cite it in high-visibility summaries. We wrote a step-by-step migration guide helped thousands of marketers navigate the basics. But this new guide is for 2025: which requires the fundamentals but you must also have an AI-focused strategy which will require some specific capabilities.

Site Migrations Happen Regardless of Experience Levels

This guide is written for digital marketers—not just technical SEOs— who are tasked with leading or supporting a website migration. Whether you're planning a full domain switch or relaunching a mobile-first redesign, there are fundamental steps required which ensure your transition is smooth.

We’ll walk you through:

• Major Migration Types
• What to do pre-launch, during launch, and post-launch
• How AI search engines like Google’s AI Overviews and SearchGPT evaluate and cite content differently from traditional engines
• The capabilities within BrightEdge and OnCrawl that can help you prepare, execute, and monitor your migration successfully

What Is a Site Migration?

A site migration is any substantial change to your website’s domain, structure, or platform that affects how it appears and performs in organic search. The changes may be technical, content-driven, or structural—but all of them impact how Google, Bing, and now AI engines crawl, interpret, and cite your pages.

Here are common types of migrations digital marketers may oversee:

• Domain name change or rebrand (e.g., oldbrand.com → newbrand.com)
• Protocol shift (HTTP → HTTPS)
• URL structure changes, like removing .html, restructuring categories, or shifting from subdomains to subfolders
• Platform or CMS migration, which can introduce new templates, URL formats, and rendering behavior
• Website redesign or code overhaul, often changing content hierarchy, page templates, and load times
• Mobile migration, such as moving from m.example.com to a fully responsive single site
• International site migration, such as consolidating ccTLDs into a subfolder model
• Site consolidation, combining multiple brand sites or microsites into one
• Host or server migration, where speed, uptime, and crawlability could be affected

Each of these scenarios is technically different—but they all require you to preserve one thing: your SEO equity, including rankings, links, citations, crawl paths, and topical authority.

In 2025, you also need to preserve your AI equity: the structured signals, schema, and associations that feed your presence in AI search results.

The AI Search Changes the SEO Migration Playbook

AI-powered search—like Google’s AI Overviews, Bing’s Copilot, and tools like Perplexity—don’t just index your site. They summarize, synthesize, and cite content from across the web.

That means your visibility isn’t just about where you rank anymore. It’s about whether AI systems trust your content enough to include you in answers.

During a site migration, you risk losing that trust if:

• Previously cited content is removed or merged without maintaining its identity
• Schema or structured data is dropped
• Pages are slower to render, load behind JavaScript, or fail to meet accessibility standards
• Redirects are misconfigured, creating loops or soft 404s
• Internal link structures are weakened, breaking topical authority chains

To win in AI search after a migration, you must go beyond traditional redirects and rankings. You need to:

• Maintain clarity, structure, and speed in every new page
• Monitor how your visibility in AI summaries and citations changes
• Use schema markup and semantic consistency to reinforce your topical authority

With BrightEdge Data Cube X, you can track how your site is cited and how changes affect your visibility—across both keyword-based and AI-driven search results.

Pre-Migration: Planning, Benchmarking, and Risk Assessment

Whether you’re running a site redesign, consolidating properties, or migrating to a new CMS, the planning phase is where you make or break success. Here’s what digital marketers need to do before launch:

1. Run a Complete Content and URL Inventory

Use BrightEdge ContentIQ or OnCrawl to crawl your site and export:

• All active URLs
• Title tags, meta descriptions, and H1s
• Canonical tags and schema markup
• Internal link structures and click depth

This becomes your working document to map redirects, ensure metadata preservation, and retain content integrity. Combine with BrightEdge Data Cube X to overlay performance data: which pages rank, convert, or appear in AI panels?

2. Set Benchmarks: Traditional + AI Search

Don’t just track keyword rankings. Track:

• Organic traffic by page
• AI Overview citations by query (using Data Cube X)
• Backlinks and top referrers
• Indexed URLs in Search Console

Use this to create KPIs: “Preserve 95% of AI citations and 90% of organic traffic within 60 days post-migration.”

3. Create Your Redirect Map

Depending on the type of migration, you may use:

• 1:1 redirect mapping (old URL → new URL)
• Wildcard redirects (entire path structures moved with patterns)

Use 301 redirects exclusively, not 302s. Test them in staging. Create a spreadsheet with columns: Old URL, New URL, Redirect Type, Schema Preserved (Y/N).

4. Audit Your Structured Data Strategy

Preserving schema types—Product, Article, FAQ, etc.—is now an AI priority. Confirm that your schema will:

• Remain intact post-migration
• Be upgraded if templates change
• Align with what’s cited in AI results (e.g., using FAQPage for common questions)

5. Crawl and Validate Your Staging Site

Run ContentIQ or OnCrawl on your staging site before go-live. Check:

• Canonicals reflect the new domain/structure
• Page speed meets Core Web Vitals
• Schema validates cleanly
• All test redirects function correctly
• Meta tags and headers are carried over

Lock the staging environment with robots.txt and noindex, but verify all pages render cleanly—especially JS-heavy templates.

Migration Day: Execute with Precision

Launch isn’t just a technical handoff. It’s an SEO and AI visibility event.

Key Tasks:

• Enable all 301 redirects and test top 100 legacy URLs
• Update internal links and canonical tags to reflect the new domain or structure
• Submit updated XML sitemaps in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
• Use Google’s Change of Address tool if you’ve changed domains
• Validate that schema, meta tags, hreflangs, and mobile tags have transitioned correctly

Monitor crawl behavior with OnCrawl log analysis in real-time to confirm that bots are hitting the new URLs and following redirects properly.

Post-Migration: Monitor, Fix, and Optimize

The weeks after migration are your window to catch and fix issues before they become long-term visibility losses.

What to Watch:

• Redirect coverage (ContentIQ + GSC Coverage report)
• Indexation shift (Old site index down, new site index up)
• Keyword rankings + AI citations (Data Cube X + SearchIQ)
• Traffic anomalies (BrightEdge’s Anomaly Detection)
• Bot crawl paths (OnCrawl live logs)

If you notice a major page drop in AI summaries or organic rankings, use:

• BrightEdge Copilot to rewrite content or metadata inline with AI patterns
• Autopilot to automatically optimize underperforming pages

Also, use SearchIQ to see what technical or content-related shifts may be affecting how you’re cited in AI Overviews.

