How Australia’s biggest marketing channel got smarter—and how your business can capitalise
TL;DR
- Traditional SEO still matters, but it’s no longer enough on its own.
- AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews are reshaping search behaviour, with 60% of searches ending without a click.
- You can’t advertise in ChatGPT, but you can optimise your brand for it using Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)—like SEO, but for AI.
- Winning in 2025 means combining:
- Classical SEO (rankings)
- AEO (being cited in answers)
- GEO (being the quoted answer itself)
- Australians are increasingly using AI to research and buy, and Gen Z now spends more time in TikTok/Instagram than on Google.
- Local SEO has changed, too—structured data, entity consistency, and real-world mentions now matter more than map spam.
1. Why the ‘SEO is Dead’ Rumours Won’t Die
Every year someone declares that SEO is dead—and every year, it remains the most requested digital marketing channel in Australia, accounting for the lion’s share of revenue for agencies. So yes, business is booming.
But the real question isn’t “is SEO dead?” It’s: is SEO still effective for your business? Is it more work than it used to be? And what should you expect if you do it properly?
It’s hard to talk about the future when you’re living in it—but here’s the truth: as long as people keep asking questions, there’ll always be a search interface, and there’ll always be a way to optimise for it.
If you’re investing in SEO, it’s worth asking: are you just trusting your agency blindly—or do you know they’re evolving as the landscape shifts? Do they have a plan for what’s next?
2. The Landscape of SEO Right Now
No, SEO isn’t dead—it just outgrew its old box.
Once upon a time, optimising for Google alone was enough. If you nailed your keywords, tweaked your meta tags, and built a few backlinks, you’d see results. But the search game has evolved—and so has your audience.
Search is now everywhere.
The same way you might see a viral video pop up across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, your visibility strategy needs to show up wherever people are asking questions. It’s no longer about ranking in one place. It’s about being present and preferred across platforms.
Put simply:
SEO didn’t die. It got promoted. It’s now the foundation of multi-engine visibility.
The brands that win in 2025 aren’t just optimised for Google—they’re AI-ready, schema-smart, and entity-aligned.
3. AI Upended the Search Game
In 2025, search is no longer about blue links.
Google’s AI Overviews now reach over 1.5 billion people globally, appearing on 13% of queries. And yes, they sit above your organic results.
Closer to home, 58% of Australians report using tools like ChatGPT to ask questions. AI is no longer fringe. It’s front-and-centre.
Clicks Are Vanishing
A recent SparkToro study revealed that 60% of all searches now end in zero clicks. Most users get their answer without ever visiting a website.
Generative AI Replaces Lists with Direct Answers
ChatGPT surpassed 400 million weekly active users, and platforms like Perplexity are growing fast. These tools generate single, unified answers—not a page of links.
TL;DR: The traffic that traditional SEO was built to capture is now being swallowed by AI answer engines.
4. Can You Advertise on ChatGPT?
No—but you can optimise for it.
This is where GEO comes in: Generative Engine Optimisation. It’s the AI-era equivalent of SEO.
Just like you optimise your site to show up in Google, GEO is how you help AI tools understand, trust, and recommend your brand.
You can’t buy a sponsored listing in ChatGPT. But you can feed the model structured, consistent, quotable content. That’s what GEO is all about.
Combine that with AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), and you’re playing in the new search stack:
| Layer | Purpose | Example Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Classical SEO | Make pages crawlable & authoritative | Site speed, internal linking, backlinks |
| AEO | Get cited by AI tools | Deep schema, entity linking, expert mentions |
| GEO | Feed bots clean, quotable answers | 60–90 word Q&A blocks, GPTBot sitemap, structure |
Neglect the last two, and you might still rank—but you won’t be named in the answer.
5. Platforms Redefining Search in Australia
| Platform | Monthly/Weekly Users | Core Role |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews | 1.5B monthly | Navigational & fact lookup |
| ChatGPT | 400M weekly | Trusted first-pass answers |
| Perplexity.ai | 22M monthly | Source-cited summaries |
| TikTok Search | Used by 45% of Gen Z | Visual local discovery |
Australian Gen Z now spends more time on Instagram (89%) and TikTok (82%) daily than on Google.
Your brand needs to live in feeds and AI summaries—not just blue links.
6. AI Is Now a Trusted Buying Assistant
According to a January 2025 Attest survey of 5,000 people across the US, UK, Canada and Australia:
- 58% of Australians use ChatGPT
- 47% use AI to research products
- 54% would chat with an AI on a brand’s website
Nearly half your future customers already treat AI as decision-grade information.
8. Final Verdict
SEO isn’t dead. It’s evolved.
It’s not just about ranking anymore. It’s about being named in the answer AI tools give.
With 60% of searches ending without a click, visibility now means showing up in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
This is where SignalHerd.com comes in.
Powered by One Orange Cow, Signal Herd is a proven AI-Ranking Visibility Service helping Australian brands get found and recommended by AI tools.
✅ Ready to be the answer, not just an option?
Book your free AI Visibility AuditStill got questions? You’re not alone.
Here’s what business owners, marketers, and decision-makers keep asking us about SEO and AI in 2025:
No. SEO is still one of Australia’s most in-demand digital services—but it’s evolved. Today, being ranked isn’t enough. You need to be recommended by AI tools that answer the question directly.
You can’t “rank” in ChatGPT like a traditional search engine. Instead, you aim to be cited or quoted in its answers. This requires:
- Clean, structured content
- Strong entity consistency (your brand’s data)
- Authoritative mentions across the web
This process is called Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
No—there are no sponsored slots or ad placements in ChatGPT responses. But you can get mentioned by optimising your content and brand presence for AI visibility. That’s where GEO and AEO come into play.
GEO is the AI-era equivalent of SEO. It’s about crafting clear, quotable content that tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity can confidently cite as part of their answers. Think of it like SEO—but for answer engines, not search result pages.
To increase your chances of being cited in AI answers:
- Add structured schema (FAQPage, Article, LocalBusiness)
- Use consistent brand data (name, ABN, phone)
- Publish 60–90 word answer blocks
- Earn mentions from trusted sites (media, councils, directories)
- Check how often you’re already mentioned using tools like Signal Herd
Not dead—just upgraded. Local SEO in 2025 focuses less on map-pack spam and more on entity trust and structured visibility. That means:
- Identical listings across the web
- Location schema
- Real-world mentions in local press and directories
- AI prompt testing for your suburb and service
Because tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews are changing how people get answers. They summarise, recommend, and cite—rather than listing a dozen links. Being mentioned in those answers is the new prime real estate.
Signal Herd is One Orange Cow’s AI Visibility Service. It audits, cleans, and enhances your brand presence so you can:
- Be recognised by AI tools
- Be recommended in AI answers
- Stay visible as search shifts to AI-first behaviour