With generative AI-driven search engines like Perplexity.ai and Microsoft Copilot seeing a 525% surge in revenue generation, the question of whether they are the future of search becomes one worth exploring. It's not just Perplexity.ai alone. Google's AI Overviews also now reside in the top spot on SERPs.
So, everywhere you look, AI has crept into the search landscape. Marketers, SEO professionals, business owners, and anyone who has a stake in the internet have to ask — "What's next for search?"
We did some digging to explore the potential of Perplexity.ai and how you can curate your content to be visible in its search results. As people turn toward AI-driven search engines, you'd obviously want higher visibility in them to maintain and boost click-through rates. After all, the future of search may just be AI-driven.
- The Rise of AI-Driven Search and Perplexity AI's Impact on SEO
- Optimizing Content for AI Search: How Perplexity AI Selects Information
- How to Structure Your Content for Perplexity AI: A Guide for SEOs
- Creating High-Authority, AI-Friendly Content that Perplexity AI Prefers
- Leveraging Perplexity AI for Answer-Based Optimization: Targeting Questions and Answers
- Measuring Success: How to Track Your Content's Performance in AI Search
- Off to an AI-Driven Search Future
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Rise of AI-Driven Search and Perplexity AI's Impact on SEO
If you take a look at the search engine world right now, it seems like there's a race to release AI-powered search between all the top players. When Perplexity.ai made waves in 2022, Google saw the AI-driven search engine as a threat and started working on its own solution.
As a result, AI Overview came along. These snippets show above the organic search results and provide quick answers to searchers. Recently, Open AI also introduced ChatGPT search, which lets you search the web within the tool. According to Rand Fishkin’s analysis, ChatGPT has gained over 4% of the share of search. With this new feature, this percentage might increase going forward.
Exclusive: Meta is developing a search engine so its ChatGPT competitor can give answers about current events and reduce its reliance on Google.https://t.co/VgWZpQ5acM
From @KalleyHuang
— The Information (@theinformation) October 28, 2024
While these search engines are developed by different companies, the common theme between them is the way they search the web for answers. Unlike traditional SEO, where algorithms match the keywords in your query with the keywords on a page, AI-driven search engines use natural language processing to understand the intent behind a query and provide relevant results.
For example, an academic writer on X shared how he got excellent results when he used an AI search engine to search for papers relevant to his query. If you were to do the same with a traditional search engine, it would show you papers that have the same words in their title as your query. However, AI search results are intent-based, regardless of the exact keywords used by the searcher.
AI search engines are different in that they use semantic search. They don't match words in your query with words in their databases.
Instead, generative AI helps them understand the meaning of your query.
See this for example: I ran a 340-words long paragraph with footnotes… pic.twitter.com/hySF5r57yH
— Mushtaq Bilal, PhD (@MushtaqBilalPhD) October 30, 2024
It's the same with Google's search generative experience. The company explains that its algorithm uses multi-step reasoning capabilities:
Coming soon, we’ll bring new multi-step reasoning capabilities to Google Search. It breaks your bigger question down into parts and figures out which problems to solve and in what order, so research that might've taken you minutes or even hours can be done in seconds. #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/Op8Iu7K21m
— Google (@Google) May 14, 2024
Impact of AI-Driven Search on Modern SEO
The result of this reliance on AI-assisted search engines is a massive shift in SEO. You don't always get the top-ranking pages in AI search results. Instead, Perplexity.ai and similar search platforms provide real-time answers that match the searcher's intent.
So, today's SEO is more contextual than ever before. Due to this, your content has to be highly authoritative and intent-centric, not just keyword-rich.
For example, when we search for the "benefits of manuka honey" on Perplexity.ai, its top three sources are not in the first, second, and third places on organic SERPs in Google. In fact, Vogue isn't even on the first page. However, since their content provides exactly the information we're looking for, they rank high on Perplexity.ai's AI search results.
Perplexity.ai result
Interestingly, their website is also cited by Google's AI Overview despite not being on the first page. This similarity reveals that AI search engines operate the same way, irrespective of their developers.
