Recently, I’ve been shifting more of my attention from Google Ads towards SEO and AI visibility optimisation, both for The Nudge Co. and for my clients.
The question behind that shift is quite simple: where are people forming their opinions about a business before they ever contact it?
If someone asks AI to compare suppliers, recommend a service or explain their options, part of that decision can happen before they reach a website. As a marketing strategist and business owner, I want to understand how we show up in that conversation.
The research now starts somewhere else
VML’s Future Buyer Report 2026, based on research with 750 enterprise B2B buyers across eight markets, found that 55% use generative AI as their starting point for supplier research. This is an enterprise study, so I wouldn’t apply that percentage directly to small businesses in Dubai. But it raises a question worth paying attention to: could your next client be researching you somewhere you aren’t looking?
For a consultancy like mine, that means thinking beyond which keywords someone might type into Google.
They might ask: “What kind of marketing support does a small hospitality business need?” Or: “Should I hire an agency, a consultant or a fractional marketing director?”
Those are useful questions to answer on a website. They also make you think more carefully about your positioning, your services and the information a potential client needs to feel comfortable approaching you.
Is Google cannibalising itself?
I keep coming back to this question: is Google cannibalising its own advertising model by giving people AI answers before they even get to the ads?
There is an important distinction here. The Gemini app and Google Search’s AI experiences are different products. And an AI answer doesn’t automatically push every advert below it. Google says ads can appear above or below AI Overviews, and within or alongside AI responses where supported. Availability varies by market and language.
So I wouldn’t conclude that Google is making its advertising business redundant. My reading is that it is changing the journey and finding ways to place advertising within it.
But for businesses, the question remains: if someone gets enough information from an AI response to narrow their options, how do we become one of the businesses they consider?
Paying for a click addresses one part of that journey. I want our strategy to account for the research that happens around it, too.
What I’m changing in practice
For my own business and my clients, I’m putting more emphasis on the information we make available and how clearly it represents what we do.
That means:
Clearer service pages. Who the service is for, what it includes and when it is useful.
Content built around real questions. The questions that come up in discovery calls, comparisons and buying decisions.
Visible proof. Relevant experience, case studies and testimonials that help someone assess whether we are the right fit.
Consistent business information. Making sure our website, profiles and listings tell the same accurate story.
Better measurement. Looking at qualified enquiries and asking how people found us, alongside traffic and search performance.
For a hospitality or lifestyle business, this might mean making practical details easier to find: the experience, location, pricing approach, booking options and who the offering suits. For a consultancy, it might mean explaining the difference between an audit, a strategy project and ongoing marketing support.
These are useful improvements for the person making the decision, regardless of how they arrive.
Google’s own guidance reinforces that SEO fundamentals remain relevant to its AI search features. AI visibility is not a separate shortcut that removes the need for a useful, accessible website.
Visibility still needs to lead to confidence
Another finding in VML’s research stood out to me: 71% of the buyers surveyed preferred a familiar, “safe” supplier over an alternative they believed offered better value.
My takeaway is that being discovered is only part of the work. Once someone finds you, they still need a reason to trust you.
That is why this shift feels closely connected to brand strategy. Clear positioning helps people understand your relevance. Specific evidence gives them confidence. Useful content lets them experience some of your thinking before a first conversation.
Google Ads can still have a role where the intent, offer and measurement make sense. SEO and AI visibility also require time, work and ongoing evaluation; neither guarantees that an AI tool will recommend your business.
For me, the shift is about building a stronger foundation for discovery and giving paid activity a more deliberate role.
When someone asks for the kind of help you provide, is your business easy to find, easy to understand and easy to feel confident about?
That is the question I’m bringing into my own marketing and my client work at The Nudge Co.