Final Thoughts: Modern Migrations Require Modern Strategy

Migrating a website has always required planning. But in 2025, you’re not just migrating URLs. You’re migrating your relevance, your trust, and your AI presence.

The best migrations don’t just preserve—they improve. With capabilities like ContentIQ, Data Cube X, SearchIQ, Copilot, and Autopilot from BrightEdge—and technical analysis from OnCrawl—you can:

• Plan and map with confidence
• Migrate without SEO loss
• Monitor and recover post-launch
• Prepare your site to win across both search and AI systems

Search is no longer one-dimensional. Your next migration should be built for the AI-first era.

2025 SEO Site Migration Checklist

Preserve SEO performance and AI search visibility across domain, CMS, and site structure changes.

Pre-Migration Planning

Content & Technical Preparation

• Crawl and inventory all current URLs (BrightEdge ContentIQ / OnCrawl)
• Identify top-performing pages (SEO traffic, conversions, backlinks, AI citations)
• Export and map all title tags, meta descriptions, H1s, canonicals, and schema
• Benchmark rankings and AI citations (BrightEdge Data Cube X + SearchIQ)
• Document baseline metrics: indexed pages, traffic by URL, CTR, page speed
• Assess structured data coverage and plan to preserve/expand it
• Run a full technical SEO audit and address crawl issues on the old site
• Set site migration KPIs (e.g. “recover 95% of traffic within 60 days”)

Redirect Strategy

• Create a detailed 301 redirect map (Old URL → New URL)
• Use wildcard redirects only when structure is unchanged
• Ensure no redirect chains or loops
• Validate redirect logic in staging environment

Staging Site Validation

• Block indexing (robots.txt disallow + noindex meta)
• Run full crawl (ContentIQ / OnCrawl) to validate:
  • Internal links
  • Canonical tags
  • Meta data
  • Schema markup
  • Page speed
  • Mobile rendering

Migration Execution

Go-Live Checklist

• Launch all 301 redirects at go-live (not after)
• Switch internal links and canonicals to new URLs
• Submit updated XML sitemap to Google Search Console + Bing
• Use Change of Address tool (if applicable)
• Verify schema, hreflangs, and structured data are live
• Check robots.txt and remove staging disallow directives
• Validate analytics tracking is working on all pages
• Announce relaunch across owned channels (blog, social, email, PR)

Post-Migration Monitoring

Week 1–4 Tasks

• Monitor 301s and crawl errors (Search Console + ContentIQ)
• Track indexation trends: old URLs dropping, new URLs rising
• Compare traffic and rankings to pre-migration benchmarks
• Watch for anomalies using BrightEdge Anomaly Detection, such as:
  • Sudden drop in organic clicks or impressions for high-priority pages
  • Drop in keyword rankings for target terms
  • Spike in 404 (Not Found) errors from old URLs not redirecting
  • Any 5xx (server) errors indicating instability or downtime
  • Crawl rate drops or delays in sitemap processing by Google
• Track AI search presence in Overviews and summaries (SearchIQ)
• Monitor server logs for unexpected bot behavior (OnCrawl):
  • Googlebot hitting disallowed or missing URLs
  • Lack of crawl activity on newly launched pages
  • Disproportionate hits to old URLs without follow-through to redirects

Post-Migration Monitoring

Week 1–4 Tasks

• Monitor 301s and crawl errors (Search Console + ContentIQ)
• Track indexation trends: old URLs dropping, new URLs rising
• Compare traffic and rankings to pre-migration benchmarks
• Watch for anomalies using BrightEdge Anomaly Detection, such as:

• Sudden drop in organic clicks or impressions for high-priority pages
• Drop in keyword rankings for target terms
• Spike in 404 (Not Found) errors from old URLs not redirecting
• Any 5xx (server) errors indicating instability or downtime
• Crawl rate drops or delays in sitemap processing by Google

• Track AI search presence in Overviews and summaries (SearchIQ)
• Monitor server logs for unexpected bot behavior (OnCrawl):

• Googlebot hitting disallowed or missing URLs
• Lack of crawl activity on newly launched pages
• Disproportionate hits to old URLs without follow-through to redirects

Content & Optimization

• Reoptimize underperforming pages (BrightEdge Autopilot)
• Use Copilot to revise titles, descriptions, and schema as needed
• Run full audit on live site (ContentIQ) to catch missed issues

Ongoing

• Keep 301 redirects active for 12+ months
• Reach out to high-value sites to update backlinks to new URLs
• Track AI visibility monthly to grow beyond pre-migration baseline

We are all navigating a constantly changing search and AI landscape. As the ground shifts beneath our feet, marketers have never had a more critical time to evolve and stay ahead.

Today, together with our customers, we are making a monumental step forward as we launch BrightEdge AI Catalyst.

For The First Time Ever: Get the Complete View of Your Brand Across Traditional and AI Search

As AI and Search accelerates how brands are perceived and perform, I am proud to announce that our customers now have access to the first comprehensive solution that enables brands to influence their presence across multiple generative AI search engines.

Customers can track their digital footprint and track, understand, and optimize their presence across all aspects of search, from core and traditional search through to multiple Generative AI search engines.

And It Is All in One Enterprise-Grade Platform!

Building on our history and foundations in AI and data-driven insights, BrightEdge AI Catalyst allows brands to instantly amplify impact, outperform competitors, and confidently navigate AI search engines, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews.

At the heart of our customer success approach are three core principles: Inspiration, Innovation, and Impact.

• Inspiration: Inspire New Ways of Thinking
  • We inspire marketers to better understand their audiences using data insights to help customers connect with them in more meaningful ways.
• Innovation: Innovate With Cadence
  • We innovate to keep customers ahead of digital market changes through a regular cadence of market-leading technology product launches.
• Impact: Impact Multiple Business Outcomes
  • We help marketers deliver real, tangible results and business outcomes that genuinely transform their business.

These principles guide our commitment to empowering marketers with the tools and insights they need to succeed in today's dynamic landscape.

Let me share some more context on how we got to today!

