15 May How to Use AI for SEO: Strategies That Work in 2025
In an era of AI-generated answers and dynamic search results, the search engine optimization (SEO) landscape is evolving more — and faster — than ever. And with Google’s rollout of AI Overviews — formerly known as Search Generative Experience (SGE) — businesses must now rethink traditional keyword strategies and search optimization methods.
To learn about and address some of these challenges, The Threadgill Agency recently attended an SEO SMX seminar. SEO Manager Daniel Perez and Content Strategist Abigail Beard shared their key takeaways about what marketers need to know about how to use AI for SEO and optimize in this new era of AI-driven search results.
Why AI Overviews Challenge Traditional SEO
Traditional SEO strategies have long prioritized ranking factors like keywords, in addition to on-page content and technical considerations, to improve a website’s search engine results pages (SERPs) placement. But with AI Overviews, that playbook is changing, especially when it comes to keywords.
This standard SEO model no longer guarantees visibility and won’t work as effectively — if at all. That’s because AI Overviews pull summaries from multiple sources, displaying synthesized answers directly on the results page. AI Overviews also bypass sponsored ads. That means even if you rank first organically — or you’re paying for a sponsored listing — your link still may not be clicked.
The impact on click-through rates (CTRs) is already relatively astounding. According to a Seer Interactive study published in February:
- Organic CTR has dropped by 70%
- Paid CTR has dropped by 12%
“We’re seeing less engagement with organic and paid content because AI answers the question before the user even clicks,” said Perez.
The takeaway? Search visibility now requires a new strategy. Here’s how to use SEO for AI to ensure content optimization.
How to Rank in AI Overviews: 7 Quick Tips for Success
To be competitive in the new era of AI-generated answers, you must strategically craft your website content for both humans and machines.
Here are seven quick and practical ways to improve your chances of successfully ranking in AI Overviews:
- Use short paragraphs: Break up your content into one- to two-sentence paragraphs to help AI parse out the key points quickly. And don’t be afraid to use bold font to highlight those important points throughout your body copy.
- Lead with the answer: Don’t bury the lede! This is not the time for long introductions. Answer the main question — or include the key takeaway — immediately after your H1 tag.
- Simplify your grade level: This is not the time for effusive language and big words. Tailor your content to be right around a sixth-grade reading level. You can use a tool like the Hemingway Editor to help make your writing concise, clear, and correct.
- Incorporate bullet points: Succinct, bulleted lists are easier for AI to scan and summarize.
- Implement structured headers: Use the H1, H2, and H3 tags to format your content and treat each one like a structured and summarized headline.
- Cite your sources: AI prioritizes content that’s verifiable with data and cited correctly.
- Ensure fast page speed: Your site’s load time and page speed are still important, as AI systems time out within one to five seconds.
Optimizing Content Structure for AI
Now, let’s dive a little deeper into how to use AI for SEO success. Because AI Overviews prioritize clarity, hierarchy, and relevancy over traditional keywords, the focus must be on content organization and how the information is presented.
“When it comes to winning AI Overviews, it’s all about content structure,” said Beard. “It can truly make or break your visibility.”
Here are some ways you can optimize your content structure:
Answer the Main Question Immediately
We touched on this in our seven quick-hit tips for success — and it’s a vital part of your content structure. With the search query in mind, answer the question directly as high up in your content as possible to create an optimal user-focused experience.
Use Informational Intent
Less than 10% of AI Overview SERPs are commercial or transactional. The rest are informational. That means to rank, you should structure your content to provide direct, relevant answers to informational queries. Answer the “who,” what,” “why,” and “how” — don’t just pitch a product or service.
Emphasize Entity-Based SEO
SEO is evolving towards a focus on entities — like concepts, people, and places — rather than just keywords to adapt to AI. You can use AI tools to help identify entities tied to your brand on your site and analyze competitors’ entities — then build content around those.
“This approach, when used alongside traditional keyword research, can help build an entity-based map that enhances your brand’s search performance, ensuring that search engines understand and prioritize your brand’s relevance in its industry,” said Perez.
Build Site Silos with AI Tools
Use AI tools like ChatGPT to map out content hubs with primary and secondary keywords that ensure relevance and proximity. By keeping similar information and related topics on the same or adjacent pages, you’re better equipped to capitalize on AI Overviews while improving SERP results.
Content Maintenance Strategies for AI
Even the best-optimized content won’t rank if it’s outdated or redundant. That’s why it’s so essential to conduct regular site audits and strategically edit and update your content. AI rewards recency, usefulness, and crawlability. Check out these strategies for maintaining your content for AI success:
Conduct Regular Content Pruning
Despite what it may sound like, content pruning isn’t about deleting thousands of pages. Instead, it’s about deleting irrelevant content and creating valuable, user-focused content.
“Pruning is about creating content that serves the user — not just the search engine,” Perez emphasized.
Targeted content that’s created with N-E-E-A-T-T in mind — Notability, Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, and Transparency — demonstrates credibility to Google, which is wildly advantageous for AI Overviews.
Focus on:
- Eliminating duplicate, irrelevant, or low-value pages
- Ensuring a human edits any AI content
- Updating outdated stats and insights with cited sources
- Optimizing for informational value, expertise, and usefulness
Use AI Tools for Content Audits
For help in automating these content audits, consider using tools like:
- ChatGPT for thematic tagging and to automate processes
- Google Colab to enhance internal linking
- Google Sheets scripts and GPT to automate tagging and categorize content by theme
AI Isn’t Replacing SEO, It’s Redefining It
While it may seem like SEO is now an even more impossible mountain to climb, you can evolve and make tangible improvements. For example, after The Threadgill Agency optimized a medical blog for a client, impressions jumped from 7,000 to 13,000 in just one week.
“This uptick in impressions likely correlates with improved search rankings and relevance to the target audience, demonstrating the effectiveness of the optimization strategies implemented,” said Perez. “We’re not abandoning the fundamentals. We’re building on them with smarter tools and sharper strategy.”
Businesses that embrace using AI for marketing and content structure will gain visibility not just in search, but in how people experience the information.
Need help using AI for marketing and building an AI-optimized SEO strategy? Let The Threadgill Agency guide you through this next era of search.