Navigating the Era of AI-Powered Search
Key takeaways from Ben Wood’s presentation at the CIM Nottingham Social – 29 April 2025
At our recent CIM Social in Nottingham, we had the pleasure of welcoming Ben Wood, Performance Marketing Director and Partner at Hallam, to share his expert perspective on how AI is transforming the search landscape. His presentation explored the tools, trends, and techniques that marketers need to embrace to succeed in an increasingly AI-powered world.
Alongside an energising networking session with fellow marketers, attendees gained invaluable insights into the rapidly evolving future of search—and what it means for brand visibility, strategy, and measurement.
AI Overviews Are Reshaping Search
Google’s continued rollout of AI Overviews (AIOs) is revolutionising how people interact with search. These summaries, powered by generative AI, now take up a significant amount of space on search results pages, often covering half the screen on desktop and mobile and reducing the visibility of traditional organic listings.
The knock-on effect? A sharp rise in zero-click searches, changing how users discover brands and content online. For marketers, this means it’s time to rethink the role of classic SEO in driving traffic and conversions.
Adapting to a World of AI-Driven Search
Ben outlined three key areas for marketers to focus on, supported by practical strategies for staying visible and competitive:
- Optimise for AI Overviews
Instead of resisting the shift, embrace it. Getting cited in AI Overviews may not always lead to direct clicks, but it offers powerful branding opportunities.
Top tip:
Build content that positions your brand as an authoritative source. Answer specific questions clearly, cite trusted data, and focus on E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) to improve your chances of being referenced.
- Embrace Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)
AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity are emerging as key discovery platforms. GEO is the practice of optimising your brand to appear in AI-generated answers, which differ significantly from Google’s traditional results.
Top tip:
Prioritise placement in high-authority publications that these models reference. Identify the sources these AI tools cite and build backlinks and PR efforts around them.
- Rethink Success Metrics
With AIOs filtering out low-intent informational searches, overall traffic may decline, but the quality of traffic can improve. That means it’s time to shift from measuring clicks to measuring impact.
Top tip:
Track engagement metrics like lead conversion rate, dwell time, and brand mentions. Start exploring tools that measure Share of Model—a new metric that quantifies how often your brand is cited across AI-generated content.
In Summary
AI-powered search isn’t a future trend—it’s already here. Google’s roadmap suggests even greater integration of generative AI into the search experience. The challenge now is to evolve beyond the traditional SEO playbook.
Rather than seeing this as a loss of organic visibility, see it as a chance to diversify your digital presence by building brand equity across platforms and becoming the source that AI tools trust.
A huge thank you to Ben Wood and the team at Hallam for their insight and generosity in hosting this inspiring session. We look forward to continuing the conversation as AI redefines the digital marketing landscape.