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AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google\u2019s AI Overviews are reshaping how people discover information.<\/p>\n
Digital marketing agencies feel the impact firsthand and must adapt quickly. They need to keep their services relevant, their processes outcome-driven, and their results easy to prove.<\/p>\n
This article explores how 10 agencies have updated their strategies, services, and client relationships to win in the AI search era.<\/p>\n
What AI search changes for digital marketing agencies<\/p>\n
Semrush predicted<\/a> that AI search will surpass organic traffic in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to see why. A growing number of people now start their searches with AI<\/a> instead of Google or Bing.<\/p>\n For informational queries, the journey often ends there. The AI assistant \u2014 ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude \u2014 delivers a complete answer inside the interface, not a blue link to click. AI Overviews do the same, which explains the sharp drop in click-through rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n AI also compresses the customer journey. Instead of moving through multiple touchpoints, customers research products directly with AI. That\u2019s why AI traffic converts 440% better<\/a> than organic visits.<\/p>\n Surpass doesn\u2019t mean replace. Even as AI grows, people still use Googe \u2014 more than ever<\/a>. For example, to verify the AI recommendations.\u00a0<\/p>\n What does this shift mean for agencies?\u00a0<\/p>\n A few priorities stand out right away:<\/p>\n Expand offerings to meet demand for AI search optimization while keeping organic search strong.<\/p>\n Educate clients on how search is changing and why AI search matters.<\/p>\n Introduce new metrics that reflect performance in an AI-driven landscape.<\/p>\n Shift toward value-based selling and prove ROI as attribution gets harder.<\/p>\n How agencies adapt to the new reality<\/p>\n We spoke with 10 industry leaders to learn how they\u2019ve updated their processes and strategies to meet these new challenges.<\/p>\n Listicle placements replacing traditional link building<\/p>\n Editorial.Link<\/a>, a digital PR and link building agency, shifted its focus to listicle placements.<\/p>\n Why?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRecent studies show that listicles are among the most frequently cited sources in AI search results,\u201d said Dmytro Sokhach, founder of Editorial.Link. As a result, clients increasingly want listicle placements to boost the chances of their brands being mentioned.<\/p>\n To support this shift, Editorial.Link built Listicle.com<\/a>, an AI-powered tool that helps companies find relevant \u201cbest of\u201d lists for brand placement.<\/p>\n Shifting from keyword optimization to brand entity building<\/p>\n Ignite SEO<\/a>, a London-based agency, moved beyond keyword-first optimization to focus on search intent and building recognizable brand entities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re connecting the dots between content, expertise, and reputation,\u201d said Adam Collins, founder of Ignite SEO. \u201cThe goal is to ensure that when AI engines search for trusted voices in a space, they need to know exactly who our clients are and why they matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, Ignite SEO tightened up its technical SEO processes, putting more emphasis on structured data and clean site architecture.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s less about black hat versus white hat now and more about building trust and clarity, making it easy for both humans and machines to understand us,\u201d Adam added.<\/p>\n Ignite SEO isn\u2019t alone. More agencies now prioritize entity, authority, and intent optimization over keyword-first tactics.<\/p>\n Ben Foster, CEO of SEO works<\/a>, said that an SEO agency\u2019s job is to make its clients easy for machines and people to understand.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fundamentals of SEO (quality content, technical excellence, and citations) are still key, but success now also depends on helping AI systems interpret those signals correctly, \u201c Foster said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rocky Pedden, CEO of RevenueZen<\/a>, agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cAgencies redesign content for LLM consumption, meaning clearer structure, stronger expert signals, and schema that helps models interpret credibility,\u201d Pedden said.<\/p>\n Testing what content structures LLMs favor<\/p>\n High Voltage<\/a> SEO experiments with content structures and on-page formats to influence how Google and AI tools extract information.<\/p>\n \u201cContent must do more than rank,\u201d said Julia Munder, general manager and senior SEO strategist at High Voltage. \u201cIt must be organized so AI can summarize it accurately and confidently.\u201d<\/p>\n Testing sits at the core of the agency\u2019s approach. The team identifies which formats large language models extract most reliably, then applies those patterns across client sites.<\/p>\n Reverse-engineering AI ranking signals<\/p>\n SEO Inc.<\/a> has developed proprietary AI prompt frameworks to analyze SERPs, extract ranking signals, and run competitive intelligence at scale.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve engineered systems that parse search results and reverse-engineer ranking factors with 96% baseline accuracy for paid search,\u201d said Garry Grant, CEO at SEO Inc. \u201cOur organic SEO AI models are more complex due to the multifaceted nature of ranking signals, but the directional insights are transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n Grant believes the real differentiator will be how agencies use AI to decode search algorithms, anticipate SERP volatility, and uncover ranking opportunities \u2014 not just to generate content.<\/p>\n Agencies that lack AI infrastructure for competitive analysis risk losing their edge.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question isn\u2019t whether to adopt AI \u2014 it\u2019s how quickly you can operationalize it before your market position erodes,\u201d Grant added.<\/p>\n Shifting toward search everywhere optimization<\/p>\n SEO Sherpa<\/a> shifted from pure organic search to search everywhere optimization.<\/p>\n \u201cThe role of agencies now is to optimize not just for Google, but for the entire ecosystem of AI-driven discovery,\u201d said Jenny Abouobaia, owned media manager at SEO Sherpa.\u00a0<\/p>\n In practice, this means making sure their clients are visible, trusted, and recognizable across traditional search, generative engines, and platforms like Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram \u2014 wherever their audience spends time.<\/p>\n Pedden sees the same trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAgencies move beyond ranking pages and focus on becoming the best answer, wherever that answer is generated,\u201d Pedden said.<\/p>\n In his opinion, to stay relevant, one will have to \u201ctreat AI search as a distribution channel, not a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n Optimizing reviews for local citations<\/p>\n For local businesses, AI search raises the importance of review platforms, especially Google.<\/p>\n \u201cBy reaching top ranks on Google reviews in Google Maps or the local pack, businesses enjoy a high likelihood of being recommended by LLMs,\u201d said Robert Newman, founder and CEO of InboundREM<\/a>.<\/p>\n SEO agencies can boost client results by running targeted review campaigns. The key is encouraging reviews that mention local place names, such as neighborhoods.<\/p>\n InboundREM data revealed that reviews containing local place names outperform competitors in LLM recommendations.<\/p>\n Adding AI visibility as a core KPI<\/p>\n![\"TorApp](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/TorApp-20250121-1.png\"\/)
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