Optimising for Conversational Search: How AI is Redefining SEO in 2026

5. Examples: How Different Industries Are Adapting (E-commerce, SaaS, Finance, Travel)

Let’s put theory into practice with a few real-world examples. Different industries are leveraging AEO/GEO in different ways. Here’s a quick tour of how conversational search optimisation plays out across e-commerce, SaaS, finance, and travel:

• E-commerce & Retail: In online retail, being the recommended product in an AI-generated answer can directly drive sales. For example, if a user asks an AI, "What’s the best affordable noise-cancelling headphone in 2026?" and your content is optimised, the AI might answer: "The XYZ Headphones from Company A are top-rated for affordability and noise-cancellation," with a link to your site. Retailers are learning that AI-powered recommendations shape consumer decisions now. If your product pages aren’t optimised to be picked up by these answer engines, your competitor’s products will be. It’s that simple. In fact, if your products aren’t optimised for AI search, your competitors will take the sale - AI answers will just recommend them instead. So e-commerce brands are adding more structured data (like Product schema, reviews schema), writing rich descriptions that answer common buyer questions, and creating comparison guides (e.g. "Best laptops under $1000" guides) that an AI might draw from. The ones who do this well can snag featured snippets like product comparisons or even be the source an AI cites in a recommendation list.

• SaaS & B2B Tech: In the software world, potential buyers often ask AI for recommendations before ever visiting a company’s site. Picture a founder saying, "ChatGPT, what’s the best project management tool for a small remote team?" The AI will synthesize some options. SaaS companies are now vying to be mentioned on that list. This means producing content like "Top 10 project management tools" (and getting it to rank or be trusted), as well as ensuring your product’s unique selling points are clearly stated on your site for the AI to pick up. SaaS marketers are embracing AEO to ensure their solution is cited in AI answers when users query things like “best [category] software”. Being cited could literally make the difference between being on a prospect’s shortlist or being invisible. Additionally, SaaS companies are big on thought leadership content - think guides, whitepapers - structured in a way that if someone asks a complex question (like "How do I improve my website’s conversion rate?"), their blog has a specific section that an AI overview might quote. They also use FAQ sections to answer things like pricing, security, integrations (stuff prospects often ask, including to voice assistants).

• Finance & Banking: In finance, trust and accuracy are everything. We’re seeing banks, fintech startups, and advisors investing in AEO to answer the kinds of high-stakes questions people ask AI. For instance, "Alexa, what’s the best savings account for high interest?" or "What’s an ETF and should I invest in one?" If a bank has a well-structured article or tool that answers these, they want it to be the one Alexa uses in its reply. Financial firms know that if their answer is the one an AI gives, they instantly gain credibility with that user. According to industry insights, consumers already rely on AI for financial questions, and firms that appear in those AI answers will win trust (and likely, new customers). So finance companies are focusing on content quality (to meet E-E-A-T), adding FAQ schema for common banking questions, and even ensuring their glossary of financial terms is robust (so Google might feature their definition of "ETF" or "APR"). By becoming the go-to answer, they not only educate the user but subtly promote their brand as the authority. P.S. Compliance is key here – they need to make sure the info is correct and up-to-date, because bad info in an AI answer could be a nightmare.

• Travel & Hospitality: The travel sector is a perfect playground for conversational queries. Travelers ask all sorts of AI questions now: "What’s the best boutique hotel in Paris for families?", "Give me a 5-day itinerary for Tokyo," or "When is the best time to visit New Zealand?" Travel brands that create snippet-optimized content for these questions can own the answer (and attract the traveler). For example, a travel blog or agency site might publish a fully structured itinerary for Tokyo with day-by-day breakdowns. If optimised, an AI overview might actually pull in that itinerary in a summary, citing the site as the source. Or if someone asks, "Do I need a visa to visit Bali?" and a travel company’s FAQ answers exactly that, Google might show it directly as a featured snippet. Travel companies are also using voice search optimization since many travelers use voice assistants on the go – queries like "find cheap flights to London" or "what's the weather in Rome this week?" tie into travel SEO. The key for travel brands is to combine inspirational content with factual Q&A. They need high-E-E-A-T content (nobody wants advice from a sketchy source on travel requirements), lots of schema (events, FAQ, etc.), and a conversational tone that makes the AI comfortable quoting it. Those who do will find that AI assistants become a new referral channel for customers planning trips. (Imagine your tour company being recommended by Siri when someone asks about “adventure tours in New Zealand” - that’s the dream!).

In all these examples, a common thread emerges: the brands that adapt and optimise for these AI-driven queries gain a competitive edge, while those sticking to “old SEO” lose visibility. Whether it’s selling a blender, software, a bank account, or a hotel room, if you can become the trusted answer to the questions your audience is asking AI, you’ve basically unlocked a new growth channel. And as more people use conversational search, that channel is only going to grow.

