The Impact of Conversational Search on SEO and SEM

Originally published in Chronicles of Change, 2023.

The search paradigm that has governed digital marketing for two decades is undergoing its most significant transformation. Conversational AI — from ChatGPT to Google’s Search Generative Experience to Bing Chat — is changing not just how people search, but what search means. For marketing leaders, this isn’t a future scenario. It’s happening now.

The Shift from Keywords to Conversations

Traditional search is transactional: a user types keywords, scans a list of blue links, clicks through. SEO and SEM strategies are built around this model — keyword research, ranking optimisation, bid strategies, landing page design.

Conversational search is fundamentally different. Users ask complete questions in natural language. They engage in multi-turn dialogues. They expect synthesised answers, not a list of options. The AI intermediates between the user and your content, deciding what to surface and how to present it.

This changes everything.

What It Means for SEO

The Zero-Click Future Accelerates

Conversational AI doesn’t just reduce clicks to your website — it fundamentally redefines the relationship between search and content. When an AI synthesises an answer from multiple sources, your content may inform the response without the user ever visiting your site. Traditional traffic-based SEO metrics become increasingly misleading.

Authority Becomes Paramount

AI systems are trained to prioritise authoritative, well-structured, substantive content. Thin content, keyword stuffing, and SEO gimmicks become not just ineffective but actively counterproductive. The organisations that invest in genuine expertise and comprehensive content will be the ones AI systems trust and cite.

Structured Data Matters More

Conversational AI needs to understand your content, not just index it. Schema markup, clear information architecture, and well-structured data become essential infrastructure. The better an AI can parse your content, the more likely it is to surface it.

What It Means for SEM

The Auction Evolves

If users interact with AI before (or instead of) seeing ads, the traditional search ad model faces disruption. We’re already seeing AI-powered ad placements within conversational interfaces, but the format, targeting, and measurement are all changing.

Intent Becomes Richer

Conversational queries reveal more about user intent than keyword searches. A user asking “What’s the best CRM for a 50-person B2B company with a limited budget?” reveals far more than someone searching “best CRM.” This richness creates opportunities for more precise, more valuable targeting — but requires new approaches to campaign design.

Strategic Implications for Marketing Leaders

1. Invest in content depth over content volume. One comprehensive, authoritative piece will outperform ten thin ones in a conversational search world.

2. Build your brand’s authority. AI systems are more likely to surface content from recognised authorities. Thought leadership, research, and original data become direct SEO assets.

3. Rethink measurement. Traffic and rankings are incomplete measures in a conversational search world. Consider share of voice in AI responses, brand mention frequency, and attributed conversions from AI-influenced journeys.

4. Prepare for multi-modal search. Conversational search isn’t just text. Voice, image, and video search are all growing. Your content strategy needs to address all modalities.

5. Don’t abandon traditional SEO — augment it. The blue links aren’t dead. But they’re increasingly one channel among several. A robust SEO foundation remains essential; it just isn’t sufficient.

The Window of Opportunity

We’re in a transitional period. The organisations that understand and adapt to conversational search now will establish advantages that compound over time. Those that wait for the dust to settle may find that the ground has shifted beneath them.

The future of search isn’t a better list of links. It’s a conversation. And your brand needs to be part of it.