AI Search VS Google Search

AI search still feels new to many of us, but it’s quickly gaining popularity, and more consumers are using it each month. It may leave you wondering, AI Search vs Google Search, which one is more important for your business? Should you focus on one or both? How do you decide? 

What’s the difference between a Google search and an AI search? 

Let’s start with the difference between the two, so you can start to see how your ideal customer might use them, and that can hopefully help you to decide if one is more important than the other for your specific business.

A Google search is our traditional internet search. Someone types a keyword into a search engine, and it returns websites that may have the information they’re looking for. The searcher then has to choose which website to visit to hopefully find the information they’re looking for.

An AI Search takes this process a step further by searching for the information for the searcher, summarizing it, and sharing the summary with them, rather than just a resource where they can find the information they need.

The AI search summaries can be in different forms. Google now includes AI search summaries in both the AI Overviews at the top of the traditional Google search results page and the new AI search results page (AI Mode). ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others will summarize the data right within the search conversation. They’ll share information and links to the website where they’ve found the information (if requested). 

Is it Better to use Google or AI? 

Honestly, from a consumer perspective, there will be times your ideal customer wants to get their information from a traditional Google search, times they want to use AI search, and likely times they want to use both, working together. My students and clients are seeing a mix of all three right now when it comes to what’s generating leads for their businesses.

For your business, you want to think about your ideal customer and what information they’d likely be searching for online. What we’re seeing with AI search in particular is that people are often researching, refining, and determining what they want to do within the AI search and then going to Google when they’re ready to make a purchase. In fact, leads from ChatGPT specifically are worth 4x what a lead from Google is worth, according to a recent research study, because the searcher is further into the process by the time they get to your website.

I have seen this with my students, too. Several of them have had new clients who found them because ChatGPT helped them figure out what to search for on Google. They started their search on ChatGPT and then went to Google when they were ready to choose someone to work with in their area.

So, which should your business focus on?

As an entrepreneur, you will likely want to focus on both AI search and traditional SEO because your customers are likely searching in both places. If you want to remain visible in the coming years, you’ll need to make sure you’re visible on AI search because the latest industry report that I saw shows AI search is expected to overtake Google in 2028.

Is AI Taking Over Google Searches? 

AI isn’t taking over Google search today, but it’s expected to in the next two years. It’s growing in popularity, and people are using it more and more often. Now is the time to lay the foundation for AI search for your business. The AI search engines are learning which sites to trust and share right now, so if you’re including them in your SEO strategy, you’ll have a better chance of being visible within AI search now and in the future.

What to do for Google and AI Search for your business 

Continue to create great content that’s helpful to your ideal customer and optimized for Google. AI Search is going to use a lot of the same traditional SEO information to understand your content. 

You’ll want to use keywords for Google, but they don’t matter for AI search. AI is more focused on conversational queries. You’ll want to make sure you’re writing in a conversational tone, answering questions, and even using the information included in the People Also Ask section on Google within your blog post.

You’ll also want to include short paragraphs, header tags, extra white space, etc., to make sure your page is easy to skim and read. Formatting your text for scanning helps with AI search optimization.

How to get started with Google and AI Search Today

If you’re already doing SEO on your website, that’s great. You want to keep doing what you’ve been doing (as long as you aren’t making mistakes). You’ll want to start formatting your content for AI search and including phrases people might be searching for in your blog posts. If you haven’t done SEO yet, now is the time to get started so that your site is ready as AI search takes off. If you’ve been trying to do SEO on your own and you’re not sure if it’s working, I can help you with that too. Get started by taking the free class and then decide if you want to work with me 1:1 (if I have an opening) or if you’d like to work in a small group in Simple SEO Content. Either way, we’ll make sure you have the correct SEO and AI SEO strategy for your business to remain visible now and into the future. Let me show you how to do this.

Final Thought: on AI vs Google Search and Which one is more Important

• The choice isn’t AI Search vs Google Search, it’s visibility and traffic vs none
• AI Search isn’t just glorified Google Search, though at its core, it’s about giving the searcher more information in an easier-to-understand way
• AI Search is gaining popularity and is expected to overtake Google by 2028
• If you don’t do SEO, you won’t be visible on Google or AI Search
• Now is the time to focus on SEO to help your business grow