Are AI searches killing the need for automotive SEO?

Automotive SEO is at an important crossroad with the rapid rise of AI engines, such as ChatGPT, which have profoundly changed the way people search online. 

In fact, ChatGPT is now second only to Google for website referral traffic for some automotive-related businesses, meaning more traffic could be coming from an AI query rather than from social media.  

Where a Google search presents a list of possible websites that could be relevant to you query based on keywords, AI can offer detailed advice, recommendations and insight in a conversational style. This means users may never even have to click on a website link to get their answer – pushing click through rates (CTRs) off a cliff for businesses. 

However, this by no means heralds the demise of traditional SEO and the importance of links, which is still incredibly important, but is a golden opportunity to embrace this fundamental shift to a more personalised approach, while complementing proven SEO methods. 

Why is SEO relevant? 

By its very nature, SEO content is optimised for search engines, helping pages rank highly based on original content, relevant backlinks and keyword targeting. By ranking high in the search engine, companies have a much better chance of engagement, as they are likely to appear on page one of a search engine, a page that most people don’t go beyond to get to a chosen website. 

The higher the ranking in Google’s top 10 links, the greater change your link will appear in AI search results (source: ZipTie).  

Indeed, ranking at number one on Google’s traditional results means a one-in-four chance of being used as a source in AI overviews, clearly demonstrating that SEO still has a vital role to play for automotive organisations. 

But AI adoption is now changing user behaviours, meaning the approach to optimising content cannot stay the same. 

How is AI changing in automotive SEO? 

Fundamentally, the way people ask questions and find information online is shifting, becoming more specific in what is being requested, while also being less formal. 

Previously, it might have been a shortail keyword term such as ‘tyres Leamington Spa’, giving a search engine clear keywords to use to find links that might be relevant. Depending on the term, this could be quite competitive with websites trying to rank for it with their SEO content. 

A longtail term could be more specific, such as ‘best tyres for a BMW in Leamington Spa’, but could still be competitive from an SEO perspective. 

Now, with AI searches, a user looking for information can add lots of specific criteria that would be difficult to refine from Google, such as ‘who are the best tyre retailers in Leamington Spa for a BMW, with a minimum 4-star rating, who are open late and supply winter tyres?’ 

A specific website would probably never try to rank for this term as it is too specific, so a search engine may struggle to offer an option that fulfils the request, but AI can scape many websites to offer not only an answer to this search, but advice and recommendations.  

User expectations are changing from just receiving a list of links of potentially relevant suggestions, to now having conversations with an AI engine that can understand the nuance of what you are looking for, and offer a recommendation or advice – as well as a reason why.  

This means companies will need to adapt their content so it matches the way users are asking their questions. But how do they do this?  

Stay ahead of the game with automotive SEO and AI engines 

The good news is that traditional SEO can be interwoven for AI use, such as by creating content with real value that is backed up by exclusive data and unique research. 

AI, just like SEO, rewards this approach as it provides insight that is informative and genuinely useful. 

Ways to generate interesting, unique or valuable content includes conducting surveys on hot topics, a tactic that Red Marlin has successfully employed for a number of clients. This also can offer valuable online media exposure, which offers a third-party referral to your website, boosting SEO. 

Additionally, AI looks for current information to help create its recommendations, making it important to produce regular, and up to date, material. 

Ultimately, companies need to build credibility and authority in their content, rather than just meeting key word requirements. Credibility means ensuring your content is real and has human insight. 

The importance of the human touch 

The positive news is that AI engines don’t want dull, regurgitated content. 

This provides a goldmine of opportunity for unique content written by actual humans. AI models that use large language models (LLMs) train their algorithms using huge sets of data and text. The model prioritises ‘real content’, not AI-generated content, as its goal is to mimic and show an understanding of human language.  

However, to achieve this goal it can often hallucinate (offering incorrect or out of date information) to ensure it offers an answer – even if it is not a credible one, emphasising the importance of the role of a human in the process to check and refine. 

Also, with the mass adoption of AI to generate content, there are often tell-tale signs that a human has not been involved in the final product, such as cliché phrasing or overuse of capital letters. 

So, while AI is improving, it’s a very long way from being able to replicate content which has human nuances, so producing content with these subtle differences will be recognised by AI engines, and subsequently rewarded. 

Online search is always changing – and so should you 

As recently explored by Red Marlin account manager Joe Slinn in his post ‘How my time in digital PR taught me where automotive SEO is heading next’, the rapid pace of change in consumer behaviour and search technology is unrelenting. 

SEO remains a vitally important factor. While AI engines have shifted the way content is written and restructured, it still rewards good quality, valuable and credible content. 

This is a rapidly changing area, and something automotive companies and digital marketing professionals will need to be open to continuously learning about as it evolves. We need to be prepared that audiences will change their behaviours in how they access information, and will expect a much more personalised and elevated level of advice to their specific query.  

Partnering with the experts for automotive SEO 

Therefore, working with an experienced PR partner will prove invaluable to stay ahead of the competition, whether it’s for SEO or content ideas optimised for AI engines. For more information about Red Marlin and how we support automotive-related companies, contact the Red Marlin team here.