(At Geo Growth Media, we’ve seen this across our clients in various sectors - those who embraced AEO early are enjoying more snippet real estate and voice search referrals, while others are playing catch-up. The gap is widening, but there’s still time to jump in and optimise.)

6. New Metrics & Tools: Tracking AEO Performance in the AI Era

If SEO is changing, you can bet our metrics for success are changing too. We need to rethink how we measure visibility and what tools we use to track our progress. Here’s the new landscape:

Old world: You’d look at rankings, organic traffic, and click-through rates. You’d celebrate moving from position 5 to position 1 for a keyword, and watch your clicks go up accordingly.

New world: You might rank great, but if an AI answer steals the click, you could see zero traffic from that query. Yet, your content might still be doing its job by providing the answer. Weird, right? So now we care about things like impressions, featured snippet counts, and AI citations even if they don’t always lead to a click. In fact, marketers are treating **“answer inclusion” and even brand mentions in AI answers as key performance indicators. Did your brand/article get mentioned in the new Bing Chat or in Google’s AI overview box? That’s a win, even if the user didn’t click through - it’s still exposure and credibility.

To capture these new “success signals”, we have emerging tools and tactics:

• AI Visibility Tracking: Some SEO tools (and new specialised ones) now offer ways to track if your content is showing up in featured snippets or AI answers. For example, there are tools that monitor how often your brand or pages are cited by ChatGPT, Google’s SGE, Bing AI, etc.. It’s like brand mention tracking, but for AI outputs. If an AI answer includes a footnote or citation, you want to know if it’s pointing to you. And even when AI answers are unbranded, you can still try to gauge if your text was used (some tools compare known website text to AI responses). These metrics help you understand your true reach in an AI-driven search landscape.

• Featured Snippet and Zero-Click Metrics: Google Search Console now gives impression data for featured snippets and the like. Pay attention to those. You might see that a page has, say, 5,000 impressions but only 500 clicks – likely because it’s showing as a snippet that many people saw (got their answer) without clicking. That 5,000 is still important! It means your content was seen by potentially 5k people. So start valuing impressions and position-zero appearances much more. Some marketers even calculate “Estimated Reach” by combining clicks and the number of times their snippet was viewed on the results page.

• New Tools & Platforms: Established SEO platforms (SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, etc.) are rolling out features to address AI search. For instance, SEMrush has begun integrating tracking for Google’s AI results. There are also startups focusing solely on AI search visibility - one example from earlier, Writesonic’s GEO tool, is helping marketers track citations and even AI crawler traffic that doesn’t show up in Google Analytics. These tools can flag when an AI has used your content (even if indirectly) or when your site was visited by an AI agent. It might feel odd to “measure” things that don't result in a click, but this is about mindshare. If your brand is being referenced by AI answers, that’s awareness you should count.

• Brand Monitoring in QA Platforms: Lots of Q&A is happening off search engines, like on voice devices or even forums summarised by AI. Ensure you monitor places like Reddit (some AI pull info from forums) and voice app data if available. Also, consider setting up alerts for your brand + common question terms, to catch where you might be popping up.

• User Behaviour Changes: Keep an eye on metrics like bounce rate and time on site when you do get clicks. If AI is summarising content, the traffic that does click through might be those looking for more depth or with high intent. So you could see higher bounce on top-of-funnel pages (because many got their answer without clicking, those who click might just needed a tiny extra detail and leave). It’s important to interpret these changes not necessarily as something wrong with your page, but as byproducts of AI in the mix.

Ultimately, success in 2026's SEO looks a bit different. It’s as much about being visible in the “answer layer” of search as it is about driving traffic. We’re essentially moving towards "answer engine optimisation" metrics. My advice: report these wins to your team/clients. If your blog post was quoted by Google’s AI and got zero clicks, show the impression count or even take a screenshot of the AI result citing you. That’s proof of authority and visibility that has value, even if it’s not in site traffic.

And yes, continue to track traditional SEO metrics too - they’re still relevant for many types of queries (not everything has an AI result... yet). But broaden your definition of SEO success. As one article succinctly put it, rankings alone aren’t enough anymore. We have to rank, answer, and engage across a spectrum of platforms.

(At this point, you might be thinking, “Great, more things to measure!” 😅 But the good news is these insights can uncover new opportunities. For instance, if you find an AI answer that should have cited you but didn’t, maybe your content wasn’t clear or structured enough – that’s something you can fix. Or if an AI keeps citing a competitor, you can analyse why and adjust your strategy.)