The Transformation Is Here as Billions of People Turn To AI

• ChatGPT just surpassed 500 million weekly active users in late March.
• Gemini's web traffic grew to 10.9 million average daily visits worldwide.
• Bing's Copilot increased to 2.4 million.
• Anthropic's Claude reached 3.3 million daily visits.
• DeepSeek's chatbot eclipsed 16.5 million visits.

I find it super interesting that people are increasingly trusting in AI technology.

Research from Attest reveals that 68% of consumers trust information from Generative AI, with 41% having more confidence in AI search results than paid search listings. As these AI engines are growing fast monthly, each has its own interface and logic, and each shapes perceptions of brands in different ways.

BrightEdge Generative Parser ™ data shows that March referral traffic from these AI-first search engines continues to grow significantly.

• ChatGPT +19%
• Perplexity +12%
• Gemini +19%
• Claude +166%

However, while Google still dominates the industry with a 92% market share and optimizing for AI Overviews is always your first step, it shows that more and more brands are being discovered and interpreted across multiple AI platforms, each with their own:

• Interface
• Logic
• Way of shaping brand perceptions

Furthermore, some platforms will position your brand negatively; many leave you out entirely.

The Era of AI Inevitability

AI is actively shaping what customers know, trust, and believe. People are not just searching anymore; they are asking AI and AI is giving an opinion.

This represents a fundamental shift from focusing on just search rankings to understanding how AI presents brands.

Introducing BrightEdge AI Catalyst

I am thrilled to announce BrightEdge AI Catalyst, enabling brands to see where and how they are perceived everywhere it matters by AI engines.

BrightEdge AI Catalyst Completes Search Picture for Brands to Win in AI Era

Building on our two-decade history of pioneering innovation in search and AI markets, we are providing our customers with a unified overview of where they are winning and losing in key conversational moments across critical AI platforms.

But it is not just visibility that matters.

It is the proven performance results delivered with action from AI.

By leveraging billions of historical and real-time data points, customers can act around crucial revenue-generating touchpoints across both traditional search and AI search.

The AI Catalyst Advantage

Cross-Platform Visibility

Monitoring brand performance across multiple AI platforms has become increasingly complex. That is why we developed Catalyst to provide unified cross-platform visibility:

• Customers can now track their brand presence and sentiment simultaneously across Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
• Our dashboards allow brands to monitor performance across the entire AI search ecosystem.
• It is all in one place, providing the complete picture needed to make strategic marketing decisions.

AI Search Behavior Insights

Understanding how audiences use AI search platforms often leads to ineffective content strategies. Marketers can now bridge the gap between understanding AI search behaviors and prompt research:

• Together with BrightEdge Copilot, customers can eliminate guesswork with precise AI prompt suggestions based on actual audience behavior.
• It taps into our deep knowledge and data repository to analyze your website, existing search patterns, and billions of historical queries.
• This delivers accurate, targeted insights that align with actual AI search usage.

Multi-Platform Optimization

Creating separate content strategies for each AI platform is inefficient and costly. As marketers face resource constraints—especially when trying to optimize for multiple AI platforms simultaneously—we have placed efficiency at the core of this innovation:

• Customers can optimize once and rank everywhere with efficient content strategies that work across multiple AI-driven search environments.
• This saves valuable time and resources while maintaining consistent messaging.

Real-Time Intelligence

The AI search landscape evolves weekly, if not daily, and keeping pace with change is hard:

• BrightEdge AI Catalyst provides real-time intelligence and targeted, actionable recommendations for improving AI-driven visibility.
• We process billions of data points in real-time, allowing our customers to make quick strategy adjustments when they matter most.

AI-Influenced Journey Mapping

Understanding the customer journey has always been crucial, but AI has fundamentally transformed how customers discover and engage with brands:

• With BrightEdge AI Catalyst, we have pioneered new approaches to mapping these AI-influenced journeys.
• This includes advanced features for persona development, intent mapping, and journey analysis.
• It reveals how your audience interacts with AI systems throughout their decision-making process.
• It identifies key AI touchpoints that impact engagement and conversion, helping our customers create more effective targeting strategies.

The Full Picture: AI-Driven Brand Perception and Driving Performance

AI Catalyst gives brands the complete picture of how AI highlights their brand—where they appear, where they do not, and how they are presented.

But it also does much more by connecting the data dots:

• Built on 20 years of working with top brands, using billions of searches to give marketers the clarity they need now.
• It connects this information directly to business plans, goals, and results—all inside the BrightEdge platform.
• It shows the complete picture and helps brands act (with confidence and trust in data) whenever and wherever AI affects presence, perception, and performance.

Learn more about BrightEdge AI Catalyst here: https://www.brightedge.com/ai-catalyst

This is Your AI Moment – Let Us Guide You

AI is rewriting the rules of search. We are not just keeping up—we are leading the way. And we are here to make sure you do not get left behind.

And there is more.

With GSC Reporting, we are helping you answer the question every leader is asking: How is AI impacting my existing Search business? Now, you can finally measure that directly. And with the new BrightEdge Chrome Extension, we are putting real-time optimization into your workflow so that every page, update, and decision happens with AI insights behind it. This empowers you to act at the speed that AI demands.

This Is What Enterprise AI Is: Connected, Actionable, And Built for Impact.

Together with our customers, we are not just adapting to AI—we are building the capabilities to win. Let us keep pushing forward to shape the future of search and AI.

Want to learn more about how BrightEdge can help your business navigate the AI search revolution? Contact us today for a personalized demo.

Longtail keywords are becoming critical as search becomes more conversational with the advent of AI chat. Learn what longtail keywords are and how to win them here

Why are Long Tail Keywords Important?

A long tail keyword is a phrase that is generally made from three to five words. Since these keywords are more specific than generic terms, they allow you to target niche demographics. These keywords are also less competitive than generic keywords because they are designed to better reflect how people make queries. With long tail keywords, you are able to attract more high-quality traffic to your website which is more likely to lead to conversions.

During the customer journey, long tail keywords become more important as their journey evolves. Typically, users begin with a simple search and as the search engines guide them to solving their pain point, their searches become more detailed. This is where long tail keywords will become important to separate your brand from your competition. 

