AI Search Is Rewriting SEO, But Not How We Write

AI search is evolving quickly. From Google AI Overviews and Gemini to ChatGPT and Perplexity, platforms are surfacing content in very different ways. Recent research into AI citation behaviour reveals major shifts in how answers are selected, extracted and presented. For Irish marketers, the real question is whether this means we need to fundamentally change how we write.

The short answer is no. But we do need to be more intentional about structure, clarity and how we surface key information if we want to succeed in GEO.

What the Latest AI Search Research Tells Us

One of the most significant findings from recent analysis of over 11,000 AI citations is that Google AI Mode and Gemini now cite at sentence level, not page level. In many cases, they extract a single, standalone sentence and embed a fragment link that highlights the exact line used. That means retrievability is no longer just about ranking a page, it is about writing clear sentences that can stand on their own.

There is also a strong positional bias. Most cited sentences appear within the first half of the page, often within the opening two to three paragraphs. From this perspective, writers need to get their main points across early on a webpage. Stating your thoughts on a topic, including key statistics and answering questions directly should happen near the top of the content, not buried halfway down.

Not All Platforms Behave the Same Way

Perplexity shows a strong alignment with traditional organic rankings and demonstrates a noticeable freshness bias. Recently updated content was more likely to be surfaced. Google AI Mode, on the other hand, does not appear to prioritise recency in the same way. Much of the cited content is over two years old. This may reflect Google’s more advanced understanding of search intent, distinguishing between evergreen informational queries and time sensitive topics such as time-sensitive events.

Even within Google’s own ecosystem, AI Mode and Gemini overlap on only a small percentage of domains. They are separate retrieval systems with different behaviours. A single optimisation approach will not cover all AI surfaces.

What Does This Mean for Irish Brands

We do not need to rewrite our entire websites to show up in these systems. What we do for SEO still works. We are writing for users, not for large language models. Good content has always prioritised clarity, relevance and usefulness. That does not change.

What does change is our awareness of structure.

Introductory paragraphs should be short and purposeful. Rather than three long paragraphs easing into a topic, we should aim to surface the key fact, definition or takeaway within the first few lines. Make the point early. Then expand.

Structure is where the real opportunity lies. Clear H2 and H3 headings guide both users and AI systems. Bullet points help segment ideas. Tables can clarify comparisons. A table of contents beneath a concise introduction can improve navigation and reinforce content hierarchy.

In short, keep doing what we are doing. Make content genuinely useful. Layer in sharper structure and more intentional placement of key information at the top of the page.

AI search is changing discovery. It is not changing the fundamentals of good marketing content.