7. Action Plan: Getting Ready for 2026 (What Marketers Should Do Now)

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by all these changes? Don’t worry – you’re definitely not alone. The search landscape is shifting fast, but with the right game plan, you can turn this into a huge opportunity for your brand. Here’s a practical action plan to get your SEO (or should we say AEO) ready for 2026:

1. Empathise with Your Audience’s Questions: Start by researching what questions your target customers are asking - both to search engines and to AI chatbots. Use tools like AnswerThePublic, Google’s "People Also Ask", and even try some queries in ChatGPT or Bing to see what comes up. Make a list of high-intent, longer queries (those are your conversational keywords). You can’t optimize for questions you don’t know people are asking! This step sets the foundation.
2. Audit Your Content for Answer Opportunities: Go through your existing content. For each piece, ask: Does this directly answer a specific question clearly? If not, tweak it. Add FAQ sections to blog posts or product pages where appropriate. Identify any gaps - topics your audience cares about that you haven’t covered in a Q&A style. A content audit with an AEO lens will reveal where you need to create new content or improve structure on existing pages.
3. Refresh & Optimize Content Structure: Take those key pages (especially any that already get some search traffic) and restructure them to be snippet-friendly. Add headings phrased as questions, follow with concise answers, then go in-depth. Ensure each page has a logical hierarchy and that important points are highlighted (bold text, bullet lists, summary boxes, etc., can all help). Remember the earlier advice: multiple extractable pieces of info per page. Also, embed trust signals - cite sources, link to authoritative references, and if possible, add author bios on content pieces to boost E-E-A-T.
4. Implement Schema Markup Everywhere It Fits: This is a step you can’t skip. Apply FAQPage schema to your FAQ sections, HowTo schema to tutorials, Article schema to blog posts (with author, date, etc.). If you have product pages, use Product schema with all relevant properties (price, availability, ratings). For local businesses, use LocalBusiness schema. Essentially, make your site’s content as machine-friendly as possible. There are plenty of plugins and tools if you’re not a dev - no excuses. After adding schema, use Google’s Rich Results Test to check for errors. This will directly support your efforts to appear in AI answers.
5. Double-Down on Experience and Trust Factors: As part of your strategy, plan to improve or highlight your E-E-A-T. This might mean adding an "About the Author" blurb on blog posts, showcasing customer testimonials or case studies (third-party validation = trust), and keeping content up-to-date. If you have any content that’s thin or purely AI-generated without review - be careful with that. It’s better to have fewer, higher quality pages than lots of mediocre ones. Quality over quantity is the name of the game when algorithms are picky. Also consider getting authoritative backlinks for key pages - PR efforts can help here. It’s like traditional SEO but with an eye toward proving your content is the one to trust.
6. Test on AI Platforms and Iterate: Don’t wait passively to see what happens. Actively test how AI is handling queries in your niche. Search a question on Google and see if an AI overview appears - is your content there? Ask Bing’s chat about your product category - does it know about you? If you find inaccuracies or omissions, address them: maybe your content needs to be clearer or you need to publish something on that topic. Some AI like Bing allow feedback; use it if your brand info is wrong. Consider creating a Q&A knowledge base on your site covering key questions - this can sometimes feed into the data pool these AIs draw from. Basically, treat AI results like additional search engines to optimise for. It’s a new field, so be prepared to experiment and adapt.
7. Monitor, Measure and Adapt: Use the tools and metrics we discussed to keep an eye on your progress. Set up a dashboard for things like featured snippet wins, impressions vs. clicks, and any AI citation tracking available. Make this a part of your SEO reporting. Over time, you’ll see what content is punching above its weight (high impressions, low clicks might indicate it's satisfying users via snippet) and what content isn’t getting picked up at all. Adapt your strategy accordingly - maybe you need to create more targeted FAQ content, or maybe you find your site is often cited but without a link (in which case, ensure your brand name is strong and memorable!). Stay agile. The algorithms behind AI search will evolve, and so must you. Subscribe to SEO newsletters, follow Google’s updates on SGE, and keep learning. We’re all figuring this out in real time, so staying informed is half the battle.
8. Educate and Align Your Team (or Clients): Finally, make sure everyone on your marketing team (or if you're an agency or consultant, your clients) understands this shift. SEO is no longer just the “blog guy’s” concern - it touches content strategy, PR, web development (for schema/technical), and even customer support (those FAQs often come from support teams!). Bring everyone on board so that your company as a whole is geared towards Answer Engine Optimization. It can be as simple as sharing a few examples of how an AI answered a query with/without your brand. Once people see it, the lightbulb goes off and you get buy-in to invest in these tactics.

By following this action plan, you’ll position yourself to ride the conversational search wave rather than be drowned by it. The key is to start now. In 2026, voice assistants, AI search, and traditional search will all coexist. The websites that thrive will be the ones that covered all bases - great traditional SEO, plus great answer optimisation.

And hey, if this still feels like a lot to tackle, just remember: optimising for better answers is really just an extension of what we’ve always aimed to do in SEO - serve the user better than anyone else. The only difference is now the “user” might be an AI intermediary presenting our info. Focus on quality, be strategic, and you’ll be fine.

If you need a hand with any of this or want to brainstorm your 2026 SEO strategy, feel free to reach out. At Geo Growth Media, we’re helping businesses navigate this new landscape every day, and we’re always happy to chat about how to get your brand chosen by the answer engines. After all, the future of search waits for no one. Let’s get you ready for it! 🚀

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