BrightEdge Generative Parser reveals that as of January 2025, 35% of AI Overview results now handle multiple search intents simultaneously, with projections showing this could reach 65% by Q1 2025. This means users increasingly combine multiple aspects of their journey into single, detailed searches - making long tail keywords that address specific combinations of needs more valuable than ever.

Are long tail keywords important for SEO?

Over 70% of search queries are made using long tail keywords. This has become particularly prevalent with people using voice search more often. People now generally enter queries into Google using the same types of phrasing as they do when they are speaking with a friend. This is called natural language. Using long tail keywords, therefore, makes your content more likely to draw these users into your website and begin the process of the buyer’s journey. In addition, generative AI such as that found in Google’s AI Overviews are expanding the ways long tail keywords can be used to pinpoint conversational search patterns. As AI enables users to combine multiple intents, the way they use long tail keywords becomes vital in earning citations from these engines. You can learn more about Google SGE in our Ultimate Guide to AI Overviews!

Long tail keywords being comprised of a few words makes them much more specific. This means that both users and site owners generally receive better results. Brands receive traffic that is more closely aligned with their content, which will improve their ability to effectively bring new customers into the sales cycle. Customers also receive content that is more closely aligned with their objective, making them happier.

The specificity of long tail keywords also means that there is less competition for each keyword phrase. Brands can better customize their specific keywords for what they provide users.

Long Tail Keywords: Strategic Importance in AI Search

The rise of AI-powered search has fundamentally shifted how users interact with search engines, making long tail keywords more valuable than ever for SEO practitioners. According to BrightEdge Generative Parser data, search queries that trigger AI Overviews have become increasingly conversational, growing from an average of 3.1 words in June 2024 to 4.2 words by year's end. This shift reflects a growing user comfort with more natural, detailed search patterns that align perfectly with long tail keyword strategies.

For SEO practitioners, this evolution presents a unique opportunity. Rather than competing directly with major brands for broad keywords, long tail optimization allows websites to earn citations in AI search results by providing complementary, specific information. BrightEdge Generative Parser data shows that AI Overviews are now pulling from a significantly broader range of sources - up to 151% more unique websites for complex B2B queries and 108% more for detailed product searches. This means that websites optimizing for specific, detailed long tail phrases have an increased chance of being cited in comprehensive AI-generated responses.

This democratization of citations in AI search results means that digital marketers and SEO’s can focus on developing deep, specific content that answers particular aspects of user queries, rather than trying to compete for broad, highly competitive terms. By targeting the natural language patterns that users increasingly employ in their searches, websites can position themselves as valuable sources of specific information that AI systems will reference when building comprehensive responses to user queries.

Long tail keyword example

Depending on the topics your site creates content around and how many pages you have, you will want to collect a pretty large relevant list of long tail keywords that you can use throughout your site. It's not realistic, or SEO-healthy, for you to optimize your site for the same keywords on every page, therefore you'll need a running list of great keywords.

If you're a local brand looking for local foot traffic, adding "near me" to your long tail keywords is a good practice. For example, long tail keywords including "organic coffee shops near me" or "buy Guiana chestnut plant near me" are both good examples of when a user is at the final stages of their buyer journey searching via long tail queries. Using specific keywords like "organic coffee shop" and "Guiana chestnut plant" will help you to rank better as they're further from common keywords bigger brands are trying to rank for.

Researching long tail keywords

1. Build your buyer personas and map them to customer journeys.
2. Use this information to help you identify topics that your personas will want to see at each stage of their journey.
3. Leverage your own query research via search engines by typing a simple search into the search bar and see what keywords autofill into long tail keywords. These keywords are what users are searching for and you should optimize for them. You can see to the right that we typed "best seo" into Google. Long tail keywords autofilled to show us what users are most often looking for when it comes to "best seo."
4. Use keyword technology, like the BrightEdge Data Cube X, to identify the relevant keywords that you can best rank for that also have high traffic rates.
5. Monitor your success with your keywords, looking closely at your traffic and engagement rates. This will tell you how many people you are attracting and how well your content is answering the need of their query.

Long-tail keywords are valuable tools for those looking to optimize their content and attract more relevant visitors. The better you are able to better understand your users, the better you will be able to meet their needs and bring in new customers for your organization.

We're barely into 2025, and the transformation of search through AI is already reshaping how users discover and consume content. At BrightEdge, we're closely monitoring these developments to help marketers not just adapt, but thrive in this dynamic landscape. As AI-driven experiences become integrated into search engines like Google and Bing, and AI-first search engines like ChatGPT Search and DeepSeek gain momentum, the question on every marketer's mind is clear: How do we optimize for AI search without abandoning everything we know about SEO?

The good news? You don't need to rewrite the entire playbook. AI search still aims to deliver the best possible answer to a user's query—just as traditional search engines do. However, there are new dimensions to ranking, indexing, and retrieval that require strategic adaptation. Our analysis reveals four critical areas you need to focus on to ensure your content remains visible and influential in AI-generated responses.

The Shifting Search Landscape

Before diving into strategies, let's examine what's changing:

• AI search engines are experiencing significant adoption: ChatGPT is gaining traction rapidly, representingapproximately a $4 billion shift in the search market, even as Google maintains dominant overall market share.

• AI Overviews are consuming more SERP real estate: The average AI Overview result has expanded to 1,000 pixels tall—a 50% increase since August 2024—pushing traditional organic results further down the page.

• New AI-first search engines like DeepSeek are emerging: These platforms prioritize contextually rich answers with transparency and efficiency, signaling a shift toward more sophisticated AI-driven retrieval models.

With these changes in mind, here are the four essential strategies to ensure your content is indexed, cited, and surfaced effectively in AI search environments.

1. Focus on the Follow-Up: Structure Content for Multi-Step Search Journeys

Traditional SEO optimizes for single queries—someone searches, finds an answer, and clicks through. AI search works differently. It anticipates the next question a user might ask, often chaining multiple queries together to provide context-rich, multi-step answers.

Strategic Implications for Marketers

Rather than just answering one question, structuring your content to support deeper exploration and contextual relationships between topics may increase your visibility in AI-generated responses. Consider these approaches:

• Thinking beyond single queries: AI connects related topics, so your content should naturally guide users to their next question through internal links and logical content progression.

• Providing layered, contextual information: Content that explores a topic holistically may increase your chances of being cited in AI responses, as it potentially addresses multiple related queries in one resource.

