There’s been a quiet shift happening in the world of search.
Like many, you might have missed it. There’s been no huge hype but read between the lines of how your prospective clients are now beginning to find, compare, and decide, and you’ll realise: the rules have changed.
It’s less about blue links and best-fit keywords.
We’re now marketing to something far more unpredictable: generative AIs acting as the new gatekeepers of discovery.
And if you think this doesn’t apply to your professional services firm because “we don’t rely on SEO,” you’re missing the bigger picture.
Michael Payne’s recent State of Search report laid it out brilliantly: AI hasn’t killed traditional search; it’s redefined what visibility looks like.
A few takeaways that hit home for me:
- Google is still dominant. 14 billion searches a day. But now, tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity are also shaping how people learn and form opinions. It’s not a replacement; it’s a behavioural expansion.
- AI Overviews are the new “position zero.” They sit at the top of search results, summarising across multiple sources. They’re informative… and brutal. Because they give people the answer – without needing to click through.
- Click-throughs are declining. Impressions are up, but clicks are down. CTRs for the top organic result have dropped from 28% to 19%. The value is no longer in the click, it’s in the mention. In being part of the answer, even when you’re not the destination.
So, what does this mean for marketing teams in Professional Services?
Well…
- Your audience may never visit your website.
- They’ll read about you in a summary.
- They’ll compare you via AI-generated synthesis.
- They’ll remember your insight, but never your URL.
And honestly? That’s not failure, it’s just the new reality we have to accept.
So instead of chasing rankings and form fills, maybe we need to start asking:
- Are we visible in the places AIs pull from?
- Is our content structured in a way machines understand?
- Are we creating thinking, evidence and insights that earn inclusion, even when no one’s clicking?
This isn’t a revolution. But it is an evolution.
The good news? If your SEO foundations are solid with clear structure, strong content, human-first thinking, you’re not starting from zero.
But it does mean a mindset shift:
Stop obsessing over what keywords to optimise for – Start understanding what questions your buyers are asking and how AIs are answering them.
Don’t just write for people – Write for the AI interpreting information on their behalf.
Think less about owning the traffic – Think more about owning the insight that gets remembered.
What are some simple actions your can take now?
Treat AI as part of your audience – If bots are summarising your story, make it easy for them to get it right.
Shift your metrics – Measure impact beyond the click. Look at mentions, visibility in AI tools, and long-tail brand lift.
Re-evaluate your content approach -Cluster your topics. Show E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trust). Create content worth citing, not just scanning.
In this new world, the most important content might not live on your site. And the most valuable influence might come from a machine.
The question is: are you ready to be found by an algorithm that never scrolls, never clicks, but decides what humans trust?
Big thanks to Michael Payne for his brilliant report, have a read here.