We’re all talking about AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity etc… …but I don’t think most business owners have fully realised what this means for SEO yet. Because search is no longer happening in just one place anymore. People are discovering businesses through: • TikTok • Instagram • YouTube • Reddit • LinkedIn • AI tools • social feeds I saw a stat earlier saying over 50% of discovery now starts on social. And honestly… that makes complete sense now. YouTube is basically the second biggest search engine. TikTok and Instagram are becoming Google for younger audiences. And AI tools are now pulling information from websites, forums, Reddit discussions, LinkedIn profiles, and social content to help answer questions. Which creates a bit of a weird SEO dilemma: For years, we were told: “Write longer content.” “Add more keywords.” “Make pages longer.” But AI seems to prefer: • clarity • structure • concise answers • easy formatting • understandable information It feels like the internet is shifting from: “Who ranks #1 on Google?” to: “Who is easiest to understand everywhere?” And honestly… I think a lot of business owners are overwhelmed by that shift. Curious where everyone here is at with this right now: Are you adapting your content already? Still focused mostly on Google? Or are you just completely confused and don’t know where to start anymore?

And heres what you need to know: I talk a lot about SEO strategy, but I really wish more people were talking about what’s actually happening in this new era of search. If your strategy is still stuck in 2022, it’s honestly going to kill your traffic. It is probably the most common thing I get contacted about: "my traffic has dropped off a cliff" For a long time, the game was: publish a blog on your site, optimise the keywords, and wait for the "official" ranking. But if you’re doing that now and wondering why you’re not ranking, it’s because you’re playing a game that doesn’t exist anymore. So whats the shift? AI search engines (the stuff actually driving web traffic now and will continue to gain momentum) don’t care about your brand. They care about consensus. They aren’t just asking "is this website fast?" or "is the keyword density right?" They’re asking: "Does the rest of the internet actually talk about you?" To get found and have your traffic return in 2026, you need what I call Search Everywhere Optimisation. It’s about building a reputation, not just a library of content. This means: - Dominating threads on Reddit and Quora. - Securing Digital PR and news coverage. An example of this could be your company is an online poster shop. You're then featured in a home magazine about how one piece of hero art can make your home feel like a gallery. You are then cited as an expert who can solve a consumer problem. - Getting featured on third-party platforms. For example, if you're a marketing consultant and you write an article for a publication then, when an AI calls the web and they find this article, you will then be seen as a leader in this field. - Stacking up social validation on TikTok and YouTube. SEO has evolved from "Can you rank?" to "Does the internet know you exist?" I’m curious: how many of you are already looking beyond your own website for "search" traffic? I'm going to be leaning into this "Search Everywhere" system a lot more this month.