• Using natural language and question-based formatting: As AI is anticipating questions people would have, building content around these questions, incorporating elements from things like the “People Also Ask” results in Google, can ensure your content is covering bases that AI may try to address. 

For BrightEdge users, Copilot for Content Advisor helps identify the most common questions around a topic that AI may anticipate, and even generates configurable first drafts. Focusing on these related questions is critical to ensure your content is as citable as possible.

2. Give AI Hints About Your Content: Leverage Schema Markup

AI models process content differently than humans do—they analyze structured signals. While there's no direct evidence that AI search engines use schema to render results, implementing structured data may help crawlers better understand the context and classification of your content, potentially increasing your citation chances.

Best Practices for Schema Implementation

Schema markup provides AI crawlers with hints about what your content is about, answering key contextual questions like:

• Who is the author?

• What format is this content? (list, FAQ, how-to, article, etc.)

• What unique details does this content provide? (product dimensions, pricing, statistics, etc.)

For marketers this means you need to ensure you are: 

• Using structured data liberally: Implement FAQPage, HowTo, and Article schema to clearly define your content's purpose.

• Focusing on Schema that matters: Google’s John Mueller actually warns against over-use of Schema Tags, particularly on product pages, so ensuring you are only using those that will truly help crawlers understand your content without potentially confusing them is critical. 

• Understanding schema's role: Remember, schema isn't a ranking factor—but it helps AI understand your content.

One common challenge with Schema is knowing which tags to prioritize among the 300+ options on Schema.org. BrightEdge's SearchIQ makes this easier by analyzing and summarizing the most common Schema tags deployed among top-ranking pages in your market, providing clear guidance on where to focus and revealing gaps between your pages and competitors.

3. Ensure AI Crawlers Can Access Your Website

Just as with traditional search, if AI models can't crawl your site, they can't cite your content. Many companies unknowingly block AI-driven crawlers in their robots.txt files, limiting their ability to be referenced in AI search results.

How to Optimize for AI Crawlers

Check if your site is accidentally blocking key AI crawlers, including:

• Google-Extended (Google's AI-related crawler used with Gemini etc.)

• GPTBot (OpenAI's dedicated crawler for LLM training)

• PerplexityBot (Used by Perplexity AI's search engine)

• ClaudeBot (Anthropic's AI crawler)

To ensure visibility:

• Review your robots.txt file and ensure AI-related bots are not being restricted.

• Use Bing Webmaster Tools to verify that Bing is indexing your content—there is strong evidence that ChatGPT's SearchGPT uses Bing's index.

BrightEdge users can integrate Bing Webmaster Tools directly into the platform, making it easier to monitor performance in Bing. Significant impression drops could signal that something may be blocked.

4. Make Your Site as Accessible as Possible

AI-powered search engines still rely on fundamental crawling principles, but they factor in a wider range of queries, meaning even deep, under-optimized pages may be valuable for citation.

Why Accessibility Matters More Than Ever

• AI anticipates incremental user queries, meaning that even deeply nested pages on your site may be valuable as a follow-up answer in an AI-generated response.

• If AI crawlers can't reach these pages, they won't be considered for citation.

• JavaScript-heavy pages may be harder for AI crawlers to process, so ensuring pre-rendering or static HTML versions exist can prevent AI search engines from missing critical content.

How to Improve AI Search Accessibility

• Ensure deep pages are fully crawlable—your AI SEO success isn'tjust about homepage and top pages.

• Use internal linking to surface valuable content—help AI connect related content by making deeper pages easier to find.

• Check JavaScript dependencies—some AI crawlers may struggle with dynamic rendering, so test your site's accessibility by disabling JavaScript in your browser.

BrightEdge users leverage Content IQ to maintain quality governance by running regular crawls that can identify blocked pages, bad redirects, or other technical issues that may prevent emerging crawlers from indexing new pages.

Looking Ahead: Evolution, Not Revolution

The evolution of search presents unprecedented opportunities for marketers to connect with their audiences. While AI-driven search is evolving rapidly, the fundamentals of good SEO still apply—with some critical adjustments.

AI search isn't replacing SEO—it's redefining it. Brands that embrace AI-first SEO strategies today will be in the best position to win in the next era of search. At BrightEdge, we'll continue tracking these developments closely to help you navigate and succeed in this dynamic landscape.

In addition to above, capabilities like BrightEdge's Data Cube X help identify specific opportunities within your industry and ensure your content aligns with user search patterns and AI preferences. 

While SEO for AI isn’t an entirely new practice, it does require us to put a focus on some fundamental elements we may not always focus on with traditional SEO. BrightEdge is here as your partner to ensure you are ready to win in this exciting new era of search! 

We’re not even two months into 2025 and already we’re seeing how Google AI Overviews are transforming how users discover and consume content. At BrightEdge, we're tracking these developments closely to help marketers navigate and succeed in this dynamic landscape. One particularly interesting trend we've identified is the growing importance of YouTube content in AI Overview citations. This development presents significant opportunities for marketers to enhance their visibility and influence in AI-generated responses.

The Rise of YouTube Citations in AI Overviews

Percentage of Citations from YouTube since the beginning of the year

Since January 2024, we've observed a 25% increase in YouTube citations within AI Overviews. This growth isn't random – it appears to be part of Google's methodical approach to enhancing AI Overview capabilities. For context, in September 2023, we shared data on a dramatic 121% spike in YouTube citations during what appeared to be a comprehensive test by Google. While citation levels normalized after mid-October, this test marked a significant difference from other user-generated content platforms like Reddit, which saw initial gains but subsequently disappeared from citations almost entirely.

Current Trends in YouTube Citations

Unlike the September experiment, which showed uniform citation patterns across industries, the current surge shows more strategic implementation. Our recent analysis, reveals that YouTube citations are concentrated in specific sectors:

When analyzing the types of keywords triggering these citations, clear characteristics on the types of AI Overviews that rely on YouTube emerge :

• Instructional: How-to Queries are predominately featured here
• Visual Demonstrations: Techniques, style guides and demonstrations on how to use products
• Examples: Verification of products, unboxing videos etc.
• News: Current events and live coverage

Strategic Implications for SEOs and Marketers

The increasing prominence of YouTube in AI Overviews presents a couple implications for marketers:

Prioritize YouTube for Hosting Videos

Our research indicates that YouTube dominates video citations in AI Overviews, with minimal representation from other video platforms. While various factors influence platform selection, YouTube's AI visibility makes a compelling case for consolidating video content there. With AI Overviews appearing in nearly one-third of all searches, this consideration becomes increasingly important for your video hosting decisions.

