SEO & AI Monthly Industry Update

Industry Update

Search continues to change fast. Google’s AI Overviews are reshaping visibility, businesses are racing to invest in AI SEO, and large language models are starting to influence conversions and commerce directly. Here’s what you need to know this month.

Google AI Overviews Are Changing Search Traffic

What’s happening
AI Overviews now show up in around 50% of all Google searches and nearly 90% of informational queries. These summaries often appear above normal results and answer the user’s question directly.

Most citations come from Wikipedia, YouTube, Reddit, Amazon, and other Google pages. Even though Wikipedia appears in over 11% of Overviews, it has still lost about 8% of its traffic since the feature launched.

News sites have been hit hardest, seeing up to 55% fewer clicks. The click-through rate for the top result drops by 34% when an AI Overview appears.

Why it matters
People are finding what they need without visiting websites. If your content doesn’t appear in the Overview, users may never see your brand at all. This means ranking first is not enough to stay visible.

What you can do:

• Identify which of your topics are triggering AI Overviews.
• Review top-performing pages to ensure they are clear, factual, and structured.
• Use Prism by Fingo to measure how your brand is cited across AI Overviews and LLMs, and compare how often competitors are chosen in AI results.

Businesses Are Increasing AI SEO Spend

What’s happening
A new survey shows 90% of businesses are worried about losing visibility as AI search grows.
Almost 86% are already investing in AI-focused SEO, and over 60% plan to increase their spending this year.

Why it matters
More investment means more competition. As businesses optimise for AI, search results will become more unstable. Those who delay risk losing ground to competitors who act faster.

What you can do:

• Partner with Fingo to align your SEO and AI strategy with market trends and avoid falling behind faster-moving competitors.
• Keep your SEO investment in line with market trends.
• Build strategies for both search engines and AI systems.
• Focus on content quality, structured data, and consistent updates.

Traffic from AI Tools Converts Differently

What’s happening
A new study shows that referral traffic from ChatGPT converts at lower rates than every major traffic source except paid social.

Google Search still delivers the most conversions overall. That said, conversion rates and revenue per session from ChatGPT are both improving. The average order value, however, is falling, meaning more users are buying but spending less per purchase.

Why it matters
This shows that users are beginning to act on AI-driven recommendations, but their intent is still lower than that of traditional search users. ChatGPT is influencing early purchase decisions, not closing them.

As AI assistants integrate shopping and product cards, this behaviour will likely shift further, making AI visibility an awareness and persuasion channel, not just a research touchpoint.

What you can do:

• Request Fingo helps to analyse your AI referral traffic and strengthen the user journey so low-intent visits convert at a higher rate.
• Track traffic and conversions from AI referrals separately from other channels.
• Optimise AI-facing content to educate and build trust, not just push sales.
• Strengthen post-click journeys to turn low-intent visits into high-quality leads.
• Use structured data and clear product information to improve how AI tools present your brand in shopping and search results.

ChatGPT Shopping Is Now Live

What’s happening
ChatGPT has added shopping features that let users browse and buy products without leaving the chat. Product cards appear directly in conversations, and users can check out instantly or visit the product page.

Although these sessions are still less than 1% of traffic, they convert at almost 16%, compared to 1.8% for traditional search.

Why it matters
This marks the start of AI-driven commerce. As users grow comfortable buying directly in chat tools, e-commerce brands need to prepare for this new channel.

What you can do:

• Let Fingo review your product data, schema, and descriptions to improve how AI tools present your products in shopping results.
• Make sure your product data is accurate and uses structured markup.
• Include clear titles, pricing, and high-quality images.
• Optimise descriptions for natural, conversational language.
  

Google Is Testing AI-Written Meta Descriptions

What’s happening
Google is experimenting with AI-generated summaries to replace written meta descriptions. The AI uses on-page content to describe the page in search results.

Why it matters
This could improve visibility for pages with missing or weak metadata. But it also risks misrepresenting pages if the AI misunderstands the content.

What you can do:

• Ask Fingo to audit your metadata and page content to ensure AI summarises your pages correctly.
• Keep writing strong, clear meta descriptions manually.
• Ensure your page content matches the message and keywords in your metadata.
• Regularly review how your pages appear in search results.
  

Bing Reintroduces “Places for Business”

What’s happening
Bing has relaunched its version of Google Business Profile, called Bing Places for Business (BPFB). You can now import data directly from Google Business Profile.

Why it matters
Bing still holds a larger search share than AI tools, and many AI systems use Bing data to generate answers. Inconsistent information between GBP and BPFB can confuse both users and AI systems.

What you can do:

• Allow our visibility team to sync your Google and Bing business listings.
• Check that your contact details, hours, and categories match.
• If Fingo manages your local SEO profile, this update will be handled for you.
  

Google’s October Ranking Outage

What’s happening
Between late September and early October, Google experienced technical issues with its ranking systems. These were resolved on 3rd October but caused temporary drops in visibility for some sites.

Why it matters
Algorithm updates and outages can happen without warning. This underlines the need for a diverse keyword targeting strategy to mitigate the effects of algorithmic or technical disruptions.

What you can do:

• Collaborate with Fingo to expand your keyword coverage and mitigate the effects of ranking instability.
• Diversify the topics and keywords your site targets.
• Build steady visibility through ongoing SEO and fresh content.
• Monitor ranking stability to spot sudden changes early.
  

Google Expands Virtual Try-On

What’s happening
Google’s Virtual Try-On feature, which shows how clothes look on users, is now live in the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan. Users can upload a photo and see how an item might look on them.

Early data shows users are 41% more likely to buy after using Try-On. Augmented reality (AR) ads also outperform static ads by 94%.

Why it matters
Visual commerce is growing fast. Brands that optimise product data and imagery for these formats gain an advantage in both visibility and conversions.

What you can do:

• Use a complete product schema and multiple image angles.
• Add clear sizing and product information.
• Test AR ad formats if you run e-commerce campaigns.
• Talk to us to optimise your schema, images, and product information for visual commerce performance.
  

AI Is Expanding “People Also Ask” and Voice Search

What’s happening
AI-generated “People Also Ask” results have nearly doubled in three months. Google has also announced a major update to voice search, making it more conversational.

Why it matters
Search is becoming more interactive. AI is starting to shape not only what appears on the results page but also how users ask follow-up questions.

What you can do:

• Write content that answers questions directly and clearly.
• Include short, factual explanations that can be used in AI responses.
• Use Prism by Fingo to track whether your brand is being cited in AI-generated results.
  

Final Thought

Search visibility now depends on more than rankings. AI Overviews, voice search, and conversational tools are changing how users find and trust brands.

To stay seen, you need to understand how both search engines and AI systems represent your brand.

Prism by Fingo helps track where your business appears, how it’s being cited, and what AI is saying about you.

See what AI sees. 

Contact us today about Prism at hello@fingo.uk