Our June Social in Glasgow was an insightful presentation by Scott McBay, founder of Balanced Impact, who shared his expert perspective on preparing for the AI-driven future of digital marketing.

With 25 years of experience leading delivery teams across successful agencies and having trained thousands of professionals on behalf of Google, Scott's insights were both timely and actionable.

The AI Revolution is Here

Scott opened with a stark reality check:

AI has fundamentally changed how people interact with the web and find information. According to Forbes research, he cited, marketing and sales teams are already using AI more than any other business function, with 68% of customers prepared to act on generative AI recommendations (Capgemini).

This shift represents a seismic change from traditional search behaviour to what Scott termed the "conversational shift."

One of the most striking statistics shared was that in 64% of searches, users now find all the information they need without leaving the search results page – the so-called "zero-click searches." This trend, accelerated by Google's AI Overviews and tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT, means businesses must fundamentally rethink their digital strategy.

From Queries to Prompts: Understanding the New Search Landscape

Key to Scott's presentation was his explanation of how AI is transforming search behaviour. Traditional search queries are giving way to detailed prompts that provide rich context.

He illustrated this with an example of someone seeking a marketing role, providing not just keywords but comprehensive information including education background, salary expectations, location preferences, and specialisms.

Surprisingly, only 30% of ChatGPT prompts can be categorised using traditional search categories (informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional). This signals a fundamental shift that marketers must understand and adapt to.

Scott's Strategic Framework for AI-Ready Marketing

1. Content Strategy: Quality Over Keywords

Scott emphasised that AI understands relationships between concepts, not just keyword matching. His advice was clear: focus on topics, not just related keywords. Businesses should:

• Understand their audience's genuine needs and problems
• Develop content pillars that thoroughly cover topics
• Create supporting pages that demonstrate comprehensive topic coverage
• Leverage AI tools to level the playing field in content creation

2. Content Audit: The Four-Action Approach

Scott recommended conducting thorough content audits using a simple framework: Prune, Improve, Consolidate, or Keep. Key principles include:

• Including relevant citations from reputable sources
• Demonstrating EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trust)
• Using the inverted pyramid structure (most important information first)
• Ensuring content is well-researched and in-depth, as AI responds positively to comprehensive coverage

3. Technical Optimisation: Speaking AI's Language

The technical recommendations were practical and immediately actionable:

• Implement structured data (schema markup) for products, reviews, jobs, local business information, FAQs, and how-to content
• Embrace multimodal content, including images, video, and audio
• Consider implementing LLMs.txt files for better AI understanding
• Ensure fast site speeds, as both AI and users dislike slow sites
• Maintain a mobile-friendly design since most interactions occur on mobile devices

4. User Experience: Designing for Humans and AI

Scott stressed that AI observes user behaviour, making customer experience crucial:

• Design with customers first, not AI or crawlers
• Implement clear, contrasting call-to-actions that guide both AI and human users
• Ensure thoughtful navigation, structure, and hierarchy

The Rise of Agentic AI

One of the most forward-thinking aspects of Scott's presentation was his discussion of agentic AI – AI agents that act as middlemen in the customer journey. These agents can make decisions and take actions on behalf of customers without them ever visiting your website. This "zero-click journey" represents the ultimate evolution of the current trend and reinforces why optimisation for AI discovery is crucial.

Practical AI Implementation

Scott didn't just theorise about AI's impact; he provided concrete ways to leverage AI tools for marketing efficiency:

• Content planning and creation: Using AI for page tables, outlines, and draft content
• Design and development: Creating page layouts and coding components
• Research and analysis: Conducting rapid research and data analysis

Key Takeaways for Marketing Success

Scott concluded with five essential principles for future-proofing marketing efforts:

1. Create content for humans, not AI or crawlers – authenticity remains paramount
2. Embrace the conversational shift – adapt to how people naturally communicate
3. Continuously learn and adapt – the AI landscape evolves rapidly
4. Prioritise clear, comprehensive, well-structured content – depth matters more than ever
5. Focus on quality over quantity – better to excel in fewer areas than be mediocre across many

Final Thoughts

Scott's central message resonated strongly with our team: preparing for AI isn't about gaming the system or learning new tricks. It's about building better, more discoverable sites for your audience, with the understanding that AI and agents are increasingly working on their behalf.

The businesses that will thrive in this AI-driven landscape are those that focus on genuinely serving their customers' needs with high-quality, comprehensive content and seamless user experiences. As Scott aptly put it, we're not just optimising for search engines anymore – we're optimising for the intelligent agents that will increasingly mediate between businesses and customers.

For those who missed this invaluable session, we highly recommend connecting with Scott McBay and Balanced Impact for deeper insights into future-proofing your digital marketing strategy. The AI revolution isn't coming – it's here, and the time to adapt is now.