Content Strategies for YouTube and AI

Based on our analysis of AI citation patterns, here are key areas to focus your video content strategy:

1. How-To Content Create instructional videos demonstrating your products or services. These tutorials consistently show the highest citation rates across industries. Use BrightEdge's Data Cube X to identify promising "how-to" topics, particularly those already triggering AI Overviews:

2. Technical Demonstrations Develop videos that visually demonstrate techniques, whether it's software tutorials or physical demonstrations (think exercises, or physical therapy techniques). These types of content frequently appear in AI Overview citations. As you’re building content that addresses these needs, ensure video is a top component of your strategy.
3. Product Reviews and Comparisons: Unboxing videos and product comparisons represent approximately 25% of cited videos in the current surge. For any brands selling products online, these should be easy to build a strategy for. BrightEdge users can leverage Data Cube X to identify specific comparison-based search queries within their industry to guide their video content planning.

Looking Ahead

The evolution of search presents unprecedented opportunities for marketers to connect with their audiences. As AI continues to streamline information delivery, YouTube's role in the digital marketing ecosystem is becoming increasingly crucial. When developing your AI-optimized content strategy, incorporating video content should be a key priority.

Technologies like BrightEdge's Data Cube X helps to identify specific opportunities within your industry and ensure your video content aligns with user search patterns and AI Overview preferences. This data-driven approach will help maximize your visibility in both traditional search results and AI-generated responses.

As we kick off 2025, the landscape of AI-powered search has undergone a seismic shift. With OpenAI's December 2024 integration of SearchGPT into the free version of ChatGPT, and significant advances in both Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity's intent parsing capabilities, we're witnessing an unprecedented evolution in how AI systems handle complex, conversational queries.

To understand the implications of these changes, we conducted an extensive analysis comparing how these three AI powerhouses handle queries across nine different industries. The results reveal fascinating patterns in how each platform approaches different types of questions and user intents. For a deeper dive into this analysis, you can check out the specifics in our Ultimate Guide to SearchGPT

The AI Search Players at a Glance

ChatGPT Search: Free for everyone as of December 2024. Especially strong at giving complete, detailed answers. For example, when asking about a BBA degree, it goes beyond basic facts to include valuable career context and job prospects - giving you the full picture in one clear response.

Google AI Overview: Excels at organizing complex information into clear sections. When you ask "What is a secure credit card?", it breaks down the information into expandable sections covering basics, benefits, and how to apply - letting you easily find exactly what you need.

Perplexity: Shines at combining explanations with helpful visuals. When explaining technical concepts like data modeling, it pairs clear explanations with visual examples, making complex topics easier to understand at a glance.

Industry-by-Industry Analysis

1. E-Commerce

Shopping queries like “What are some good gas-powered RC cars and where can I buy one?” revealed different approaches to purchase guidance:

• AI Overview emphasizes product discovery with filtering options
• ChatGPT Search balances local availability with detailed specifications
• Perplexity streamlines the online purchase process with direct links

2. B2B Tech

Technical queries like "What is data modeling?" revealed interesting contrasts:

• AI Overview shines with its hierarchical structure and process-oriented approach
• ChatGPT Search balances technical detail with business context
• Perplexity effectively integrates visual examples with technical explanations

3. Education

Educational queries such as "What is a BBA degree?" showed varying strengths:

• AI Overview provides clean, concise definitions with clear visual organization
• ChatGPT Search offers comprehensive narratives with strong career context
• Perplexity excels at integrating practical outcomes with academic information

4. Entertainment

Perhaps the most striking differences emerged in time-sensitive queries like "What movies are getting good reviews right now?":

• AI Overview maintains current, real-time information
• ChatGPT Search provides date-stamped current information with visual elements
• Perplexity showed challenges with maintaining current information

5. Finance

When analyzing financial queries like "What is a secure credit card?", each platform showed distinct approaches:

• AI Overview excels with modular, expandable sections that allow users to dive deeper into specific aspects
• ChatGPT Search provides comprehensive narrative explanations with strong practical implications
• Perplexity offers a hybrid approach with bullet points and clear sectioning

6. Healthcare

Health-related queries like "What are symptoms of bird flu?" demonstrated each platform's distinct approaches to medical information:

• AI Overview organizes information by severity (mild vs. severe symptoms), providing a clear, structured overview with visual aids and multiple trusted medical sources on the right panel.
• ChatGPT Search presents symptoms by category (respiratory, flu-like, eye-related, gastrointestinal), with careful attention to medical details and citations. It maintains a balanced tone between being comprehensive and accessible.
• Perplexity combines symptom information with practical context about timing (2-7 days after exposure), includes recent developments, and provides clear action steps for readers who may have been exposed.

7. Insurance

Insurance queries like “What insurance do you need for a wedding” revealed different approaches to complex financial products:

• AI Overview excels at comprehensive coverage options
• ChatGPT Search provides strong practical guidance
• Perplexity facilitates deeper exploration through related questions

8. Restaurants

Local queries like "What restaurants have Tuesday specials near me?" highlighted key differences in handling location-based information:

• AI Overview keeps information general to maintain relevance
• ChatGPT Search provides strong location awareness with map integration
• Perplexity offers detailed descriptions but struggles with location context

9. Travel

Travel queries like “What are some good things to do in Milwaukee” showed how each platform handles destination-based information:

• AI Overview emphasizes spatial organization with interactive maps
• ChatGPT Search focuses on detailed venue descriptions with navigation
• Perplexity provides comprehensive activity coverage by category

Key Takeaways

1. Specialization Trends: Each platform has developed distinct strengths:

• Google AI Overview excels at structured, hierarchical information
• ChatGPT Search provides comprehensive narrative context
• Perplexity shines with visual integration and related content

2. Time-Sensitive Information: Recency of information varies significantly:

• Google AI Overview maintains strong real-time relevance
• ChatGPT Search provides clear date-stamping
• Perplexity sometimes struggles with timely updates

3. Location Awareness: Geographic context handling differs:

• Google AI Overview tends toward general guidance
• ChatGPT Search shows strong location integration
• Perplexity focuses on descriptive content

Looking Ahead

As we progress through 2025, these platforms will likely continue to evolve and refine their approaches. The competition between them is driving rapid innovation in how AI systems

understand and respond to user queries. For users, this means increasingly sophisticated and helpful responses, while for content creators and SEO professionals, it underscores the importance of creating structured, comprehensive content that can be effectively parsed by AI systems.

