With Google increasingly showing AI-generated answers in search results, I’m curious how this is affecting SEO strategies in 2026. Are you optimizing your content specifically for AI Overviews and answer-based results, or are traditional SEO practices still enough? What changes have you noticed in rankings or traffic so far?
Google Search is shifting from a list of blue links to a conversational AI experience, as outlined in The Big Changes with Google Search in 2026.
I try to get featured at as many places as possible like social media etc. That is because AI LLMS draw information from several sources of traffic and if you get featured in them you've basically won over your competition.
What we've seen on our own site: impressions went up while CTR dropped on informational queries where an AI Overview shows, but comparison and "best X" queries still get clicks. Two things we changed. First, a direct 2–3 sentence answer near the top of the page, then the detail. Second, we stopped expecting on-page tweaks to get us cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity. When we checked, the sources they cite for our topics were mostly third-party pages (review sites, directories, forum threads), so mentions on other sites matter more than anything on your own pages.
Seeing the exact same trend on my end. Impressions climb, but clicks fall on basic info posts. The queries that still bring traffic are comparison terms, like "best X" or "X vs Y." One thing that helped me: put the direct answer in the very first two sentences. If an AI snippet grabs text, let it grab yours. Also, forum mentions carry way more weight now. I see AI citing Reddit threads way more than official brand sites.