How to keep your business visible in Google AI Search
Written by Daniël van Meerendonk
Digital Marketing & AI Agents
Google AI Search is fundamentally changing the way people search. Instead of a list of ten blue links, Google increasingly shows direct answers, summarised by AI. This means the spot where your content or ads would normally appear simply gets less space.
What does this mean for your business, your visibility and your ads? We walk you through how Google AI Search works, what it changes about your marketing efforts and how to respond to it wisely.
What is Google AI Search, actually?
Google AI Search introduces a new search experience in which users immediately get a summary of the answer they are looking for. This summary is generated by an AI model that analyses and combines various sources.
Instead of clicking on links, people get an answer straight away. Sometimes there is still room for a few organic results or ads below it, but the AI summary sits at the top and attracts the most attention.
The introduction of Google AI Search changes the rules of visibility. The AI determines which content is relevant enough to use in the summary, and that also applies to ads.
In other words, a high advertising budget alone is no longer enough. In its own guidelines, Google states that relevance and quality carry more weight in the new AI environment. That calls for a strategic rethink, especially for companies that rely on SEO or Google Ads.
Why is this changing so much?
What does this mean for your Google Ads campaigns?
In traditional search results, a good bid and good ad copy could already achieve a lot. Within Google AI Search, a substantial extra layer is added: the AI determines whether your ad fits within the context of the summary.
Ads are only shown if they logically match the content of the AI answer. They are, as it were, ‘invited’ by the AI, not just bought with budget.
In practice, this means:
- Campaigns that run purely on keywords will perform less well.
- The relevance of your landing page and message is important.
- Poor or superficial content is ignored by the AI.
How do you score in Google AI Search?
To be included in Google AI Search, you need to create content and campaigns that match perfectly with what the user is really looking for. Below we share a number of practical tips:
1. Answer the real questions of your target audience
AI summaries are generated from content that gives a clear and concrete answer to questions. So take a critical look at your landing pages:
- Give direct answers
- Use subheadings that match search intent
- Add structured data to make your content more ‘readable’ for AI
2. Set up your Google Ads around intent, not just keywords
Instead of blindly advertising on keywords, your campaign should respond to the question behind the search query. Think in scenarios and situations:
- “How do I solve [problem]?”
- “What is the difference between [option A] and [option B]?”
Make sure your ads and landing pages connect seamlessly with this.
3. Make your content understandable for AI
Ensure clear structure, up-to-date information and depth of content. The AI only selects content that is reliable and well structured.
Use:
- Headings with a clear intent
- Bullet points or short paragraphs
- Internal links to related topics
4. Strengthen your authority with E-E-A-T
Google's well-known guidelines on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness remain important.
Google AI Search relies mainly on content from websites that show they know what they are talking about. So add:
- Author pages
- Sources or references in your articles
- Cases and practical examples
5. Optimise for featured snippets and AI summaries
There is a good chance that content that scored well as a featured snippet is now also included in the AI summary. Adapt your content accordingly:
- Use question-and-answer formats
- Include definitions and step-by-step plans
- Write short and to the point
6. Ensure timeliness and context
Google AI Search favours recent and well-substantiated content. Keep your website up to date and adjust your campaigns to relevant developments.
Examples:
- Respond to new regulations
- Use trends from your industry
- Refer to recent cases or news
7. Test and learn with performance data
Use tools such as Search Console and Google Ads reports to analyse how your visibility changes in Google AI Search.
Pay attention to:
- Are your impressions dropping?
- Are your click-through rates changing?
- Which content is still being picked up?
Use these insights to sharpen your content and ads step by step.
What can you already do now?
The shift to Google AI Search is not a temporary change, but a structural one. It is therefore smart to take a close look at your strategy now.
At BE Digital, we help companies like yours sharpen their content strategy, improve their advertising campaigns and build custom AI solutions.
Want to know whether your content and campaigns are ready for this new AI-driven search environment? Then take a look at what our AI assistant can do for your team.
Together, we make sure you stay visible, even when Google changes direction again.