Sandeep Kushwaha

  The internet’s being interpreted by algorithms that think more like us than ever before. A few years ago, it was all about keywords and backlinks, but today, it’s about how useful your content sounds to AI. Weird, right?  As part of our mass media research project, we decided to understand how brands are keeping up with this shift. So, we reached out to the SEO agency team at Verve Media, which is also a digital marketing agency. They’ve been experimenting with AI search results, SEO AI optimisation, and everything in between. Here’s how the conversation went with the SEO expert:  First, how AI search even works Earlier, SEO meant competing for a spot among the “10 blue links”. But now, AI SEO optimisation tools like Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT search have shifted their focus. They are more focused on answering queries about content. Ranking now depends on understanding how AI interprets content and intent.  These systems collect insights from across the web...

  For years, businesses have hired an SEO agency to:  climb up Google’s rankings,  build backlinks,  optimise keywords, and  ride that wave of organic traffic. But the landscape in 2026 is going to change. Even today, more users are asking questions directly to applications powered by large language models: “Hey ChatGPT, what shoes should I buy for running in heat?” or “Copilot, how do I fix my kitchen sink leak?” No search result page, no list of tabs running, but a straight answer. This means a new frontier is emerging: SEO AI Optimisation. Clients often ask the digital marketing agency if they’ve ever hired one: “Does normal SEO still work?” “Should we partner with an AI SEO agency?” The answer is: yes, but it’s evolving. Two concepts sit at the heart of this shift: Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO). 1. Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO): Optimising for the AI Answer Imagine your content being pulled into a chat window o...