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THE SIGNAL - MAY 2026 AI

The AI stuff marketers can't ignore

with Wil Reynolds and Alisa Scharf

The hardest part of keeping up with AI isn't always keeping pace with the announcements and news and profound hacks that will "change your life". It's knowing what to react to, what to ignore, and whether any of it should change how you work today.

Wil & Alisa make that a little bit easier, with The Signal.

Missed the live session? Join us next month.

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47:36

Seer's AI "Need-To-Knows" for May 2026

1. AIO click-through rates are stabilizing. Cautiously embrace your new normal.

What's happening: After 18 months of decline, organic CTR on AI Overview queries rebounded from 1.3% to 2.4% between December 2025 and February 2026. But this aggregated data is directional, your numbers will look different.

What to do about it: Segment your own data and look at what your comparison and question-format pages are doing, because that's where 85–95% of the AIO action is. If getting that data means logging a ticket with your analyst, that mindset needs to evolve this year.

2. Brand recognition is now a search input. Your search team needs access to that data.

What's happening: About half of professionals include a brand name directly in their AI prompts, and 88% of users accept an AI shortlist without verifying elsewhere. If your brand isn't in the initial consideration set, you may never get a shot.

What to do about it: Find out how your organization measures brand strength. If nothing exists, use search data as a proxy: monthly branded search volume, paid impression trends. Your search marketers need access to this data, and right now, a lot of them don't have it.

3. The ultimate guide format is dying. Don't rewrite, test restructuring.

What's happening: Density is not moving the needle. The citation sweet spot is 500–2,000 words, and pages where 25–50% of headings are questions earn a 33% citation rate.

What to do about it: Audit your pages over 2,000 words with 20+ subheadings. Don't write new content. Take a sample of those pages, restructure them into focused single-question answers, and see if it changes your visibility.

4. Bing just gave you the AI search data Google hasn't. Don't wait.

What's happening: Bing Webmaster Tools now offers first-party AI search reporting, including the actual grounding queries that surfaced your content in Copilot. This is the data we've all been approximating with third-party tools.

What to do about it: If you're a B2B marketer, your audience is almost certainly on Copilot. This is a treasure trove. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools today, verify your domains, and don't wait for Google's version.

5. AI sentiment splits sharply between B2B and B2C. One message won't fit both.

What's happening: 58% of employees globally use AI at work semi-regularly and trust capability messaging. But 52% of consumers say AI products make them nervous. "AI-powered" copy without a clear user payoff doesn't just underperform in B2C, it backfires.

What to do about it: If you're marketing to consumers, make sure they understand what's in it for them and why they should trust how you're using it.

The Q&A Doesn't Stop When the Webinar Does

Alisa answered every question we couldn't get to live. Here's what she had to say.

Q: Are there any tools that can reasonably estimate or forecast a domain's AI visibility as well as competitor domains?
A: No, not yet. There's nothing available that can provide this level of forecasting reliably. That said, it's likely to exist in the future.

Q: Is a grounding query just ChatGPT running Google searches to check the top results?
A: The terms grounding queries and query fan-out can get conflated. The simplest way to think about it: the model has started to formulate a response and runs validating web searches to confirm that what it's about to deliver is as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

Q: If all you have is an AI visibility score in a tool like BrightEdge, are there proxies to make the business case for more resources?
A: This needs to be evangelized at the exec and senior leadership level, not found in performance marketing data. The case is really about the macro shift: people are changing how they discover information online, and if you want to keep acquiring customers through digital channels, your marketing resources and stack need to evolve with that.

Q: Didn't Rand & SparkToro's report show that prompt tracking was volatile?
A: Yes, prompt tracking is volatile and difficult. But the question is: what's the alternative? Until there's a reasonable one, prompt tracking is still very much worth doing.

Q: How do you prioritize which prompts to target, similar to how you'd use search volume and keyword difficulty in SEO?

A: Two angles. First, target prompts specific to your brand. There's a good starter set that follows an "insert your brand name here" prompt structure. Second, go directly to your audience. Use a tool like Outset to assign tasks: have real people search for your products, services, and brand and observe how they do it. Apply those learnings to your prompt research and repeat quarterly or twice a year at minimum. It's not a one-and-done exercise.

Q: What GEO tactics that work today could come back to bite us in a year or two?
A: Self-serving listicles. Or anything you're creating specifically to manipulate an algorithm. Even if the LLMs don't catch it, Google will. Validating web searches (grounding queries and query fan-out) are going to continue to be a major way these models check that they're surfacing the right information.

Q: What's the best way to shape content when AI search keeps changing the game?
A: Go straight to your audience. The people actually buying your products and services. Find out what they want and what they engage with. Moderated user research is extremely valuable here, and a tool like Outset makes that process easier. Also remember: content isn't just about acquiring new customers. Ask existing customers what content they need now, and what they wish they'd had when they were still evaluating you.

Q: We're investing heavily in AI content pipelines. With the changing SEO/GEO landscape, will this hurt our brand or site?
A: It depends entirely on how you're doing it. With unique data, unique insights, humans front and center, and a deep understanding of your audience, it's absolutely possible to use AI to create content no one could detect. It's also very easy to produce AI content that everyone can detect immediately. The difference is in how much you're adding to the inputs and how rigorously you're scrutinizing the outputs.

Q: Has AI search elevated the role of education in the funnel, starting with AI for discovery, then moving to brand-specific search?
A: Somewhat. Though it depends on your field. A lot of educational content that previously drove meaningful SEO traffic no longer has the same opportunity, because AI synthesizes and summarizes what's out there in a way that's easy to digest. For now: anything you're targeting with a content strategy should have a clear, realistic answer to how your audience is actually going to find it and what action they'll take when they do.

Q: How should experimenters think about optimizing now that users arrive to websites with more research already done. Converting and validating rather than journeying?
A: Worth validating through testing before drawing conclusions. Moderated user research is a strong use case here: assign people tasks that involve doing AI research first, then watch them hit your website and observe what they actually need. You can get strong strategic direction from as few as 10 people without a big budget. Given how much is in flux, testing at the smallest scale possible is generally the right approach.

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About the Speaker

Wil Reynolds

CEO, Seer Interactive

Wil has over 15 years of experience doing and talking about digital marketing. He loves to speak at conferences about the future of search. He also enjoys sharing his ideas and marketing insights with his 42K LinkedIn followers.

Alisa Scharf

Chief AI & Innovation Officer

Alisa Scharf has over a decade helping Seer clients and teams navigate the biggest shifts in digital marketing. She's a regular conference speaker on AI-driven search and the value of operationalizing AI within organizations.

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