AI vs Search: Do B2B content and SEO even matter anymore?

Anyone remotely close to marketing has no doubt heard—or been part of—conversations debating the future of search. When ChatGPT and other LLMs began to rise in 2023, the threat was that queries usually entered into search engines would be diverted away to be answered by AI. Begging the question: Does our SEO and B2B content still matter if users aren’t querying on search?

Before we could really see that play out, the situation shuffled up again. 

Rather than compete, AI and search married up. 

Before this, AI was more like the starting point to support content creation, and search was where you verified and researched. A platform called Perplexity bridged that divide. With Perplexity, you could prompt it to generate content, and it would not only respond like a ChatGPT or other LLM but also cite its sources. Wow. 

Then, in a flash, Google dropped its AI Overviews (and then scaled them back. More on that soon). 

Let’s talk about AI Search

If you have yet to see it, AI search essentially merges an LLM and a search engine. In ChatGPT, you may say: “Tell me how AI is going to change the way we do SEO.” It would give you a well-reasoned, usually quite accurate answer. But it couldn’t tell you where it got that information. 

In Perplexity—or Brave or Google’s AI Overviews in the US—you could say: “Tell me how AI is going to change the way we do SEO.” and, in addition to your well-reasoned, usually quite correct answer, it would also provide links to articles or sources that support the AI’s conclusion. 

Content marketers should rejoice. Gone is our two-step process of learning and researching via AI and verifying/fact-checking via search. We now have an all-in-one. 

But for SEO specialist marketers, the feeling is a sinking one. 

Despite AI search keeping search engines relevant—and keeping eyeballs on the platforms we all optimise for—the SEO changes are imminent.

On May 14, 2024, Google announced at its I/O developer conference that AI Overviews—which provide AI-generated summaries at the top of search results—would be fully rolled out across the US that day. 

They did end up cutting back the feature so that it’s only used on about 11% of search queries (rather than a full-scale all-in roll-out), but the message is still clear: If Google is doing it, it’s serious, and we must adjust accordingly. If it’s not in your location yet, it’s just around the corner. 

AI’s impact on SEO and B2B content

The perceived threat to traditional SEO is that AI-generated search engine answers will replace the role of the content we have spent more than a decade investing in. Much like there were mixed emotions about the snippets (that they would cause people to not bother clicking through to the article), AI-generated search answers also threaten to remove the need for users to click through to blogs, articles, papers—all sorts of content. 

But is that the immediate threat? At least for now, no. Or no-ish.

The value of Google’s AI Overviews (just like snippets), and all the other AI search tools, is that they combine the AI answers with the resources for users to click through to read further. 

Does it threaten to stop people from clicking through to your content? In many cases, probably yes. 

If I want to know, “Is it normal for my greyhound to sleep 20 hours a day?” and I get Google’s AI Overview telling me, “Yes, it’s normal and here’s some extra info about greyhounds,” I’ve probably had my question answered. I don’t need to read further to get better informed. 

But we are in B2B. And that is very much in our favour. 

B2C vs B2B SEO and AI optimisation strategies 

The way we, as B2B businesses and marketers, counter this AI search fusion for the immediate future is the way we have been countering Google’s endless quality updates for years. We create excellent—structured, high-quality—content. 

B2C AI Search impacts

B2C content is at a greater risk of being used for overviews without converting to article views. The types of content B2C businesses are encouraged to write in this AI search environment are things like how-to guides, listicles, and product reviews that AI can easily pull into snippets and quick answers. 

As you can glean, how-to guides, listicles and even product reviews are pretty easily summarised in these overviews, leaving little value to be added by reading any more from the source. B2C marketers have a big challenge ahead in making content compelling enough to warrant a deeper read. 

B2B AI Search impacts

Thankfully, the content B2B buyers have always required is more in-depth. Whitepapers, eBooks and case studies all invite extra reading. The strategy for SEO and AI optimisation is much the same as it has always been, just with a few extra considerations to make it easily referenced in AI-generated summaries and snippets. 

How to make AI-friendly B2B content 

1. Understand user intent

• Research common queries: Use tools like Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, and keyword research tools to identify common questions and topics in your industry. Heck, use AI to help you identify common questions.
• Provide direct answers: Ensure that your content directly answers these queries in a clear and concise manner.

2. Optimise for Featured Snippets and AI Summaries

• Structure content with headings and subheadings: Use H2 and H3 tags to organise your content into easily digestible sections.
• Use lists and tables: Incorporate bullet points, numbered lists, and tables to present information clearly and succinctly.
• Include relevant keywords: Naturally integrate relevant keywords and phrases that AI is likely to recognise and highlight.

3. Utilise schema markup

• Implement structured data: Use schema markup to provide additional context about your content, helping AI models understand and classify your information.
• Focus on FAQs and how-to guides: These formats are particularly well-suited for AI interpretation and can boost your chances of appearing in AI-generated results.

4. Maintain high content quality

• Ensure accuracy and reliability: Fact-check your information and cite reputable sources to maintain credibility (don’t blindly trust AI search just yet).
• Update regularly: Keep your content up-to-date to ensure it remains relevant and accurate.

5. Engage with multimedia content

• Incorporate images and videos: Use multimedia elements to enhance user engagement and provide additional context that AI can interpret.
• Optimise alt text and descriptions: Ensure that images and videos have descriptive alt text and metadata to improve AI understanding.

SEO is your B2B content’s true north

Unless you’re an insider at Meta or Alphabet Inc., you won’t be able to predict or change what’s coming next from AI. All we can do is what we have always done: follow Google’s rules, produce the best quality B2B content possible and design it to be so interesting, informative and valuable that even after an overview taste, readers will want to consume it all. 

To help strike that balance, contact The Lead Agency. We blend our expertise in content marketing and SEO with a healthy dose of AI obsession to design content and SEO strategies that are up to the minute and built to last.