The future of AI-powered search appears to be heading toward more specialized, context-aware responses that can adapt to user intent while maintaining accuracy and relevance. As these platforms continue to develop, we'll likely see even more sophisticated handling of complex queries and better integration of real-time information!

Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2024 marks a pivotal moment in search evolution — the first major shopping event where we could observe AI Overview behavior at scale outside of a lab environment. The BrightEdge Generative Parser™ tracked how AI adapted to peak shopping behavior, revealing some characteristics that could shape how SEO strategies should adapt in 2025 and beyond. They revealed that AI Overviews changed how they appear for queries depending on the intent, and we saw that citations became more focused on niche expertise. I’d like to discuss what the implications these changes have for the coming year and how brands will need to prepare.

Beyond Simple Growth: AI Adapts to Consumer Behaviors

While AI Overviews maintained a steady presence throughout most of the period, we observed a notable spike in their activity specifically around shopping-related queries during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, before returning to baseline levels. What's particularly interesting is how these Overviews adapted their behavior to serve increasingly sophisticated shopping queries related to specific products such as specific TV (Sony Smart 55” Bravia) or printer models (Epson ET 15000).

As BrightEdge Generative Parser™ monitored shopping keywords over the holiday weekend, it showed that AI Overviews didn't just grow in number; they grew in complexity. Average Overview height increased from 941px to 953px as presentations became richer and more detailed.

 

But more importantly, we observed a fundamental shift in how AI approached different query types.

 

The Evolution of Shopping Experience

Over the course of the holiday weekend, we observed a shift in the way AI Overviews present information. They became more elaborate and shoppable, particularly for specific product queries such as an “Epson et 15000” printer. These product viewers offer multiple details about the product such as an overview, pros and cons and where to get the best deal on them.

- Product viewer features surged 52.6%

In addition, we saw product displays for groups become more shoppable and tiled similar to what a regular product grid in organic results looks like. These allow shoppers to view a lot of products at once, and get pertinent details such as delivery options and sale prices. This is an ideal scenario for a user who is browsing a lot of styles or really hunting for the best deal possible:

- Grouped product displays increased 8.2%

These changes signaled something crucial: AI was matching presentation format to user intent in ways that made them more shoppable.

These results came as the typical un-ordered lists we’ve seen in AI Overviews decreased by 9%, suggesting Google is favoring a more comprehensive view for specific products and more grouping for broader queries

This unordered list format decreased by 9% over the holiday weekend:

The Rise of Specialized Authority

Perhaps the most telling transformation was in how AI Overviews selected their citations. Technical review sites like Tom’s Guide saw a 71.4% surge in the number of citations during Black Friday. . Consumer advocacy sites like Consumer Reports showed similar patterns, with a 23.9% jump in the numbe of citations on Black Friday.

This isn't just about citing different sources — it's about AI becoming more discerning in which sources it trusts for different query types. When AI is focusing more on specific product searches as opposed to generic topics, it increasingly favored specialized review sites. For consumer goods, it prioritized trusted consumer advocacy sources.

Query Patterns Reveal Future Trends

As we analyzed patterns across different query categories, another pattern was clear: AI Overviews didn’t just change how they present information — they addressed the query intent more specifically.

High-Consideration Products Evolution

The most dramatic transformations occurred in categories where users typically spend significant time researching before purchasing. Here, we saw a 52% increase in detailed product overviews that include modules such as the pros and cons, product visuals and stores that carry the product (note we began observing these faceted formats in July, but the holiday weekend was a significant expansion). When users searched for "samsung galaxy s22 ultra" or "epson 8550", AI Overviews created comprehensive comparison environments over the holiday weekend. Similarly, home appliance queries like "masticating juicer" or "convection oven" saw AIO’s with detailed breakdowns with facets to help inform purchase decisions.

Specific product searches generated AI Overviews that helped users comparative shop faster

 

Keyword: Samsung Galaxy S22         Keyword: Epson ET 8550

 

Appliance queries receive facets that help shoppers sort by features that matter most to them:

Keyword: Masticating Juicers      Keyword: Small Convection Oven

Style-Dependent Categories Break New Ground

Fashion and home décor queries revealed AI's growing sophistication in handling visual intent. Searches for items like "cardigan sweaters" triggered a product viewer format optimized for style comparison.

In addition, category-level keywords like “winter coats” showed group carousel formats that made these queries more shoppable while maintaining their style context.

Strategic Implications for 2025

These patterns point to three critical considerations that will shape search success in 2025:

1. Content Structure Must be Adaptable to New Formats

As these format presentations rise or change to adapt conditions, marketers need to be ready. Your content needs to support multiple presentation formats and be structured for AI interpretation. This isn't just about moving away from lists — it's about embracing formats that support AI's increasingly sophisticated understanding of user intent.

2. Authority Signals will be more Sophisticated

The dramatic increase in specialized source citations tells us something crucial about the future of search authority. Technical review sites saw a 65.3% increase in citations through November 30, while consumer advocacy citations held steady at 15.2% above baseline. This isn't a temporary shift — it's a sign that AI continues to get better at identifying and prioritizing genuine expertise.

3. Real-Time Monitoring Is Essential

The speed at which AI Overviews adapted to changing user behavior during Black Friday/Cyber Monday reveals how critical real-time monitoring has become. Different product categories showed distinct patterns of adaptation, and these changes happened in real-time as shopping behavior evolved.

Preparing for Success

To succeed in this evolving landscape, marketers need to:

1. Optimize for AI Understanding: Use BrightEdge Copilot to generate comprehensive content briefs that address all aspects of your products AI might reference.

2. Establish Clear Authority: Leverage Autopilot to connect product content and demonstrate specialized expertise during peak times.

