Search visibility is becoming less about where a company ranks and more about whether artificial intelligence systems can identify, understand and verify that company. After six months of testing across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, digital marketing agency Online Advantages has published 12 observations about how brands can improve their visibility in AI-generated answers.

The research, detailed in a report titled “How to Improve Brand Visibility in AI Search Engines: 12 Lessons From Six Months of Testing,” examines how traditional SEO practices intersect with the rapidly changing behavior of AI-powered search platforms.

The findings arrive as search engines increasingly provide answers directly rather than simply directing users to a list of webpages.

For marketers, that creates a new measurement problem. A page can rank well in conventional search while remaining largely absent from AI-generated responses. Conversely, a brand may be cited or recommended by an AI system without receiving the same kind of click that traditional search optimization has historically prioritized.

Online Advantages says its six-month project examined client campaigns, its own digital properties, AI visibility tools, citation patterns, content experiments and emerging industry research.

The agency's conclusion is not that SEO is becoming obsolete. Instead, it argues that AI search expands the definition of optimization.

“AI search doesn't appear to eliminate the need for SEO—it expands it,” said Matt Maglodi, founder of Online Advantages.

That distinction is important because the technical foundations of search remain relevant. Crawlable HTML, internal links, authoritative backlinks, topical depth and structured data can still help search engines discover and interpret content. The emerging challenge is making the broader identity of a business understandable across multiple information sources.

From Keywords to Entities

One of the research project's central observations is the growing importance of entities.

Traditional SEO frequently starts with a keyword: a business wants to rank for a particular service or query. AI systems, by contrast, need to connect businesses with people, locations, products, services, industries and areas of expertise.

That makes consistency across the web increasingly important.

A company that describes itself differently across its website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn page, third-party directories and press coverage can create ambiguity for systems attempting to determine what the organization actually does.

The same principle applies to content.

Online Advantages found that case studies can provide stronger contextual signals than generic educational articles because they contain details such as locations, project challenges, statistics, photographs and measurable outcomes.

Original research can offer an even stronger form of information differentiation.

Experiments, benchmarks, surveys and proprietary statistics create information that is not simply replicated from existing webpages. In an AI-driven search environment, that original information can become a potential source for future summaries and citations.

The Expanding Digital Footprint

Another finding challenges the idea that a company's website is its entire digital identity.

Online Advantages points to Google Business Profiles, LinkedIn, YouTube, reviews, business directories, press coverage, images, videos, case studies and structured data as components of a broader digital footprint.

This mirrors the direction of modern search ecosystems from Google and AI platforms such as Microsoft, where information may be assembled from multiple sources rather than interpreted from one webpage in isolation.

The research also highlights Reddit and other authentic online discussions. AI-powered research tools frequently surface community conversations because they can contain firsthand experiences, recommendations and opinions that corporate websites generally do not provide.

That does not mean brands can manufacture credibility through artificial community activity. Instead, it reinforces the value of genuine customer experiences and independent discussion.

LinkedIn emerged as another notable channel in the research. Online Advantages observed that professional content does not necessarily need to become viral to contribute to a broader digital presence. Consistent publishing, professional identity and subject-matter participation can help establish a recognizable entity over time.

AI Visibility Becomes a Measurement Problem

Perhaps the most significant development identified in the research is the emergence of tools designed to measure AI visibility.

Marketers can increasingly monitor brand mentions, citations, prompts and appearances across AI-generated responses. This creates the possibility of treating AI visibility as a measurable marketing KPI rather than relying exclusively on rankings and organic traffic.

That transition could eventually change how marketing teams evaluate search performance.

A traditional SEO report might emphasize keyword positions, impressions, clicks and conversions. An AI search report could also need to consider whether a brand is mentioned for commercially important questions, which sources are cited alongside it and whether AI systems describe its products or services accurately.

The measurement challenge is still developing. AI answers can vary between prompts, users, locations and platforms, making visibility less deterministic than a conventional search ranking.

Technical Accessibility Still Matters

The research also identifies machine-readable content and JavaScript accessibility as areas worth monitoring.

Online Advantages says industry experiments have reported inconsistent retrieval of some JavaScript-injected content by AI systems. The agency therefore recommends ensuring important business information remains available through accessible HTML rather than relying entirely on client-side rendering.

That should not be interpreted as proof that JavaScript automatically prevents AI visibility. Instead, it reinforces an established technical SEO principle: critical information should be easy for automated systems to discover, access and interpret.

The same cautious approach applies to emerging concepts such as Markdown and LLM retrieval. Online Advantages characterizes these areas as evolving rather than established ranking factors.

From SEO to Digital Authority

The broader argument behind the research is that AI search may be shifting optimization from individual webpages toward digital authority.

A business's website represents only one piece of its online identity. Its reviews, professional profiles, customer experiences, third-party coverage, business listings and original content can provide additional evidence about who the organization is and what it is known for.

That matters because AI systems are increasingly expected to synthesize information rather than simply retrieve it.

For brands, the strategic objective may therefore become straightforward: create a digital presence that is consistent, authoritative, useful and independently verifiable.

In practical terms, that means SEO teams may need to work more closely with content, PR, social media, reputation management and brand teams.

The six-month research from Online Advantages does not establish a definitive formula for ranking in AI-generated answers. The technology remains too fluid for that. Its more useful contribution is highlighting the direction of travel: search optimization is expanding from webpage visibility toward entity understanding, evidence, authority and measurable presence across the broader web.

Market Landscape

AI search is creating a new layer in the established search ecosystem. Google is integrating generative experiences into Search, while standalone platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot are changing how users discover and evaluate information.

For marketers, this creates both an opportunity and a measurement challenge. Traditional SEO remains foundational, but visibility can now occur without a conventional organic click.

The broader MarTech market is consequently moving toward AI visibility monitoring, entity optimization, structured content and digital authority strategies. However, marketers should distinguish emerging best practices from confirmed AI ranking factors. There is still limited public evidence that any single optimization technique consistently determines whether an AI system cites a brand.

Strategic Outlook

The likely long-term shift is from “How do I rank this page?” toward “How does the web collectively establish what this business is?”

That change favors companies with strong first-party content, credible third-party references, consistent business information, genuine customer experiences and original expertise.

It also creates a new role for SEO professionals. Rather than operating only as traffic acquisition specialists, SEO teams may increasingly become stewards of how organizations are represented across search engines, AI systems and the broader digital ecosystem.

Top Insights

• AI search visibility is expanding beyond rankings as brands increasingly need to understand how Google, ChatGPT and other systems represent them.
• Entity optimization can help AI systems connect businesses with services, people, locations and expertise across fragmented digital information sources.
• Original research and case studies provide unique information that can strengthen authority while giving AI systems substantive material to discover and reference.
• Digital authority increasingly depends on websites, reviews, professional profiles, directories and third-party coverage rather than one optimized webpage.
• AI visibility measurement is emerging as a new marketing KPI, allowing teams to monitor brand mentions, citations and representation across answer engines.

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