90% of businesses fear losing SEO visibility as AI reshapes search

Nearly 90% of businesses are worried about losing organic visibility as AI transforms how people find information, according to a new survey by Ann Smarty.

Why we care. The shift from search results to AI-generated answers seems to be happening faster than many expected, threatening the foundation of how companies are found online and drive sales. AI is changing the customer journey and forcing an SEO evolution.

By the numbers. Most prefer to keep the “SEO” label – with “SEO for AI” (49%) and “GEO” (41%) emerging as leading terms for this new discipline.

• 87.8% of businesses said they’re worried about their online findability in the AI era.
• 85.7% are already investing or plan to invest in AI/LLM optimization.
• 61.2% plan to increase their SEO budgets due to AI.

Brand over clicks. Three in four businesses (75.5%) said their top priority is brand visibility in AI-generated answers – even when there’s no link back to their site.

• Just 14.3% prioritize being cited as a source (which could drive traffic).
• A small group said they need both.

Top concerns. “Not being able to get my business found online” ranked as the biggest fear, followed by the total loss of organic search and loss of traffic attribution.

About the survey. Smarty surveyed 300+ in-house marketers and business owners, mostly from medium and enterprise companies, with nearly half representing ecommerce brands.

Yes, but. While AI search is booming, multiple studies suggest that ChatGPT and LLM referrals convert worse than Google Search – and AI systems won’t have parity with organic search within the next year.

The survey. SEO for AI (GEO) Statistics: 90% of Businesses Are Worried About the Future of SEO and Organic Findability Due to AI / LLMs