How to win in AI Search with Ahrefs

What happens to your SEO strategy when AI answers questions before anyone reaches your site?

How do you increase sales & conversions on your website when no one’s clicking?

Which steps do you take to ensure your entire brand stays discoverable, memorable, trusted, and transactional in the age of AI-first search?

Build a brand that makes people come back, even if SERP clicks disappear.

In this presentation, you'll learn how to:

• Measure the right brand awareness metrics that connect brand strategy to profit growth.
• Increase your brand’s AI-search presence in AI-generated answers, AI Overviews, and SERPs.
• Create smart AI marketing automations to help grow awareness across multiple channels, not just search.

Transcript

1. Win in AI search and beyond — with Ahrefs Andrei Țiț Head of Product Marketing @ahrefs
2. Organic search is harder than ever
3. Zero click content
4. June 2024 August 2024 August 2024 November 2024 December 2024 December 2024 March 2025 June 2025 August 2025 — Spam Update — Core Update — Google Search Ranking Bug — Core Update — Core Update — Spam Update — Core Update — Core Update — Spam Update Frequent Google algorithm updates
5. 1,900 out of 3,000 sites in the study. 63% of sites receive AI traffic
6. 0.13% Reddit 0.12% ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini 0.15% 0.10% 0.5% 0% About as much  as Reddit
7. 0.13% Reddit 0.24% ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini 0.25% 0.20% 0.15% 0.10% 0.5% 0% September 2025 About as much  as Reddit
8. Q. The moat to these changes?
9. Q. The moat to these changes? A. Brand awareness
10. Brand awareness metrics
 Make your brand discoverable in AI search
 GEO, AEO, LLMO...it's all SEO 1. 2. 3. Three topics:
11. Brand awareness metrics 1.
12. Brand keywords Brand mentions Website clicks Google Patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/ US9031929B1/en Google assigns sites a “site quality” score based on brand metrics
13. Organic Share of Voice (SOV)
14. Shows how much organic traffic your brand owns as a % of the total search market. Definition: Organic SOV Total organic traffic in your market * 100 Your organic traffic Formula: Organic Share of Voice (SOV)
15. 1 2 3 SE /Overview /SOV
16. Branded keywords search volume
17. Branded keywords search volume
18. KE /Matching terms /Global SV
19. Branded keywords traffic
20. SE /Overview /Branded vs. non-branded keywords
22. Make your brand discoverable in AI search 2.
23. *GOOGLE* RELEASES AI MODE BECAUSE MARKET
 SHARE DOWN, RIGHT? BECAUSE MARKET
 SHARE DOWN, RIGHT?
24. Google sends than Top 3 AI chatbots 196x more traffic chatgpt-vs-google.com
26. Increase brand mentions across the web
 Write content AI loves to cite
 Structure for AI comprehension Dominate Reddit and YouTube Close AI visibility gaps Step #1 Step #2 Step #3 Step #4 Step #5 Make your brand discoverable in AI search
27. How to track brand mentions in AI search in the first place?
28. Brand Radar
31. Step #1: Increase brand mentions across the web
32. Most brand mentions will come from other websites (not yours )
33. Most brand mentions will come from other websites (not yours )
34. Based on a study of ~75K brands. 
 Source: Ahrefs Brand Radar and Ahrefs Site Explorer. Factors that correlate with brand appearance in AI overviews
35. Industry “best of” lists PR and media coverage outlets Customer reviews and case studies Get featured on:
36. 1 2 3 Example: find “best” listicles for the SEO niche
37. Step #2: Structure content for AI comprehension
39. News trends Tutorials Hards facts from data studies Solution? Cast a wide net
40. Solution? Cast a wide net
41. Tip: keep your content fresh
42. Step #3: Structure content for AI comprehension
43. “Chunk” optimization is overrated
44. Write atomic content “Chunk” optimization is overrated
45. Apply “BLUF” (Bottom Line, Up Front)
46. Is related information grouped logically? Is each section clear and easy to follow? Does this paragraph fully answer the intent of a query? Check for Completeness
47. AI Content Helper: /Highlight topics
48. Organize your content with headings Use bullet points for list items Add FAQ and product info Formatting best practices
49. Step #4: Dominate YouTube and Reddit
51. Create tutorials and product demos with clear timestamps Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions Add detailed video descriptions AI can parse Dominate YouTube
52. Create tutorials and product demos with clear timestamps Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions Add detailed video descriptions AI can parse Dominate YouTube
53. Find Reddit threads already ranking on Google Add thoughtful answers to relevant subreddits Dominate Reddit
54. BR /Cited Pages /Domain contains “reddit.com”
55. Step #5: Close AI visibility gaps
56. AI mention gap: Brand Radar /Add competitors /Others only
57. AI mention gap: Brand Radar /Cited Pages
58. AI citation gap: Brand Radar /Cited Pages /Filters
59. SEO vs AI search 3.
60. Ensure AI tools accurately mention and represent your brand, even if the user gets all the information they need without visiting your site Bring users to your website Content goal Focuses on increasing your brand’s visibility in AI-generated answers — making sure you’re part of the conversation, even if users never click through your site Focuses on helping websites rank higher in traditional search engines Objective AI mentions, AI citations, fresh content Backlinks or how long your domain has been around Authority signals AI search Traditional search
61. AI search SEO
62. GEO, AEO, LLMO…it’s still SEO
63. You can’t shortcut brand
64. Thank you!