Is ChatGPT the New Search Engine? How AI Tools Are Rewriting the Rules of Discovery

Search is no longer just about typing queries into Google and waiting for a list of blue links. In 2025, search has evolved into a conversation. Whether it’s ChatGPT, Google’s new AI Overviews, or emerging platforms like Perplexity, users are bypassing traditional search behavior in favor of AI-generated answers. And this shift isn’t just a technical change—it’s a strategic wake-up call for the C-Suite.

From Search to Suggestion: The AI Disruption

At Google’s 2025 I/O Keynote, the company unveiled its boldest leap yet into generative search: AI Overviews. These summaries provide users with synthesized answers right at the top of the page—no need to click through. Combine this with the rise of tools like ChatGPT being used for research, product discovery, and business decision-making, and it’s clear: traditional SEO isn’t enough.

Today’s users are no longer looking for lists—they’re looking for answers. This is changing not only how people search, but also what kind of content is surfaced and trusted. If AI tools become the first and final destination for answers, the implication for brands is massive: visibility now requires being present inside those AI-generated overviews.

According to Conductor and Semrush:

• Zero-click searches are on the rise, driven by AI-generated results.
• AI Overviews dominate top-of-funnel queries but avoid high-conversion keywords to protect ad revenue.
• Keyword rankings are less critical than topic authority and brand mentions in AI-generated content.
• AI tools are learning not just what users are asking—but why they’re asking.

SEO is Evolving: From Rankings to Relevance

SEO used to be about optimizing for algorithms. Today, it's about being valuable enough for AI to cite you. This reframes SEO from a technical checklist to a brand-building exercise. Businesses must now approach visibility as a function of credibility.

Search priorities are shifting from outranking to out-answering. It's not about being the top blue link. It’s about being the best possible answer—delivered wherever your audience is looking, even if they never leave the platform.

Smart organizations are:

• Focusing on user intent and topic authority, not just keywords.
• Structuring content around E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust).
• Prioritizing video and YouTube-hosted content, which dominates AI-friendly search results.
• Creating original, differentiated content that adds value—because AI penalizes duplication and rewards unique insight.

In the AI-powered search era, the question shifts from “How do we rank?” to “How do we get cited, surfaced, and trusted in AI-curated experiences?” This isn’t a tactical adjustment—it’s a strategic redefinition of how businesses ensure they are discoverable, trustworthy, and influential.

This shift to AI-assisted answers means discovery itself is changing. So how are people actually finding businesses today?

Where People Discover Brands Now (And How Your Business Can Show Up)

AI has changed the nature of search—and discovery. Here are the five dominant ways people now find businesses, and how leaders can ensure their brand is in the right place at the right time:

1. AI-Generated Answers (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity)

• Users ask complex, multi-step questions.
• LLMs pull from trusted content to synthesize answers.
• Businesses show up if they’re referenced, linked, or quoted—not necessarily if they rank on a SERP.

✅ Business Action: Optimize for AI inclusion—publish original insights, use structured data, and be present on high-authority domains.

2. Platform-Native Search (TikTok, LinkedIn, Amazon, Reddit)

• Users increasingly search within platforms, especially for product discovery, reviews, or how-to content.

• Younger users in particular are skipping Google entirely.

✅ Business Action: Think “multi-platform SEO.” Create content designed for native discoverability (captions, hashtags, watch time, comment engagement).

3. Conversational Discovery

• Smart assistants and chatbots (like ChatGPT or Google's Search Generative Experience) are the new interface to the internet.

• Users are “asking” rather than “searching.”

✅ Business Action: Make your business quotable: publish expert answers to common industry questions, and ensure your brand is associated with specific topics.

4. AI-Enhanced Internal Search (Enterprise + E-commerce)

• AI is transforming how users search within websites, intranets, and apps.

• Accurate internal search = better UX and higher conversions.

✅ Business Action: Invest in internal content architecture, tagging, and AI-tuned search tools. This ensures discoverability within your own digital ecosystem.

5. Zero-Click and Instant Answers

• Google and other engines increasingly serve answers directly in the SERP or AI layer.

• Users never leave the platform.

✅ Business Action: Prioritize visibility over traffic. Focus on brand mentions, video snippets, structured FAQs, and schema markup to own these zero-click spaces.

Emerging Search Channels: Beyond Traditional and Generative

We’re also seeing the rapid rise of new modes of search that don’t neatly fall into traditional or generative categories—what some are referring to as GEO (Generative Experience Optimization). This involves AI enhancing the user journey not just with answers, but with next-step experiences: contextual links, multi-modal content, and dynamic interfaces that anticipate intent.