Google AI Overview
Due to this new way of extracting search results, there's a need for SEO professionals and content marketers to emphasize context and intent rather than go with the age-old keyword stuffing.
At the same time, the content needs to be well-presented through the use of long-tail queries and structured data for AI-driven search engines to select it.
However, that's not to say that traditional indexing and ranking methods are obsolete now. Link-building and technical SEO are just as important as they were before. It's just that now, we have to adapt to this new content and keyword approach, tying it in with conventional best practices.
Optimizing Content for AI Search: How Perplexity AI Selects Information
To write content for AI search engines, you first need to know how they work. According to the developers of Perplexity.ai, here's how the platform decides what to show as a result:
"When you ask Perplexity a question, it uses advanced AI to search the internet in real time, gathering insights from top-tier sources. It then distills this information into a clear, concise summary, delivering exactly what you need in an easy-to-understand, conversational tone."
Perplexity.ai does not depend on keyword searches. Instead, it uses language models, such as GPT-4 Omni and Claude 3, to really get the nuance and context of your search query. Its working mechanism is a multi-step process as follows:
- Comprehension: The search engine first interprets your question to understand what you're looking for.
- Searching: It then scours websites, articles, journeys, and documents from the web.
- Summarizing: It compiles all relevant and authoritative insights into an answer the searcher can easily understand.
- Citing: The search engine also adds original sources to the result, cited as numbered footnotes.
Shift from Keywords to Context
As an SEO professional, you should be interested in the first three steps because they decide what will be shown in the results. First, Perplexity.ai gauges the intent behind someone's query before finding them an answer.
That means for your content to be chosen, it should meet that specific intent. To do this, you must write your content in a way that answers people's questions directly. More importantly, a blog post or article on your website shouldn't exist in isolation. It should be part of a bigger content cluster so that the AI search engine has enough context to consider it authoritative and relevant.
But how do you sort keywords into related clusters? By focusing on the intent and context behind them. Since this may be tricky to do yourself, it's best to seek help from a tool like Semrush. Its Keyword Magic Tool doesn't only show keywords but also their intent. This is your first touchpoint for content creation.
Semrush keyword magic tool
From here, you can see if people are approaching a query to get information, buy a product, learn more about a product, or get support. Based on this data, you can then write content to inform, navigate, or sell.
The role of the Keyword Magic Tool doesn't end here. It also shows you semantic keywords for your query. These are the words that your target audience is using in relation to the specific term you're targeting. You can incorporate them into your content to make it more comprehensive and appealing to both search engines and users.
Keyword magic tool
To better connect your content, use the Semrush Keyword Strategy Builder. It will build the connections between your keyword list, categorizing them into pillar pages and subgroups. This way, your content will not only be comprehensive but also well-structured and interconnected, making it easier for the AI search engine to understand and rank.
Semrush keyword strategy builder
Content Discovery in Perplexity
While semantic relevance is important in content optimization, it's only one piece of the puzzle. Perplexity.ai also has to contextualize your content. It needs to understand the relationships between words and phrases, as well as how they come together to convey meaning.
For that, metadata and schema markup are needed. If you're adding images or videos to your content, make sure they have keyword-rich file names and alt tags.
Similarly, add schema markups for content elements like product reviews, ratings, tables, and pricing information. Perplexity.ai can use this data to make sense of what these content sections represent and how they relate to the overall topic.
How to Structure Your Content for Perplexity AI: A Guide for SEOs
The main thing you need to keep in mind when writing for generative search engines is that they parse information, summarize it, and then form an answer for the searcher. So, your content needs to be easily scannable and to the point.
Start with a clear heading that shows the main topic of your content. If it contains a long-tail keyword, that's good. However, if your keyword is too long for a headline, just make the title as relevant to the main query as possible. For example, one of the keywords Semrush found in our example above was ''how does onboarding impact the performance of an employee?''
