Jake Alessi: Digital Marketing Consultant

POV: SEO & PPC in an AI-Driven Search Era

Why Strategic Consulting is More Critical Than Ever

Over the past few years, I’ve spent a lot of time with small and mid-sized businesses on their marketing strategies—particularly in the search space. Lately, one shift has been taking center stage: AI isn’t coming—it’s here, and it’s transforming both how we execute SEO and PPC, and how we need to think about strategy at large.

This post isn’t about alarm—it’s about adaptation.

AI Has Rewritten the Rules of Search

Major platforms—Google, Meta, Walmart—now offer AI-powered automation in their ad systems, making campaigns accessible even for small business owners. More importantly, generative AI formats like Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT are replacing traditional click-based funnels.

SEO Today = Being Included in AI Overviews

AI Overviews appear in nearly half of searches and cover both informational and commercial queries. Traditional rankings still matter—but it’s no longer enough to rank high; you need to be featured in AI results. Optimizing for AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is essential.

PPC Is Shifting to a Black Box

As ads are pushed into AI-driven placements, advertisers are losing visibility into impressions and control. Smart bidding, automation, and hidden placements mean we must focus on holistic outcome metrics—not just CPC.

What Strategic Consulting Really Means Now

In this context, strategic consulting isn’t about creating plans that last quarters. It’s about building flexible thinking frameworks—helping clients and stakeholders ask the right questions, stay aware of ecosystem shifts, and interpret data with nuance.

Some of the recurring questions I’ve found valuable to explore:

  • How will your current SEO strategy surface in AI-powered results?
  • Is your PPC performance declining because of competition—or platform behavior?
  • Are your KPIs still aligned with how users are actually finding information?

Answering these requires context. And context is what strategic marketers bring to the table.

A Future That Requires More Interpretation, Less Execution

As platforms lean harder into automation, marketers and businesses will need to lean harder into interpretation. That’s the emerging differentiator: not who can click the fastest, but who can make sense of what’s happening the fastest and grow with the change.

The value lies in being proactive and being able to understand the “WHY”, not just the metrics of your marketing reports. We’re moving beyond raw performance data to storytelling backed by real insight.

Final Thought

This isn’t the end of SEO or PPC. It’s the evolution of both. AI is not replacing marketing—it’s changing the lens through which marketing must be viewed. And for those of us who straddle both strategic and executional roles, this shift is not just fascinating—it’s a call to step up and interpret the chaos with clarity.

Meta Description: Explore how AI is transforming SEO and PPC in 2025 and why strategic interpretation—through frameworks like AEO and GEO—is more essential than ever.

Featured Image Alt Text: Illustration showing AI-generated search results on a SERP with traditional listings fading in the background.

FAQs

What are AI Overviews?
Auto-generated summaries that appear at the top of search results, often replacing traditional listings.

What’s AEO vs. GEO?
AEO optimizes for answer engines like Google SGE/ChatGPT; GEO is about visibility in generative AI outputs.

Why are PPC impressions declining?
Because AI-powered formats and automation reduce transparency in traditional ad placements.

Resources & Knowledge:

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,