Everyone’s panicking about AI and search. “AI will replace SEO!” they say. “Google’s AI overviews are killing traffic!”
Here’s what I’m seeing at enterprise scale.
What’s Actually Happening
1. AI overviews aren’t killing enterprise eCommerce traffic
At least not yet. For transactional queries (people looking to buy), AI overviews don’t show up as much. And when they do, they often link to products.
eCommerce traffic is mostly fine. Your mileage may vary by category.
2. Informational queries are getting disrupted
If you’re a content site monetised by ads, yes, AI is a threat. If you relied on “what is…” or “how to…” traffic, that’s declining.
But if you sell products or services? Different story.
3. Technical SEO matters MORE, not less
AI needs clean, structured data to understand your content. Schema markup, clear site architecture, fast loading. All more important now.
If AI can’t parse your site properly, you’re invisible.
What Enterprise Brands Should Do
Don’t panic, but do adapt:
1. Make your content “AI-readable”
- Clear structure (proper headings, semantic HTML)
- Schema markup for products, reviews, FAQs
- Concise, well-written content (AI prefers clarity)
- Fast sites (AI favours user experience signals)
2. Focus on transactional intent
- Product pages that answer buyer questions
- Clear specs, pricing, availability
- Reviews and trust signals
- Make it easy for AI to recommend you
3. Own your brand
- AI often defaults to known brands
- Build brand recognition beyond search
- Direct traffic is more valuable than ever
- Don’t be dependent on any single channel
4. Fix technical SEO
- If you have crawling, rendering, or indexing issues, fix them now
- AI has less patience for broken sites than humans do
- Technical excellence is table stakes
What I’m Not Worried About
“AI will make SEO obsolete”
No. It changes HOW people search, but they still need to find and buy things. The fundamentals still matter.
“We need AI-generated content”
Only if you want mediocre, undifferentiated content that AI itself will ignore. Focus on genuine expertise and user value.
“Optimise for AI”
You can’t “optimise for AI” any more than you could “optimise for Google.” You optimise for users. Technical excellence and genuine value win.
The Uncomfortable Truth
In my experience, a lot of enterprise sites still have basic technical SEO problems. Before worrying about AI, fix:
- Crawling and indexing issues
- Site speed and Core Web Vitals
- Internal linking and architecture
- Schema markup and structured data
AI or not, these fundamentals matter.
The future might be AI-powered, but it still needs clean, fast, well-structured sites with genuine value.
Do the fundamentals right. The rest will follow.
Based on working with enterprise eCommerce at scale. Not speculation, actual data.