The New Challenge: From Tracking AI Visibility to Actually Winning It

A recent Search Engine Journal piece highlighted how many marketing teams now track their brand's appearance in AI-generated answers, yet few have a clear plan to improve those numbers. The news centered on a live session with Ahrefs' Constance Tan, who addressed the gap between measuring AI citations and actively earning more of them. This matters because search behavior has shifted: people are asking AI assistants for answers instead of clicking through a list of links.

For years, SEO meant optimizing for Google's blue links. Now, the goal is to get your business name, product, or service quoted inside an AI summary inside ChatGPT or Google's AI Overviews. The tools to track that exist, but the know-how to influence it is still rare. That gap is where the real opportunity lies for businesses that act early.

What This Shift Means for Your Search Rankings and SEO Strategy

Traditional SEO focuses on keywords, backlinks, and page speed to climb search results. AI SEO adds a new layer: the algorithm behind an AI answer chooses sources based on clarity, authority, and structured data. If your website content is written in vague marketing language, the AI will likely skip you. It prefers direct, factual sentences that answer a question plainly.

This changes the game because you cannot rely on old tactics alone. You now need to write for both human readers and AI models. That means using clear headings, simple explanations, and trustworthy citations. Google's algorithm also rewards content that appears in multiple AI answers — it sees that as a signal of credibility. The businesses that adapt their content structure now will own the AI answer space before competitors catch on.

What This Means for Australian SMBs

Small and mid-sized Australian businesses often have limited marketing budgets and no dedicated SEO team. The rise of AI search could widen the gap with larger competitors — or level the playing field. AI answers tend to pull from the most clearly written, authoritative source, regardless of brand size. A local plumber in Perth can rank in an AI answer if their website answers "How do I fix a leaking tap?" in plain, step-by-step language.

Australian SMBs also face unique challenges like targeting local queries ("best cafe near me") and competing with big chains. AI search favours local citations from sites like Google Business Profile, so keeping that profile updated is more important than ever. The key is to focus on being the most useful and trustworthy answer for your specific niche.

What You Can Do Now

  • Audit your top pages for question-and-answer sections. Rewrite any text that is vague or fluffy into clear, direct statements that answer a single question.
  • Add structured data markup (like FAQ and HowTo schema) to your website. This helps AI models understand and extract your content for answers.
  • Update your Google Business Profile weekly with fresh posts, accurate hours, and real customer reviews. Local AI citations often pull from this data.
  • Monitor your brand mentions in AI tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity at least once a month. If you are not cited, identify which competitor answered the question better and improve your content.
  • Create a dedicated "answers" page for the most common questions your customers ask. Keep each answer short, factual, and supported by a trustworthy source (e.g., a government guide or industry body).

For Australian businesses that want to stay ahead, MS&VG offers an AI-powered SEO service that helps you turn visibility data into real citations. We build content strategies tailored to how Google's algorithm and AI models select answers, so your business gets found faster — in search results and inside the AI tools your customers already use.