These new models include:

• Conversational search experiences (like Google’s “Ask with Video” experiments)

• Search within apps and platforms (e.g., TikTok, LinkedIn, Amazon, and even ChatGPT)

• Visual and voice-first search where content must be designed to be understood and presented by AI—not just read

For business leaders, this means optimizing not just for Google or ChatGPT, but for a diverse ecosystem of discovery:

• Is your product findable through voice interfaces?

• Is your content tagged and structured for in-app search engines?

• Are you creating assets (video, audio, summaries) that AI can package into richer, intent-driven experiences?

These aren’t future problems—they’re current gaps. And early adopters who address them will dominate brand attention across emerging search surfaces.

Rethinking the Funnel: Why TOFU Content is Under Threat

Semrush’s AI Overview study found that Google is deploying these features primarily on top-of-the-funnel queries—educational and exploratory questions where AI can deliver concise summaries. These are also the queries brands typically use to introduce prospects to their ecosystem.

The problem? If users get their answers directly from an AI-generated response, they may never visit your site.

So, how can your brand stay relevant?

• Focus on being quoted by AI, not just visited by users.

• Ensure your brand is associated with authoritative, trusted insights.

• Contribute to industry conversations through thought leadership and original research.  

In this new world, being the source is the win—not just being the destination.

What This Means for the C-Suite

If your business relies on digital visibility—whether for brand awareness, thought leadership, or lead generation—here’s what you need to do now:

1. Reframe SEO from Clicks to Credibility

Don’t just ask how your pages rank. Ask whether your brand is appearing in AI-generated answers. Your goal: become the trusted source AI tools pull from.

That means:

• Publishing unique insights

• Building a public voice through content and commentary

• Encouraging mentions and citations across reputable sources

2. Build Content Ecosystems, Not Just Pages

AI engines value context and variety. That means:

• Publishing thought leadership content in clusters.

• Creating video explainers, data visualizations, and content summaries.

• Hosting video content on YouTube to maximize visibility in Google’s ecosystem.

• Repurposing long-form insights into snackable formats that AI tools can reference.

This not only improves external visibility but also reinforces your brand narrative across channels.

3. Prioritize Organization-Wide AI & Search Optimization

AI search isn’t just external—it’s internal too. When your enterprise content is structured for discoverability (think taxonomies, tagging, internal search logic), you:

• Improve customer-facing AI experiences

• Power better internal chatbot responses

• Enable employees to access institutional knowledge faster

• Increase the ROI of your AI investments by feeding them better data

This isn’t just marketing’s job—it’s a cross-functional digital transformation initiative. CIOs, CMOs, and Heads of Data must align on the strategic role of content and structure.

4. Redefine Your Success Metrics

Traditional KPIs like keyword ranking are becoming less useful. Focus instead on:

• Mentions in AI-generated summaries

• Share of voice in topic clusters

• Engagement depth, authority signals, and branded query volume

• Visibility in AI-native platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini

This requires new tools and dashboards—but also a shift in mindset. You’re no longer just competing for clicks. You’re competing for inclusion in the AI-generated layer of the internet.

Looking Ahead: SEO as an AI Visibility Strategy

Let’s be clear: SEO isn’t dead. But the way we practice it has fundamentally changed. In the same way mobile revolutionized web design, AI is reshaping discoverability.

We are moving into a world where:

• The first impression of your brand may be via a chatbot.

• Your expertise may be measured by how often AI models reference your work.

• Your discoverability may hinge more on structured data and multimedia content than on keyword density.

The businesses that adapt fastest will be the ones who think of SEO not as search engine optimization, but as semantic ecosystem optimization. Your goal isn’t just to show up on a results page—it’s to be embedded in the informational fabric AI draws from.

So How Do You Show Up In the AI Era? Be the Answer

Being searchable is no longer enough. In the AI era, you must be findable, quotable, and trusted—by machines and humans alike.

The companies that thrive in this new landscape won’t be the ones clinging to old SEO tactics. They’ll be the ones who understand that AI is not just a search tool—it’s the new gatekeeper of attention.

At Launch, we help organizations rethink their digital strategy from the inside out—aligning content, data, and AI readiness to ensure you don’t just show up in the AI era… you lead it.

Is your business positioned to be the answer in this AI-driven world?

Connect with a Navigator today to make it happen.