The Digital Marketing Podcast by Exposure Ninja

Only 2% of SEOs Are Optimising for AI Search (and Why That's a BIG Mistake)

Aug 20, 2025

The podcast dives into the AI search revolution, revealing that only 2% of SEO professionals are leveraging AI platforms like ChatGPT. Insights from a survey show psychological barriers preventing widespread adoption. With AI Overviews replacing traditional snippets in search results, companies are urged to update their strategies. The discussion highlights the need for brand visibility and sentiment measurement in AI. Real-world success stories, like The Ordinary and ZUGU, showcase the power of optimizing for AI-driven searches, simplifying the consumer buying experience.

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INSIGHT

AI Search Is Its Own Optimisation Problem

AI search (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) uses LLMs built on different search engines and training data.
Optimising for AI search requires topic, sentiment and source influence beyond traditional SEO tactics.

ADVICE

Prioritise Brand Mentions Over Only Backlinks

Do focus digital PR and brand mentions, not just dofollow backlinks, to influence LLM citations.
Shape how publishers describe your brand and product positioning across many sites.

ANECDOTE

MozCon Poll Revealed Tiny AI Search Adoption

At MozCon Charlie polled ~300 SEOs and found ~25–30% optimising for AI overviews but only ~2% for AI search.
Only 4–5 hands targeted AI mode, showing very low adoption even among experts.

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The AI search revolution is happening right now, yet 98% of SEO professionals may be missing the opportunity — creating unprecedented advantages for the 2% who understand what's coming.

At MozCon London, our CEO, Charlie Marchant, surveyed 300 of the UK's sharpest SEO minds and discovered that only 2% are optimising for AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.

While Google processes 8.5 billion searches daily, ChatGPT has reached 2.5 billion users in under three years, fundamentally changing how high-value customers research and purchase products.

For businesses targeting decision-makers with spending power, mastering AI Search Optimisation isn't just smart — it's becoming essential.

In this episode, Dale and Charlie reveal:

Why only 2% of 300 top SEO experts are taking action on AI search (and the three psychological barriers holding everyone else back)
The surprising data showing how AI Overviews displaced Featured Snippets in just six months — and why the same pattern will repeat with AI Mode
How AI Search compresses buying funnels from multiple searches over weeks into single conversations that culminate in immediate purchases
The brand authority factor: why AI Search focuses on sentiment and mentions across platforms rather than traditional backlinks
Real-world case studies showing how The Ordinary dominates hyaluronic acid recommendations and ZUGU became the top iPad case across AI platforms
The exact content formats that AI platforms favour (statistical data points increase citation probability by over 40%)
Why getting featured in list articles on high-authority websites dramatically increases your chances of AI recommendations

Charlie also shares insights from industry legends, including Tom Capper (Moz's leading search scientist), revealing the resistance patterns preventing widespread adoption while early movers establish insurmountable competitive advantages.

As Charlie explains in the episode:

"We would never, as SEOs prior to AI Overviews, have decided to ignore 10% of informational keywords relevant to our business, and I don't really see why we would start doing that now."

If you're ready to capitalise on this opportunity while your competitors remain fixated solely on traditional SEO, this episode provides your complete strategic framework for dominating AI Search before it becomes standard practice.

Get the show notes:

https://exposureninja.com/podcast/dojo-60/

Listen to these episodes next:

Google’s AI Mode Arrives in the UK! Time to Panic?

https://exposureninja.com/podcast/dojo-59/

“ChatGPT Agent” Is Changing How People Buy AGAIN

https://exposureninja.com/podcast/dojo-58/

What is AI Search? And Why Is It So Important?

https://exposureninja.com/podcast/dojo-56/