Why AI Search Optimization Isn't About Traffic Anymore
- Dorien Morin-van Dam
- Nov 10
- 4 min read
If AI is the new front door to your brand, what does that mean for your content strategy?
You know that old saying: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it..."? That pretty much sums up what happens when your content isn’t optimized for today’s AI-powered search engines.
I recently sat down with Dale Bertrand, search strategist and founder of Fire&Spark, to dig into how marketers can (and should) rethink their SEO approach for 2025 and beyond.
Dale’s a seasoned voice in the world of SEO, having spoken at MAICON, Inbound, and consulted with brands across the country.
And as he puts it:
"Every brand is going to have a different response [to AI], because it depends on how your customers are changing."
So how do you prepare when the rules of search have been rewritten?
Understanding AI Search Optimization Starts With One Question
"Ask AI what it thinks about your brand."
That was one of the first mic-drop moments Dale shared. If you want to know how you’re showing up in AI-powered search engines, go straight to the source.
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity things like:
What are the top five brands in my category?
What do you know about my company?
Why aren't we showing up in search results?
This is your shortcut to understanding how these platforms perceive your brand — and what gaps you might need to fill.
AI Search Optimization Is Not Just New SEO
We’re no longer in traditional SEO territory. Dale calls it GEO: Generative Engine Optimization. Whether you like that term or not, the shift is real.
"SEO was a traffic game. GEO is a customer acquisition game," Dale explained.
In traditional SEO, the goal was to rank for keywords and get clicks. But with AI summarizing answers and fewer users clicking through, traffic alone doesn’t cut it.
That means:
Zero-click searches aren’t the enemy. They’re just part of the new path to purchase.
AI-qualified leads are often better leads.
You can’t rely on analytics alone to understand how customers found you.
"Analytics just isn’t giving us the complete picture anymore," Dale warned. Instead, we need qualitative data: more conversations, interviews, and good old-fashioned listening.
Where AI Search Optimization Actually Begins: Your Customers
Many brands want a playbook. But Dale made it clear: there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
"The real question is: how are your customers searching?"
To find out, you need to:
Ask your newest customers exactly how they found you.
Go beyond "how did you hear about us?" and dig into search behavior.
Listen in on sales calls or scrape online community conversations.
"What we’re doing with clients is looking at both analytics and interviews," Dale shared. "Talk to 100 customers if you can. Learn what platforms they use, what they searched for, what pain points they had."
How to Update Content for AI Search Optimization
So, once you understand how your audience is searching, what do you do with that info?
Here’s where Dale laid out the strategy:
Start with your best-performing content. Find the top 10% that actually drives conversions.
Update it for recency and relevance. AI infers dates from context, not timestamps.
Think in semantic topics, not just keywords. AI connects concepts, not just queries.
"Don’t hire a writer," Dale joked. "Hire an AI-native content marketer who understands semantics and data."
He’s right. We need marketers who know how to use tools like Julius.ai to analyze data, feed it to AI models, and surface content that speaks to real customer concerns.
What Teams Need to Succeed at AI Search Optimization
If you want to build an in-house team to do this work, you'll need:
Content marketers who understand semantic search and customer psychology
Analysts who can dig into qualitative and quantitative data
Curious thinkers who ask better questions, not just chase rankings
"I'm not hiring people to press buttons in analytics platforms," Dale said. "I'm hiring people who can talk to customers and understand why those numbers exist."
And if you’re an agency or freelancer, that advice applies to you, too. This is about adopting new tools and adopting a new mindset.
Final Thoughts: Search Is Now a Conversation
One thing I loved about this episode is how clearly Dale broke things down. AI isn’t just another channel to optimize for. It’s now part of how people think about your brand.
So ask the hard questions.
Update your content.
Rethink your metrics.
And never forget that your best insights still come from talking to real people.
"We need to educate AI so it can qualify our prospects for us," Dale said. "That’s the new job."
Ready to make the shift?
10 Smart AI Prompts to Help You Optimize for AI Search:
What does ChatGPT know about [your brand name]?
How does my brand compare to [competitor] in AI search results?
What content topics are semantically related to [industry/product]?
What are the top questions customers ask about [your service]?
Rewrite this blog post to improve semantic relevance.
What is missing from this article based on current AI search trends?
Give me 5 updates to make this blog more AI-friendly.
Analyze this web page for AI search optimization.
What are the top 5 concerns for customers buying [product]?
How do I rank in AI responses for [search phrase]?
This blog is inspired by Strategy Talks with Dale Bertrand, find the full podcast embedded above.