Now, you can either use this exact keyword as your title if it makes sense, or you can simplify it to something like ''The Impact of Onboarding on Employee Performance''. The key is to have a clear and concise title that accurately represents the main topic of your content.
If you want to use question-based headlines, you can find suggestions in the Semrush Keyword Overview tool. The tool shows you questions and variations for your main query. You can pick the ones that are relevant to your content and use them as subheadings.
Keyword Overview tool
Next, create a TL;DR section or a summary. Sure, you can write a thousand words on a topic, but most people don't want to read that much. A TL;DR section gives them the main takeaways from your content. It can also give AI search engines your content's context quickly.
Use bullet points throughout your content. If possible, add modular content, such as tables, lists, videos, and infographics. Since Perplexity.ai also shows images and videos in its results, your content could rank for them if not for the text.
For example, in our search for ''How to onboard an employee,'' Perplexity.ai showed us an image from Waybook, although the web page wasn't selected as a cited source for the textual answer. So, there's a potential AI SEO opportunity for your content if you include visual aids.
Perplexity.ai results
As we've touched on earlier, the most important aspect of writing for AI search engines is to create intent-based sections. It's likely that Perplexity.ai will choose them to display in their results as the tool is programmed to show answers based on the intent behind user queries.
You can use the Semrush SEO Content Template tool to create these sections. The tool lets you upload up to 30 keywords that it then targets to provide SEO recommendations for your content.
Semrush Content Template
It takes inspiration from your top 10 competitors on the SERPs. Since these pages are already ranking high and also have a higher likelihood of appearing in AI search results, using a template that mirrors their structure ensures you're meeting user intent.
The SEO Content Template tool also provides semantically related keyword data that you can use to further make your content more comprehensive around a certain topic.
Using Schema Markup to Structure Content
Structuring your content within Google Docs or WordPress isn't enough. You also have to add structured data so that Perplexity.ai can contextualize the content and understand its meaning. Although there are many AI SEO tools that can help you in this regard, ChatGPT may be the easiest to use.
Provide it with relevant details such as your page title, description, and the content's main keywords. It will then produce structured data that you can add to your website's HTML code.
Suppose you want to add a schema markup for a recipe. Use this prompt:
Create a schema markup in JSON-LD for a recipe page using the following values:
name: Banana bread
url: https://www.bakingwebsite.com/bread-recipe
author: XYZ ABC
cookTime: 1 hour
cookingMethod: Baking
recipeIngredient: Banana and eggs
about: banana bread
ChatGPT output
Similarly, create a schema markup for all important content elements that you want Perplexity.ai to pick up. Make your markup as descriptive as possible so that it conveys all relevant information. Then, use the Google Schema Markup Validator to check if your markup is correct and error-free.
Creating High-Authority, AI-Friendly Content that Perplexity AI Prefers
Perplexity.ai and similar AI search engines look for topical authority and expertise in your content. They need enough material to find meaning in your text and a clear sense of authority for the AI to rank your content as a reliable source. It also helps if you add statistics, figures, case studies, and additional information to back up your claims and make them more trustworthy.
Not just this, you must also ensure that your content is as comprehensive as possible. Basically, you want Perplexity.ai to see you as an authority on a subject. For that, you must cover every angle a topic can be approached from, explain concepts in detail, and provide valuable insights that cannot be found elsewhere.
One way to do this is by creating long-form content that discusses a topic in depth. Then, create related subpages that cover specific subtopics in detail, linking them back to the main page. This creates a connectivity between your content, which traditional and AI search engines appreciate.
How to Research Topics for AI Search Engine Visibility
We've already discussed the role of the Semrush Keyword Strategy Builder in determining pillar pages and subpages to cover. You can further amp up your topical authority by filling in content gaps.
Two Semrush tools come into play here: Organic Research andTopic Research.
Start by going to the Organic Research tool and typing in your website's URL. In the Competitors section, you will see all your organic competitors.
Semrush Organic Research
Then, go to Topic Research and type in a topic on which you want to create content. Here, you can enter a domain to find content. Enter a competitor's website URL to see if they have written on this topic already.
