In recent years, the way we access information has undergone a radical change.
Google's hegemony is beginning to be challenged by new formats for searching and discovering content: generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, and social search engines, such as searches made directly on TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.
These changes are not just a matter of channel preference, they have a direct impact on the way organic traffic is distributed, on traditional SEO models and on the effectiveness of the inbound marketing, content marketing and digital marketing strategies that have been consolidated over the last 15 years.
In this article, we'll understand how each of these three models (ChatGPT, Google and Social Search) impacts on SEO strategy and content production.
We'll analyze data, present techniques for adapting old content to the new reality and suggest daily practices to keep your strategy up-to-date, efficient and focused on user behavior.
What you'll see in today's post:
- ChatGPT and the growth of conversational searches;
- Google Search and the new generation of SERPs with AI;
- Social Search: when discovery begins in the networks;
- How to update old content for the new SEO;
- Best practices for staying competitive;
- Future paths: search is becoming more and more of an experience.
Enjoy your reading!
The OpenAI language model, present in tools such as Bing Chat, DuckDuckGo AI and Microsoft's Copilot, has already established itself as the main starting point for millions of users on the Internet.
And the data proves it: according to a survey published by Voronoi, ChatGPT passed the 5 billion monthly visits mark in April 2025, reaching the position of 5th most accessed website in the world.
Among the ten most visited sites, it was the only one to show growth in the period, surpassing even X (formerly Twitter), showing how generative AI is definitely redesigning the way we search for and interact with information online.
The main factors behind this massive uptake include:
ChatGPT is no longer just a text generator, but a search engine. And more than that: an answer tool.
When the answer comes directly from AI, the click to the source site may not happen, which is part of the phenomenon of zero-click searches, which, according to a survey published in July 2024 by Swipe Insight and Intelligency Group, represent around 60% of Google searches.
According to this data, 59.7% of users do not click on any external links after searching, remaining on the results page or interacting only with products and services from Google's own ecosystem, since they have already found the answer they wanted
With AI responding directly, the challenge now is for your content to be referenced by the model in order to be included in the response generated. This requires:
Below is a strategic summary of how to prepare your content for the era of conversational search:
|
Action |
Description |
|
Question and answer structure |
Use formats such as FAQ, subheadings in H2 with real questions |
|
Semantic markup (Schema.org) |
Indicate type of content, author, reading time, etc. |
|
Constant updating |
Feed your blog with regular revisions and visible dates |
|
Qualified backlinks |
Being cited in authoritative sources increases the chance of being trained in AI |
|
Original and authorial content |
Avoid copying or rewriting what is already indexed |
Table 01: Recommended techniques to strengthen the presence of content in the search environment with artificial intelligence, improving ranking and visibility.
SEE ALSO:
Google is testing a new search experience based on generative AI: SGE.
With it, the first "answer" the user sees is no longer a list of links, but an AI-generated block (AI-Powered Overview), with a summary of the answer, citing some sources.
This change has profound impacts:
Good practices are still valid, but they now carry even more weight. Therefore:
A survey carried out by Adobe in March 2024 revealed that 64% of Generation Z youngsters have already replaced Google with TikTok as their search tool.
This increasingly consolidated behavioral change is not limited to restaurant tips, but is expanding to fashion, technology, tutorials, educational content and many other segments.
Thus, a new type of SEO has emerged: Social Search Optimization.
On all these channels, search logic is combined with recommendation algorithms.
With the increase in searches carried out directly on social networks, adapting your content to these environments has become essential. Here are some good practices specific to each platform:
|
Channel |
Optimization action |
|
TikTok |
Use captions with keywords, loud audio, hashtags and screen text |
|
YouTube |
Title with questions, description with keywords and timestamps |
|
|
Name boards and pins with search terms and organize by category |
|
|
Be careful with descriptions, alt text of images and use location tags |
|
|
Produce valuable responses with contextualized links |
Table 02: Good SEO optimization practices for social search channels such as TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and Reddit.
These actions help position your content in searches carried out within these networks, as well as increasing the organic discovery rate and engagement with your target audience.
Faced with this new reality, it's not enough just to produce new articles. It's essential to revisit old content and update it for the new patterns of consumption and ranking.
Keeping content up to date is the way to maintain relevance in search engines and compete with the new information consumption formats.
Below is a checklist of practical actions to help bring old articles into line with current SEO requirements.
By following this checklist, you can ensure that your content remains competitive both on traditional search engines and on AI platforms and social networks.
In addition to the optimization checklist, using appropriate tools can speed up the identification of opportunities for improvement and ensure that your content is in tune with the latest search behavior.
Below, we've selected some of the main platforms that you can incorporate into your routine:
With these tools in hand, you can monitor performance, discover emerging trends and refine your content strategy continuously and based on real data.
The new SEO is more fluid, contextual and multimodal, requiring an active and consistent routine. Here are some practices you can adopt:
To maintain the consistency and competitiveness of your SEO strategy, it is essential to incorporate practical and sustainable actions into the marketing team's routine.
The techniques below help to ensure continued relevance and alignment with the new demands of the digital market.
By adopting these practices on an ongoing basis, your brand will be better prepared to respond to changes in users' search behavior and thus stand out in multiple organic discovery channels.
For modern SEO to work continuously and strategically, it is essential that different areas work collaboratively.
The integration of different skills and profiles guarantees the construction of more complete content, aligned with real user behavior and business goals.
This multidisciplinary collaboration strengthens the delivery of value to the user, expands the capacity for innovation and makes the operation more responsive to changes in algorithms and consumption formats.
The future of search is not limited to who responds best, but who offers the most meaningful and contextual experience.
While ChatGPT brings speed and personalization, Google seeks to maintain reliability and structure, and social networks provide authentic opinions, native formats and interactive discovery.
Bringing these three fronts together is the new challenge for brands, content producers and SEO experts.
This is the time to evolve from isolated technical SEO to SEO as an integrated experience, centered on the user, connected to the brand and responsive to the context.
Whoever masters this new logic will not only rank better, but build longer-lasting relationships with their audience.
Summary: The search for information has changed: ChatGPT, Google with AI and Social Search (TikTok, YouTube, Reddit) challenge traditional SEO. Content needs to be adapted to zero-click searches, AI visibility and social algorithms. The new SEO requires structured data, conversational language, multimedia content and collaboration between teams. The future of search is to focus on user experience, not just ranking.
If you want to gain a deeper understanding of how Google is shaping this transformation through its own artificial intelligence, especially with the advancement of SGE (Search Generative Experience), we recommend the following complementary reading, which details the direct impact of Google's AI on organic traffic and provides practical tips on how to prepare your strategy.
Yes. ChatGPT has become a search tool for millions of users, with more than 5 billion hits a month. It answers users' questions directly, which reduces clicks on external links and reinforces the phenomenon of zero-click searches.
SGE is Google's new AI-based search experience. Instead of showing links as the first result, it displays an AI-generated answer with references. This reduces clicks on traditional results and increases the importance of content with E-E-A-T and semantic structure.
Use real questions as headings, implement semantic markup (Schema.org), constantly update content, obtain qualified backlinks and maintain authorial originality to increase the chances of your content being referenced by AI models.
Social Search is the use of social networks as search tools. Platforms such as TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and Instagram are already used to discover content and information. This requires a new SEO approach adapted to the behavior on each network.
Revise titles with real questions, insert FAQ sections, add videos and images with alt text, update statistics, optimize reading with short paragraphs and clear headings, revise links and implement structured data. This keeps the content relevant and competitive.