Introduction to AI and SEO
Google Search Advocate John Mueller recently shared his thoughts on how businesses should approach AI-powered tools in relation to their online presence. He emphasized the importance of considering the full picture and prioritizing accordingly, especially for businesses that rely on referral traffic. Mueller’s statement was in response to a Reddit thread discussing whether SEO is still enough or if practitioners need to start considering GEO, a term used for optimizing visibility in AI-powered answer engines.
What Mueller Said
Mueller didn’t endorse or reject the GEO terminology, instead framing the question in terms of practical business decisions rather than new optimization techniques. He suggested that businesses should think about how their site’s value works in a world where AI is available, without getting caught up in the terminology. Mueller also pushed back on treating AI visibility as a universal priority, advising practitioners to look at their own data first and be realistic about their audience’s usage metrics.
Understanding Your Audience
Mueller added that it’s essential to understand your audience and what percentage of them are using AI tools. This will help businesses allocate their resources effectively and prioritize their strategies. He emphasized the importance of looking at actual usage metrics and understanding what it means for where you spend your time. This approach will help businesses make informed decisions about how to optimize their online presence for AI-powered tools.
Why This Matters
Mueller’s statement is significant because it reframes the GEO question as a resource allocation problem rather than a terminology debate. The GEO conversation has been gaining traction over the past year, with AI answer engines starting to send measurable referral traffic. However, what’s been missing is a clear signal from Google on whether this is a distinct discipline or just rebranded SEO. Mueller’s answer is consistent with what Google said at Search Central Live, emphasizing that AI features share infrastructure with traditional Search.
Current Data and Trends
Current data shows that ChatGPT referrals are still a relatively small percentage of traffic for the average site, at roughly 0.19%. AI assistants combined still drive less than 1% of traffic for most publishers. While this is growing, it’s not yet a reason to reorganize your entire strategy. The industry has a habit of chasing trends that apply to some sites but not others. Mueller’s pushing back on this pattern, advising businesses to look at what percentage of their audience actually uses AI tools before reallocating resources toward them.
Looking Ahead
The GEO terminology will likely stick, regardless of Google’s stance. Mueller’s framing puts the decision back on individual businesses to measure their own audience behavior. For practitioners, this means that the homework is in their analytics. If AI referrals are showing up in their traffic sources, they’re worth understanding. If they’re not, businesses have other priorities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mueller’s statement emphasizes the importance of considering the full picture and prioritizing accordingly when it comes to AI-powered tools and SEO. Businesses should focus on understanding their audience and allocating their resources effectively, rather than getting caught up in terminology debates. By looking at their own data and being realistic about their audience’s usage metrics, businesses can make informed decisions about how to optimize their online presence for AI-powered tools and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of SEO.