In the Cards section, look at green ones. These are the topics your competitor has created content about that ranks in the top 100 results on Google. Now, you can take two approaches here.
Semrush Topic Research
One, you may copy the headlines and the questions from the green cards and cover them in more detail so that you can compete with your rival for a position in Perplexity.ai. Alternatively, use the information from the white cards to cover keywords and subjects that your competitor hasn't leveraged yet.
Regardless of the way you want to go, click the ''Show More'' link on the card you have selected to see the subtopic volume and difficulty. You will also see the top 10 headlines for that topic, along with a multitude of questions you can answer in your content to make it extremely relevant and comprehensive for visibility in Perplexity.ai.
Semrush Topic Research
Since Perplexity.ai shows real-time intent-based results, make sure you're updating your content regularly. Use the same tools to check for new topics and questions that you can include in your article to make it suitable for generative engine responses.
Leveraging Perplexity AI for Answer-Based Optimization: Targeting Questions and Answers
People who use AI search engines like Perplexity.ai are primarily looking for quick answers. They might be looking for specific information without having to read a whole article or webpage. So, that's what you need to provide them.
The Importance of Answer-Based Content
When people use AI search tools, they want direct answers to their queries. Keep this in mind during content creation. You should be as clear and concise as possible, keeping your content highly focused on providing answers.
For example, when we searched for ''how much do Google Ads cost,'' Perplexity.ai used those sites as sources that went straight to the point. The top results were direct answers like ''On average, businesses should expect to pay...'' and ''Google Ads can cost as little as...'' This is the kind of quick information AI search engine users expect to see.
When focusing on answer-based content creation, make sure you include actual figures and statistics where possible. For example, if you only say that Google Ads cost differs across businesses, you are not providing an answer. Instead, consider saying something like, ''Small businesses can expect to pay $X per day compared to enterprises that may have to keep a daily budget of $Y to see results.''
This way, you're providing a specific figure, which is what the intent behind the search query is.
Targeting Long-Tail Questions
Part of the reason many people use AI search engines as an alternative to traditional ones is that they can ask AI a question rather than having to phrase their search query as a keyword. For example, if someone is having trouble with their computer, such as the laptop not turning on until plugged in, they might type ''laptop won't turn on'' into a traditional search engine.
However, with AI search, they can say, ''My laptop is not turning on unless I plug in a charger. What do I do?'' and expect accurate results. AI search engines can understand the context of this question to provide an appropriate answer.
As a website that gives computer troubleshooting tips, you should frame your content in a way that answers specific questions like this. Instead of targeting generic terms like ''computer troubleshooting'' or ''laptop not turning on,'' you can target long-tail questions like ''Why won't my laptop turn on unless it's plugged in?'' or ''How do I fix a laptop that only works when plugged in?''
When you do this, there's a higher likelihood of Perplexity.ai understanding your content as a relevant answer to these types of questions and displaying it to users in their search results. You can also include a video in your content. Perplexity.ai may also pick video content from the same site if it's deemed relevant to the user's intent.
As we've discussed earlier, you can use the Semrush Keyword Magic Tool and Keyword Overview tool to find long-tail and question-based keywords. However, if you want to know which long-tail terms you haven't covered yet and should include in your existing content, use the Keyword Gap tool.
Semrush keyword gap
The tool shows the keywords both you and your competitors have used and the ones that are untapped. From here, you can get long-tail keyword ideas that the competition is using, but you haven't covered. Then, use these terms in your content to target specific questions.
FAQ Pages and Featured Snippets
Why make AI do all the work? The easier you make it for the AI search algorithms to find answers in your content, the more likely your content will appear in their results.
You can do this by creating an FAQ section in your articles. Use question-based keywords that you've identified earlier and then answer them in the way that you would for appearance in featured snippets.
A pro tip here is to aim to tackle questions people are asking on public forums such as Quora and Reddit. Since these are user-generated questions, they indicate that your audience is already looking for these answers. The Semrush Organic Research tool can help find long-tail keywords and questions.
