AI search is no longer something only tech blogs talk about. It has already changed how people find businesses and make decisions. At Devakey, we see this shift firsthand, whether it shows up as fewer clicks on pages that once ranked at the top or as leads mentioning that a chatbot sent them. This is exactly why marketing strategy services need to account for AI search optimization now, since preparing for it is becoming as important as ranking on Google ever was.

What Happens to Your Clicks When Google Shows an AI Overview?

Google’s AI Overviews already show up on a lot of searches. When one appears:

• Organic click-through rates have been reported to fall from around 1.76% to about 0.61%, a drop of roughly 60%.
• Zero-click searches climb from around 34% on regular results to about 43%.

Page one is no longer the goal if the AI answer has already given the searcher what they needed.

This is exactly the kind of shift where a marketing strategy consultant becomes useful, because chasing rankings alone is no longer enough. The goal now includes being named and cited inside the answer itself, not just linked below it. This is the idea behind Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): shaping your content and online presence so AI tools can find, trust, and cite your brand.

Why Is B2B Marketing Strategy Shifting Away from Google Search?

This shift is showing up heavily in B2B buying too. A 2026 G2 report found that 51% of B2B software buyers now start their research inside an AI chatbot rather than a search engine. Forrester's 2026 State of Business Buying report found that generative AI tools were the most cited research interaction.

For any B2B business, this changes where visibility actually happens. A buyer might never type a company's name into Google. Instead, they ask an AI tool to compare vendors, and that answer shapes the shortlist before a salesperson gets involved. Building a B2B marketing strategy around this means treating AI platforms as a real research channel.

Why Does Being Cited Matter More Than Being Clicked?

Perplexity shows its sources clearly, and reported click-through rates on those citations run between 18% and 22%, higher than what Google's AI Overview citations typically generate. Visibility inside an AI answer is not just vanity. On some platforms, it still drives real traffic.

There is also a trust factor worth noting. G2's research found that 85% of B2B buyers think more highly of a vendor once they see it named inside an AI-generated answer.

How Can a Marketing Strategy Consultant Help You Prepare for AI Search?

Preparing for AI search does not mean throwing out what already works. Most AI tools pull from the same web that search engines index, so clear content, strong site structure, and credible backlinks still matter. A marketing strategy consultant can map out where an existing plan already covers this and where it falls short.

A large share of AI citations, reported at around 84%, come from earned media rather than a brand's own website. Reviews, press mentions, and third-party articles matter as much as the company's website. A business that invests only in its own site and ignores how it is discussed elsewhere is missing a big part of how AI answers are formed.

Why Does SEO Matter for AI Visibility?

This is where the best SEO company in India becomes genuinely useful, because it will already be tracking these changes closely and watching how a brand is represented across reviews and third-party publications.

An entity-based SEO and GEO strategy helps AI tools recognise your brand as one clear, consistent entity. Your name, services, and details should appear the same way across your:

• Website
• Directories
• Reviews
• Press mentions

What Should Marketing Strategy Services Include for AI Search?

Preparing for AI search means treating it as part of a long-term marketing plan. It should work in parallel with content planning, reputation management, and how a brand shows up online. Strategies that ignore this shift are already behind. The businesses winning visibility today build for both traditional and AI search at once.

This also means rethinking what content gets created. Direct answers perform better in AI systems than long promotional pages built to rank for keywords, which is the core principle of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). AI tools summarise the most useful, trustworthy answer they can find, so content that reads like a genuine answer wins over content that reads like an advertisement. For businesses wondering how to optimize content for AI Overviews, the starting point is simple: answer the main question clearly in the first few lines, use descriptive headings, and support every claim with facts or examples.

Why Does a Local SEO Agency in India Need an AI Search Plan?

It is tempting to assume AI search mainly matters for global brands, but that is not accurate. Local-intent searches, the kind small businesses depend on daily, already show up inside AI Mode and AI Overviews. Any local business needs to understand how AI tools summarise local results before a customer ever sees a full list of options. Not every SEO agency in India handles local and national intent equally well, and that gap often decides who shows up in AI answers.

Read more about how SEO is changing AI marketing in 2026.

None of this means abandoning what already works. It means expanding what visibility means. A business still needs a solid website, clear information, and genuine credibility. What has changed is that visibility now also includes how AI systems describe a brand when nobody is looking at a results page at all.

Devakey's approach has always been to build strategies around how people, and increasingly machines, actually search, rather than chasing the next trend. Businesses that adjust now will be the ones still visible when the next wave of change in search arrives.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is AI search different from traditional search engine optimisation?Traditional SEO focuses on ranking a webpage in a list of links. AI search focuses on being named directly inside a generated answer, which often means the searcher never visits a website at all.
    
2. Does AI search mean SEO is no longer necessary?
   No. Most AI tools still rely on indexed web content and third-party sources to form their answers, so strong SEO fundamentals remain the foundation that AI visibility is built on.
    
3. How does this affect B2B businesses specifically?
   B2B buyers increasingly use AI tools to research and compare vendors before speaking with a sales team, so being mentioned favourably inside those answers can influence which vendors get considered.
    
4. Can small or local businesses be affected by AI search too?
   Yes. Local search results already appear inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, so even small, location-based businesses need visibility beyond their own website.
    
5. What is the first step a business should take to prepare?
   Start by reviewing how the brand is represented across reviews, third-party articles, and other sources outside the company website, since a large share of AI answers pull information from these places.