AI x SEO: What just happened? ✨

Say hello to the newest addition to our SEO digest!

There’s a lot happening in AI search right now. To help you stay on top of it all, we’ve launched a new weekly digest—focused 100% on AI and GEO.

It’s quick, clear, and packed with key updates and expert insights.

✨ Catch the first edition here:

Want to appear in AIO? Just do normal SEO

The first item in today’s digest on “what to do and what not to do to show up in AI search” comes from Gary Illyes. His comment reinforces a few common beliefs while also busting some persistent myths.

Here’s what he said:

“You don't need to do GEO, LLMO, or anything else to show up in Google AI Overviews—you just need to do normal SEO.”

Kenichi Suzuki echoed the sentiment and shared a summary of Gary’s presentation at Search Central Live. He wrote:

• Search is growing, and Gen Z are power users: Contrary to the belief that younger generations avoid traditional search, Gary revealed that Gen Z users (ages 18–24) issue more queries than any other age group. With over 5 trillion searches conducted globally each year, search is not only growing—its user base is staying young.

• Search is increasingly visual and interactive: Search methods are evolving fast. Google Lens has seen 65% year-over-year growth, with over 100 billion visual searches this year alone—one in five of which have commercial intent. The new Circle to Search feature is already available on over 250 million Android devices, with early adopters using it for 10% of their search journeys.

• AI is fundamentally reshaping the search experience: Gary described AI Overviews as one of the most significant changes to search in the last 20 years. Early data shows that users of AI Overviews search more frequently and express higher satisfaction. He also introduced AI Mode, a more powerful experience for complex queries requiring advanced reasoning and multi-step planning—enabling users to conduct deeper, “breathier” research.

• “Is SEO dead?” No—it’s evolving: Gary humorously addressed the age-old question, noting that people have been declaring SEO dead since 1997. He stressed that the core principles of SEO are more essential than ever for appearing in AI-powered features. His advice remains: focus on creating helpful, reliable content. These new technologies are expanding opportunities for creators—not eliminating them.

Google doesn’t support LLMs.txt—and isn’t planning to

If you're doing SEO in 2025, chances are you’ve asked yourself how to start ranking in LLM search, AI search—or whatever you choose to call it.

There’s been a flood of threads about optimizing content for AI systems, and one of the most buzzed-about tactics has been the use of LLMs.txt. It’s been hyped to the point where some treat it like SEO gospel.

But recently, Kenichi Suzuki shared a clear statement from Gary Illyes—also picked up by Lily Ray—that puts the brakes on the hype: LLMs.txt has no impact on Google.

Kenichi Suzuki: “Gary Illyes clearly stated that Google doesn't support LLMs.txt and isn't planning to.”

Lily Ray added:

“Makes sense… they don't need to. But the other LLMs may/might.”

It’s beginning to feel like the SEO community is locking in on certain LLM ranking factors—maybe too quickly in some cases. Either way, we’ll keep tracking the conversation and let you know where it goes in future digests.

Matt Diggity: How to rank in AI search

Now let’s look at tactics SEO experts believe actually work for gaining visibility in AI Overviews.

Matt Diggity recently shared a post outlining a system to reverse-engineer your way into AI search results. Here are a few key takeaways, but the full breakdown is available on his page:

• Analyze how AI bots crawl your site
• Smartly fix pages with low crawl rates
• Turn your most-crawled pages into AI visibility hubs
• Identify and resolve AI crawl errors
• Use structured data to guide AI understanding
• Upgrade your content to support multimodal AI

The post has already generated buzz in the SEO community, and many pros are likely testing these ideas. If you haven’t started yet—now’s the time. And don’t forget to share what’s working for you (even if it’s just “do normal SEO”)!