3. Monitor and Adapt: Employ Instant to track real-time AI changes and citations, ensuring you can adapt during critical shopping periods.

This first large-scale observation of AI Overview behavior in the wild reveals that we're entering a new era of search — one where success depends on understanding and adapting to AI's increasingly sophisticated understanding of user intent!

Want to learn how to prepare your content for AI Overviews in 2025? Check out our Ultimate Guide to AI Overviews here!

October and November AI Overview Trends: What They Mean for Holiday Campaigns

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, we’re really looking forward to seeing how AI performs! Our BrightEdge Generative Parser™ has been tracking October and November’s shifts, shedding light on how marketers can prepare for the critical shopping period ahead.

Our most recent report offers insights into how Google AI Overviews are changing. For all the detailed data points and visualizations referenced in this post, here’s our full October/November trends report.

Key developments you need to know about:

1. YouTube Citations Stabilize After a Surge

After a massive spike in September, YouTube citations in AIOs have stabilized at 115-120% above their August baseline. What’s especially compelling is that AI isn’t just referencing video descriptions—it’s citing spoken content within videos. This makes YouTube a must-focus platform for brands.

What to do: Think unboxing videos, in-depth product reviews, and how-to guides that resonate with holiday shoppers. Use Data Cube X to see how your YouTube Channels are cited in AI

Overviews to get a sense of where your videos could drive AI referrals and what your opportunities are.

2. Travel AIOs Surge by 700%

Travel-related AIOs saw a remarkable 700% increase from September to October. The focus is shifting from broad destination queries to localized, activity-specific searches like “things to do in Uptown Charlotte” or “fall festivals in the Midwest.”

What to do: If you are in the travel industry, think about creating content that helps users plan for things to do when they travel this holiday season. Cover lesser-known destinations and local holiday events to capture this growing demand.

3. Healthcare and Education Are Leading in Stability

Healthcare AIOs maintained the highest coverage at 73-75% of keywords, while education queries shifted toward more specific and complex topics like certification requirements and career pathways.

What to do: For healthcare and education brands, focus on creating structured, well-researched content. These spaces may require regulatory approval to publish content, which can take time, but the stability in these industries suggest time is on your side.

4. E-commerce AIOs Are Evolving

E-commerce AIO presence decreased by 15% in October but stabilized at a lower level. However, the AIOs that do appear are getting more detailed, with richer product comparisons and specifications.

What to do: Optimize your product content for depth. Include clear benefits, detailed specifications, and comparisons to stand out in the remaining e-commerce AIOs. Our data suggests AIO’s job in ecommerce is to help the top of funnel while the regular results drive the bottom of the funnel. You should plan your content citation strategies accordingly.

What This Means for Your Holiday Campaigns:

1. Video Content on YouTube has strong Citation Potential: With AI citing spoken content, now is the time to double down on video strategies. Ensure your videos are optimized for both YouTube SEO and schema markup to maximize their reach.

2. Don’t Rely Solely on AIOs: While AIOs remain important, traditional organic search results are still critical—especially for e-commerce queries. Make sure your citation strategy aligns to the top of funnel while your regular results prioritize the bottom of the funnel.

3. Go Big on Product Details: The more detailed and authoritative your product content, the better chance it has to appear in expanded AIOs. Think rich comparisons, clear specifications, and compelling benefits.

Looking Ahead to the Holiday Season

October’s trends point to a holiday season where AI Overviews continue to evolve, focusing on depth and detail rather than quick answers. This shift gives marketers a clear direction for optimizing their strategies. Want to dig into the full data and see what’s driving these changes? Check out our full analysis here!

AI Overview Trends: What to Watch for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Recent trends in Google AI Overviews (AIOs) are giving us fascinating insights into what we might expect for Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year. Our BrightEdge Generative Parser™ has been tracking important shifts that will impact how brands approach these crucial shopping dates. For all the detailed data points and visualizations referenced in this post, here’s our guide to the trends we saw in September.

Key developments you need to know about:

1. YouTube Citations Are Exploding This is huge! We're seeing an absolutely massive increase in YouTube citations within AIOs. What makes this particularly interesting for marketers is that the AI (Gemini) isn't just looking at video descriptions - it's actually pulling information from the spoken content within videos. This opens up a whole new avenue for brands looking to influence AIOs during the holiday shopping season.

2. Shopping Queries Are Increasingly Stabilizing Here's some good news for everyone planning their holiday campaigns: Shopping-related queries with AIOs are becoming much more predictable. This means what you're seeing now is likely what you'll get during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For marketers using BrightEdge's Data Cube X or Keyword reporting, you can be much more confident that the AIOs you're tracking today will still be there during the big shopping days.

3. E-commerce AIOs Are Changing Shape While we're seeing fewer AIOs overall for e-commerce queries, the ones that do appear are getting bigger. The AI is allocating more space for product details and comparisons when it does show an AIO. This is particularly important as we head into the holiday season, where detailed product information becomes crucial for shoppers.

What This Means For Your Holiday Campaigns:

1. With YouTube citations skyrocketing, you absolutely need to think about your video strategy. This isn't just about having product videos - it's about creating content that can serve as an authoritative source for AIOs. Unboxing videos, product reviews, instructional videos- all of these can be used to help influence how AIO’s help your customers shop.

2. Don't Put All Your Eggs in the AIO Basket Even though AIOs are important, we're seeing them appear less frequently for e-commerce queries. Make sure you're still optimizing for traditional search results - they're going to be crucial during the holiday shopping rush.

3. Go Deep on Product Details. When AIOs do appear, they're getting bigger and more detailed. Make sure your product content is rich with comparisons, specifications, and clear benefits that can be pulled into these expanded AIOs

Looking Ahead to Black Friday and Cyber Monday

All these trends point to a holiday shopping season where AI will play a bigger role than ever, but maybe not in the way we originally expected. The focus seems to be on deeper, richer content rather than just quick answers.

The landscape of AI Overviews is evolving fast, but now we've got a pretty clear picture of what to expect for the biggest shopping days of the year. The key is acting on these insights now, while there's still time to optimize your content for both traditional search and AIOs. Want to dig into all the numbers behind these trends? Check out our full guide for September’s Data here!