Type in the URL of the forum that you want to target and click on search. For example, we'll use Quora.com. In the Top Keywords tab, Semrush will show you all the queries that Quora.com ranks for in Google SERPs. However, these may not be relevant to your industry.
Semrush organic research keywords tab
To find the most suitable keywords for your audience, go to the Advanced Filters tab. Select ''Include'' and then ''Keyword.'' In the empty column, write the seed keyword you want to target. We used ''Instagram marketing.''
Semrush organic research
Semrush showed us the keywords containing our seed query for which the forum ranks. We can narrow down our search further by filtering these keywords by position, traffic, volume, or keyword difficulty. Use the same approach to find the most-asked questions related to your niche and create an FAQ section containing them in your content.
Measuring Success: How to Track Your Content's Performance in AI Search
One of our top AI SEO tips is to keep a close eye on how your strategies and content are performing. Since you're not dealing with traditional search engines, the conventional SEO metrics like traffic won't give you insight into your content's performance in AI search results.
Instead, you'll have to see how often Perplexity.ai quotes your content. While Semrush now lets you see your content's appearance in AI Overviews in Google, there's no specific tool to check how often Perplexity.ai pulls a certain website's content for its results. So, you'll have to do this manually.
Select the keywords that you already (or have the potential to) rank for in traditional SERPs. Similarly, check the long-tail queries and the questions you have used in the content that you optimized for AI. Search for these terms in Perplexity.ai periodically to see if your content appears. Keep a record of the frequency and which queries trigger your content's appearance in AI results.
Apart from monitoring AI SEO keywords, you should also measure engagement metrics such as the amount of time people spend on your website, the number of visits, the number of unique visitors, and so on. Since Perplexity.ai also shows sources for its results, people may visit your site to see more details about the answers the search engine has generated.
Thus, appearing on Perplexity.ai can have a positive impact on your website traffic. You can use the Semrush Traffic Analytics tool to see how your website performance has improved as a result of AI optimization.
Semrush Traffic Analytics
Focus on your mobile traffic specifically since most people tend to use voice searches on mobile devices to ask AI search engine questions. If your mobile traffic has increased after optimizing content for Perplexity.ai and generative engines in general, there's a likelihood that your website will appear for one or more queries.
Similarly, if you want to focus on a specific keyword, use the Position Tracking tool. Suppose you've optimized content with the focus keywords "influencer marketing agencies" and "influencer marketing tools." You can set up tracking for these specific keywords in the Semrush tool, and it will show you how their ranking has been over time.
Semrush Position Tracking
A rise in ranking for long-tail and question-based keywords in the traditional SERPs indicates that they may also be at a higher likelihood of showing up in Perplexity.ai results since generative search engines predominantly quote top 10 Google results.
So, if your content has made it to Google's first page, there's a good chance of its higher visibility in Perplexity.ai, too.
Off to an AI-Driven Search Future
The trust in AI's capabilities is at an all-time high, with over 70% of marketing professionals believing it can outperform humans. Search engine users share the sentiment. That's why they're increasingly dependent on generative engines like Perplexity.ai for research and to find answers to their everyday questions.
The high dependence on AI search engines is also due to the convenience they provide. Users no longer have to click on multiple links or read through various articles to find the information they need. Instead, they get it quickly in a paragraph or bullet list format that they can skim through easily.
At this point, you're optimizing your content not only for traditional search engines but also for generative engines. So, your strategy has to be a GEO-SEO combination. For that, focus on long-tail keywords, structured content, direct and quick answers, modular content, and intent-centric information.
Interestingly, tackling AI's disruption with AI itself is quite effective. Simply put, use AI optimization tools to adapt your content to Perplexity.ai, whether it's through keyword research for more conversational queries or topic research for intent-driven headings and sub-sections. While you're at it, don't skimp on regular content monitoring to learn from your own successful strategies that help you rank in Perplexity.ai search results.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Perplexity AI?
