How agencies are adapting to AI search

The quick answer

As AI-powered answers change search, agencies are adapting their client strategies with five key shifts:

1. Focus on Brand Authority: They prioritize building the client's brand entity and reputation signals over just targeting keywords.
2. Adopt GEO Tactics: Agencies are using Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to get clients cited in AI-generated answers.
3. Optimize for Citations: Content is being restructured into formats like listicles that Large Language Models (LLMs) frequently reference.
4. Update Metrics: Success is now measured by AI visibility and brand mentions within LLMs, not just website clicks.
5. Integrate Local Signals: They are optimizing local business reviews and location data to appear in LLM recommendations for "near me" style queries.

Why AI search demands a new strategy

AI-powered search results shorten the user journey. Instead of clicking links, users get direct answers, which reduces referral traffic and changes the role of traditional SEO.

Agencies are not waiting. They are retooling their SEO, content, and client reporting to win in this new landscape. These are the actionable strategies they are using right now, as detailed in an original article from searchengine land.

Shift 1: Adopt Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

The new goal is to become a citable source for AI. This is the core of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). It's less about ranking #1 and more about being featured in the AI-generated answer.

This requires a fundamental shift from keyword optimization toward entity building and topical authority.

Build your brand entity

Agencies like Ignite SEO are focusing on building a strong brand "entity." An entity is how search engines understand who you are, what you do, and how authoritative you are.

You can strengthen your entity by:

• Using Organization Schema: Add structured data to your website that clearly defines your company name, logo, address, and social profiles.
• Maintaining Consistent NAP: Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone number are identical across all directories and your website.
• Earning Brand Mentions: Secure placements and mentions on reputable websites, even without a direct link. AI models use these as trust signals.

Reverse-engineer AI rankings

Proactive agencies are studying AI behavior to find patterns. For example, SEO Inc. uses proprietary prompt frameworks to analyze what kind of content AI models prefer to cite.

You can do this by:

1. Querying Your Keywords: Ask different chatbots and AI search tools questions related to your core services or products.
2. Analyzing the Sources: Identify the sources cited in the answers. What format is their content in? Is it a list, a how-to guide, or a direct quote?
3. Finding the Gaps: Note where AI provides weak or incomplete answers. This is your opportunity to create content that directly fills that gap.

Shift 2: Evolve your content for AI citation

AI models favor content that is clear, well-structured, and easy to synthesize. Your SEO content strategy must adapt to become a primary source for these systems.

This means moving beyond traditional blog posts and optimizing for direct answers.

Target listicle placements

Agency Editorial.Link found that listicles are a highly-cited format in AI search results. They built a tool specifically to find opportunities on "best of" lists.

To get featured in listicles:

• Identify Relevant Lists: Search for "best [your product/service] in [your city/niche]."
• Pitch the Author: Reach out to the website owners or authors and make a clear case for why you deserve to be included. Provide all necessary information upfront.
• Create Your Own Listicles: Publish your own "best of" or "top 10" lists relevant to your industry to establish authority.

Structure content for AI readiness

Technical SEO and content formatting are now critical for AI visibility. Your content must be easy for a machine to crawl and understand.

Key actions include:

• Use Structured Data: Implement schema for FAQs and HowTo guides. This formats your content as direct questions and answers, which AI can easily pull.
• Write Clear Q&A Sections: Add a dedicated FAQ section to your service and product pages that addresses common user questions.
• Include Summaries: Place a concise summary or a "quick answer" list at the very top of your articles.

Shift 3: Update metrics and client reporting

With AI answers reducing clicks, last-click attribution models are becoming obsolete. Agencies are developing new ways to prove their value to clients by measuring influence, not just traffic.

The new key performance indicator (KPI) is visibility within AI platforms.

Track AI visibility and share of voice

Agency SeoProfy now tracks AI visibility as a core KPI for its clients. This involves monitoring brand mentions and competitor citations across major chatbots and AI search results.

You can start tracking this by:

1. Create a Tracking Sheet: List your 10-20 most important industry keywords.
2. Perform Regular Checks: Once a week, query these keywords in different AI tools.
3. Document Mentions: Record every time your brand is mentioned, a competitor is mentioned, or your website is cited as a source.

Measure influence without clicks

Since users may see your brand in an AI answer and go directly to your site later, direct traffic attribution is challenging. Agencies are adopting broader measurement models.

Two methods include:

• Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM): This statistical analysis looks at how all marketing inputs (social, SEO, ads) contribute to outcomes (sales, leads) over time. It shows the value of top-of-funnel efforts like being cited by AI.
• Incrementality Testing: This involves measuring what happens when you turn a specific marketing activity on or off. It helps prove the "lift" generated by your SEO efforts, even if they don't result in a direct click.

Shift 4: Adapt for local and niche dominance

For businesses that rely on local customers, AI search presents a unique opportunity. LLMs often use location-based signals to make recommendations, and agencies are optimizing for this.

A modern website built to rank must integrate these local signals from the ground up.

Optimize reviews for local LLM recommendations

InboundREM, an agency focused on real estate, is optimizing client reviews to boost LLM recommendations. They target mentions of specific local place names within reviews.

You can apply this by:

• Guiding Reviewers: In your review request emails, prompt customers to mention the specific service they used and the neighborhood or city where they used it.
• Highlighting Locational Reviews: Feature reviews that mention local terms prominently on your website.

Integrate GEO tasks into SEO work

Agency First Rank integrates GEO-specific tasks directly into its existing SEO packages. They use custom Looker Studio reports to track referral traffic that may come from LLMs.

This shows clients how SEO efforts translate into AI visibility. It connects the technical work of optimizing for AI with tangible results, even if those results are brand mentions instead of clicks.

Shift 5: Guide clients with new frameworks

A core part of adapting is educating clients and setting new expectations. The old rules of SEO are changing, and clients need a new playbook.

Apply the 95/5 principle

This marketing principle states that only 5% of your potential audience is in-market to buy right now. The other 95% are out-of-market. AI search makes reaching that 95% more important than ever.

Use your content to build brand awareness and trust with the 95%, so when they are ready to buy, your brand is the first one they think of—whether they see you in a link or an AI answer.

Create an SEO bridge and experiment

Map your informational content (like blog posts) to your transactional content (like service pages). Use this "SEO bridge" to guide users through their journey.

Most importantly, remember that no one has all the answers yet. LLM algorithms are a "black box." The agencies succeeding are the ones that are experimenting constantly, learning quickly, and adapting their strategies based on what works today.