Last week, Reload Media SEO lead Brodie Ranson shared her insights into the way AI has redefined organic search in Australia. This week, Ranson writes about the  changes in consumer behaviour resulting from AI, which has reshaped – and will continue to reshape – how we engage with online content. 

Remember the days of sifting through endless search results to find the answer to your question? Well, those days are over. AI chatbots and AI Overviews are becoming our go-to digital assistants, ready to answer our queries in a flash in line with how consumer expectations for search have changed. That begs the question: what exactly has changed in the way we see people searching online? With change comes challenges, so what are the specific challenges Australian brands might face due to the rise of AI-driven search advancements? Let’s unpack them now.

The rise of AI-curated summaries and the fall of the click

AI Overviews are reshaping how we consume information online. They provide concise, relevant information summarised and ready for user consumption. However, in doing so, users are increasingly expecting the leg work to be done for them. They don’t want to search for information, read a few snippets in the SERPs, edit their search query, read a few more snippets and then create their own opinion based on the multiple sources they’ve consumed. They know their search engine can do it for them, so why would they do it themselves?

Now Google is showing users they can do the research for them. AI Overviews consume information from several highly ranked sources and provide a relevant summary of information to answer the user’s question. Over time, these summaries will become more sophisticated, incorporating more relevant sources and presenting them in a visually appealing way.

Where this starts to impact Australian brands is the organic click. If users are now finding the answers to their queries in the AI Overview, they are less likely to click through on one of the ranked websites that appears below the AI Overviews in the SERPs. While there is an opportunity to secure a feature in AI Overviews, and therefore a link placement higher up in the SERPs, the summary included in the overview might still be enough to answer the user’s question. This will make the click unnecessary for searchers – resulting in a loss of clicks and organic traffic for brands.

Users have less patience and more expectations

The rise of AI has also accelerated the pace at which people consume content. Previously it would take a couple of minutes to search “best gluten-free pizza” and click through to the many Italian restaurant menus to check if they offer gluten-free pizza bases. Even then, users would still want to sift through the reviews to get an idea of how edible that base might be or if it resembles something more like cardboard.

These days, AI Overviews can do this research for you. Google will go through this research process, checking for “gluten-free pizza” mentions on pages, reviews and other content in the index. With this shift, Australian brands need to be prepared for users to expect instant access to information, as they are becoming far less tolerant of irrelevant information and slow-loading websites, let alone gluten! Some say searchers are getting lazy, others say search engines are getting smarter.

Personalisation will reign

AI chatbots – and now Google’s search engine with the rollout of AI Overviews – can better understand more detailed, long-tail queries. This development means users will begin to shift more and more away from short keyword-led searches, into more detailed and conversational questions. For example, a previous search like “best running shoes” has become “what are the best running shoes for people with flat feet?”. With AI-powered search engines and chatbots now able to pick up on the context of a query, they can provide personalised information for that searcher. 

This shift in AI will encourage users to be more specific with their searches and expect a more customised answer tailored to their individual needs. Off the back of this, we may start to see search demand for long-tail keywords increase which presents an opportunity for brands to get in front of users for higher-intent keywords.

So what should Australian brands do to get ahead of these developments? How can you secure a feature in the AI Overview and defend your organic click? Patience my friends, our search for answers is just getting started.

Brodie Ranson is the SEO lead at award-winning agency Reload Media.