Perplexity AI is a search tool powered by advanced AI (like GPT models) that gives you quick, detailed answers, similar to how you'd ask a question on Google but with a more conversational twist. Instead of just links, it offers summaries and direct answers, which makes it feel like a mix of a search engine and a Q&A assistant. It even provides sources for context so you can dig deeper if you want. It's popular for research because it saves time when reading through multiple sources.
How does Perplexity AI impact traditional SEO?
Perplexity AI shifts the SEO game by prioritizing direct answers and summaries over link-based results, which can reduce traffic to traditional websites. Instead of ranking sites to drive clicks, it pulls data from multiple sources and gives users immediate answers, which may mean fewer organic search visits for businesses. This puts pressure on content creators to focus on quality and authority, as AI models tend to pull from the most credible sources. Perplexity.ai has also moved SEO away from traditional short-tail keywords to long-tail and conversational ones.
Does Perplexity AI still use Google's search results?
Perplexity AI often pulls data from Google's search results along with other sources to enhance its responses. It combines Google's indexing power with its own AI capabilities to summarize information, so you get a quick answer that's backed by reliable sources. Besides websites on Google, the AI search engine also takes data from YouTube and community forums. Perplexity's CEO also confirmed that the search engine uses website rankings signals from Microsoft's Bing and Google.
Can businesses optimize for Perplexity AI?
Businesses can optimize for Perplexity AI, but the approach is a bit different from traditional SEO. You'll have to change your keyword strategy by prioritizing long-tail keywords over their short-tail counterparts. To get picked up by Perplexity, focus on creating clear, authoritative, intent-centric, and fact-rich content that answers specific questions in a straightforward way. Structuring content with concise summaries, lists, and FAQs can help, as AI can more easily parse these formats.
Will Perplexity AI replace Google Search?
It doesn't seem like that would be happening anytime soon. Perplexity AI offers a cool Q&A-style experience, which is great for quick answers, but Google is still the go-to for broader, more comprehensive searches. Google also has a massive infrastructure, indexing power, and a broader set of tools (like Maps, Images, and Shopping) that Perplexity doesn't fully replicate. It's more likely that AI tools like Perplexity will exist alongside Google, each serving different needs, such as Perplexity for quick answers and Google for deeper dives.
Does Perplexity AI allow sponsored content?
The Perplexity Publishers' Program is geared toward introducing sponsored content within the AI search engine. Brands will be able to sponsor related questions that pop up as suggestions after a user's initial query. Since about 40% of Perplexity's queries come from these follow-up questions, brands can use this as a chance to guide users toward specific products.
What role does context play in Perplexity AI searches?
Context helps Perplexity understand and respond to queries more accurately. The generative engine keeps track of previous questions in a conversation, so it can offer answers that build on prior interactions; it's almost like chatting with someone who remembers what you've already talked about. This makes follow-up questions smoother and more relevant.
How can SEO professionals adapt to AI-based search engines like Perplexity?
SEO professionals should adapt to the changing landscape of search engines by understanding how AI-based algorithms work and optimizing content accordingly. Using conversational queries, long-tail keywords, structured data, bullets, and summaries, FAQ sections, statistics and figures, answer-based content, and visuals are a part of the strategy for adapting to AI-based search engines.
How quickly do Perplexity AI pages get indexed in Google searches?
Perplexity pages get indexed in Google search results in as little as 12 to 24 hours. In a Reddit post, someone pointed out that the appearance of Perplexity results in Google SERP features has increased by 49.09%. They have also started appearing in Google's AI Overviews, which may be surprising for SEO professionals, considering Google is giving a competitor exposure in their search results.
Is Perplexity AI's search engine better than Google?
It really depends on what you're looking for. Perplexity AI excels at providing quick, concise answers and summarizing information from multiple sources, which can feel more user-friendly for specific questions. However, Google has a vast ecosystem with powerful indexing and a wide range of services. So, it's a much better option for comprehensive searches and navigation.
