Search isn’t dead. It’s alive and more complex than ever. Together’s senior activation director Charlotte Lobo question for marketers is this: will AI cite your brand in its answer?
If you’ve scrolled LinkedIn lately, you’ve probably seen bold claims that SEO is dead, Google is finished, or ChatGPT has become the new homepage. They make great headlines, but the reality is more nuanced.
Search isn’t dead. In fact, it’s more alive and complex than ever. What is changing is how people search and how answers are delivered. With AI-powered generative engine optimisation (GEO) in play, SEO has outgrown its “10 blue links” roots. The new question for marketers is: will AI cite your brand in its answer?
At Together, we’re seeing this shift in the data we track for New Zealand brands. Search queries are surging, up 74% year-on-year across our clients, with longer, more conversational queries rising 66%.
At the same time, discovery platforms are fragmenting. Nearly 40% of Kiwis have already tried an AI chatbot for search (IAB NZ, 2024), while TikTok and Instagram are fast becoming starting points for product discovery and answers, especially among younger audiences.
Today’s consumer answer journey is now anything but linear. It’s an interwoven web of Google, AI and social touchpoints.
The zero-click challenge
With Google’s AI Overviews rolling out locally, behaviours are rapidly adapting. Early data suggests 58.5% of searches now end without a click, as AI serves the answer directly. For Kiwi brands, the battleground is no longer “are you on page one?” but “is your brand the answer AI is serving?”
At Together, we’re helping clients prepare now. Waiting for traffic to fall isn’t a strategy. Early movers can win by shaping their content so AI can trust, cite and recommend it.
Enter GEO: generative engine optimisation
GEO isn’t just a buzzword. Think of it like the natural evolution of SEO for an AI-first world. The shift can be summarised in three ways:
- From keywords to entities and topics. Position your brand as an authority.
- From backlinks to citations. Secure visibility inside AI-generated answers.
- From page rank to trust and trainability. Prove your content is safe, accurate and authoritative.
Together’s GEO audit framework is already helping client partners understand where they appear in AI-driven results, and how to adapt content, schema and authority signals to boost visibility in this fragmented but important space.
The bottom line
Generative search isn’t killing SEO, but it’s renewing and rewriting it. At Together, we see GEO as a test-and-learn environment, not a quick instant win today.
However, one thing is clear: the brands that prepare now will be best positioned to win tomorrow.
What marketers should do now
- Audit your visibility. Do AI models find and cite your content?
- Diversify discovery points. GEO draws from websites, socials and more.
- Invest in authority. Consistency across platforms strengthens trust.
- Optimise FAQs and schema. Make your content machine-readable.
- Monitor and adapt. GEO is evolving quickly – constant visibility checks are essential.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 85, Dec 2025-Feb 2026. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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