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Learn how AI engines use and cite brand information, how to measure both, and why traditional SEO still matters. #
Ranking within Google’s traditional search results provides diminishing returns. Ads, AI Overviews, and other search engine results page (SERP) features push organic links further down the page.
As the search landscape changes, how should brands adapt to ensure they’re represented in AI-powered responses?
The more you know about how AI engines use your brand’s information and when they cite it, the better you can use AI search to your advantage. With that knowledge, you can move beyond whether AI models know your brand and start developing your own AI visibility strategy.
Collapse of the click economy #
It’s important for most brands to understand AI search and begin developing an AI SEO strategy as quickly as possible. While a full transformation from organic to AI search appears to be years away, AI SEO may eventually replace traditional SEO.
Google is already leaning heavily on AI search. As CEO Sundar Pichai said in an April article from The Verge:
- “Search had a strong quarter with AI experiences driving usage, queries at an all-time high, and 19% revenue growth.”
At the same time, users are adapting to AI search features. When users encounter an AI-powered summary in search results, they click a blue link just 8% of the time, a Pew Research study found. When they don’t encounter AI summaries, they click blue links 15% of the time.
Although AI search traffic is still limited, it tends to have a higher conversion rate than organic search traffic. AI traffic had a conversion rate of 11.4%, compared to 5.3% for organic search traffic, per a Similarweb study.
[ Be the brand AI recommends. See your AI visibility
](https://www.semrush.com/ai-seo/overview?utm_campaign=ic_sel_0101ai&utm_source=searchengineland.com&utm_medium=overlay&onboarding=off) See where your brand appears in AI search, where competitors are winning, and what it takes to become the answer AI recommends.
Brand presence within AI engines: Usage vs. citation #
Brands can exist in AI systems in two distinct ways: usage and citation.
AI engines ingest information about your brand and use it when responding to search queries. This is somewhat similar to how Google traditionally indexes pages before ranking and serving them in search results.
When AI engines use your content, they may also mention your brand as an unlinked citation. This can drive discovery and may prompt users to search for and engage with your brand.
Citation occurs when an AI engine directly references your brand as a source of information. This may be a link to your web page, a link to your social profile, or a clickable phone link that lets users call you.
Within OpenAI, usage and citation rely on separate technical levers. As OpenAI’s documentation explains, there are four distinct user agents, with OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot deployed separately. Other AI systems have similar controls and measures that point to the same distinction.
Why citations are only part of the AI visibility equation #
AI engines often answer questions directly without necessarily citing web sources. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Before AI Overviews, Google tried something similar with featured snippets.
ChatGPT retrieves almost the exact same number of cited (~16.57) and uncited (~16.58) URLs to generate an average response, according to an Ahrefs study. Yet Reddit accounts for more than two-thirds (67.8%) of uncited URLs. As a result, comparing cited and uncited URLs is really a comparison between search results and Reddit API output.
This demonstrates that many AI systems are biased in the uncited information they provide to users. Certain platforms and websites are better than others at helping brands appear in AI answers. Brands that try to force themselves into AI models without understanding where those models source most of their information will be at a distinct disadvantage.
How to improve AI usage and citation for your brand #
Start by tracking your brand’s status and progress over time. Run a representative selection of prompts through an AI visibility platform and examine the citation sources. Where do they land, and what does that tell you?
There are many emerging AI citation tracking platforms to choose from. Established platforms like Semrush and Ahrefs have also integrated AI tracking features.
Scale your tracking and research efforts as much as possible. This can be difficult because AI prompt tracking often relies on API calls and is more expensive than traditional search ranking tracking.
As long as your sample is broadly representative, most tracking platforms will pull multiple responses and calculate some type of average. Although the volume of data is smaller, it’s usually quite rich.
Don’t forget to read AI and data vendor studies. They’re valuable sources of information because they show where AI engines pull information from.
Continual monitoring and adaptation are key. Over time, you can place your brand within the sources AI engines rely on most heavily.
Should you bother with traditional search rankings? #
Yes, you should continue to pursue traditional search rankings, but not for the reasons you might think. The connection between organic ranking positions and performance has become much more nebulous.
However, Ahrefs research suggests a correlation between AI citations and Google ranking positions, at least for Google AI Overviews. A July 2025 study found that 76.1% of pages cited in AI Overviews ranked in Google’s top 10 organic search results. For AI Overviews, which may become a dominant force in AI search over the coming years, traditional rankings still seem to matter.
AI engines rarely cite generic content that restates what other sources already say, an April study from Semrush found. Content that earns citations adds unique value.
This aligns with Google’s helpful content guidance, which encourages brands to publish original information. Producing content with a unique, trusted, and statistically grounded perspective can also help improve Google rankings.
Since many tactics for earning higher organic rankings can also earn AI citations, there’s no reason to abandon traditional SEO techniques and content strategies.
The growth of AI visibility and the fate of traditional SEO #
Both usage and citation require continual tracking and analysis. To increase the likelihood that AI engines use your brand’s knowledge and content, get your brand into the sources each AI model relies on. To earn citations, stay crawlable, rank organically, and say something original.
Classic SEO still earns its keep because the techniques that win organic rankings often earn AI citations as well. Yet the returns are diminishing, and AI SEO may one day replace traditional SEO altogether. That’s still a long way off, so for now, keep ranking, start tracking, and pursue both.
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