In 2025, search marketing took a wild turn. AI, especially systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, moved from the sidelines to the heart of how people search online. Businesses started noticing that what worked last year wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Gen Z shoppers are turning to TikTok and Reddit before Google. Technical website issues suddenly matter more—especially with AI agents on the horizon. If you rely on search for customers, buckle up: 2026 is going to be even more unpredictable.
Key Takeaways
- AI search is disrupting everything—don’t get left behind
- Multi-channel search means customers hop across platforms before buying
- Technical SEO and content quality matter again (big time)
- AI agents and brand citations are shifting the rules
The Five Big Predictions for 2026
1. Search Is Multi-Channel: Google Isn’t Everything Anymore
- Customers search on Google, but now just as often on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, and AI bots.
- Gen Z leads the way: More than half use content platforms before Google.
- The research journey is like a pinball machine: someone might see a brand on Twitter, check reviews on YouTube, ask a question on ChatGPT, and buy from a Google search the next day.
- You don’t need unique content for every platform, but repurposing is your new best friend. A single blog post can become a YouTube script, LinkedIn snippet, TikTok clip, and more.
Simple Multi-Channel Content Repurposing Example:
| Source Content | Repurpose For | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Blog Post | YouTube video | Script/narration |
| YouTube video | Shorts/Reels | TikTok, LinkedIn |
| Q&A Article | Slides | Instagram Stories |
2. The Return of Technical SEO
- In 2026, technical SEO isn’t optional, especially for AI-powered platforms.
- Clean up those broken links, fix crawl errors, and wrap your head around schema (structured data) because AI needs clarity to reference your content.
- For smaller websites: do a quarterly technical audit. For big e-commerce? Weekly tune-ups.
- AI search engines and upcoming agent-style bots won’t try to work around your website issues—they’ll just ignore you.
Common Technical SEO Issues to Fix:
- Broken internal links
- Duplicate or thin content
- Site speed problems (shared hosting? Think again)
- Poorly structured data/schema
- Unfixed 404 errors
3. Agentic AI Will Matter (for the Big Fish First)
- AI agents (think ChatGPT’s agent mode) are coming, but the first to feel their impact are giant brands.
- Booking sites, big retailers, and aggregators must optimize for AI agents by making their websites crystal clear and error-free.
- These agents shop around and make choices for users—they won’t fight through bad UX or broken sites.
- Adoption will be slow at first, but when it takes off, it’ll snowball quickly.
Agent AI Optimization Checklist:
- Tighten up all technical SEO.
- Use structured data to make your products/services easy to find.
- Form key partnerships if you’re a bigger player (get your data integrated where possible).
4. Content Pruning Becomes Mandatory
- The last couple years caused a flood of junk AI content. Most of it offers zero value.
- 2026 will be the year of the cleanup. Sites will need to trim the flab and focus on content that actually serves a purpose.
- Don’t confuse pruning with creating endless micro-articles. Instead, focus on a handful of strong, well-organized pieces per main topic.
- Quality wins over quantity—especially if you want AI engines to reference your work.
Content Audit Table Example:
| Content Piece | Traffic | Engagement | Worth Keeping? | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old AI blog 1 | 5 | Low | No | Thin, duplicate |
| Key Guide | 2000 | Medium | Yes | Evergreen |
| “Ultimate List” | 150 | High | Revise | Needs updating |
5. Brand Citations Overtake Backlinks
- AI search systems care less about literal hyperlinks and more about whether your brand is mentioned, cited, or discussed in the right context.
- It’s about who’s talking about you—and how. Are you being referenced in reviews, comparisons, and news articles?
- Sure, backlinks still help, but broad digital PR (being talked about in lots of places, not just linked) is more valuable than ever.
Typical Winning Citation Sources:
- Comparison posts (“Best of” lists)
- Review articles and tech blogs
- Local or trade news stories
- Partner or charity features
If you want AI search systems and Google’s AI overviews to recommend you, your brand needs to be included—linked or not.
Table: Citation vs. Backlink Impact
| Type | AI Search Value | Traditional SEO Value |
|---|---|---|
| Citation | High | Medium |
| Backlink | Medium | High |
Budget & Tracking Advice for 2026
Dedicate Budget to AI Search:
- Big companies are already experimenting and allocating resources to AI-focused search optimization. It’s time to create an "experimental" slice of your own budget for this.
How To Track AI Traffic:
- Use Google Analytics or Looker Studio to monitor referral traffic from AI platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini).
- Use CRM self-attribution fields (“Where did you hear about us?”) so you actually know if someone found you through an AI search.
Recommendations for 2026 Search Marketers
- Embrace Multi-Channel Search: Focus where your audience actually hunts for answers, not just where you hope they are.
- Get Your Tech in Order: Fix site errors and invest in structured data—it’s worth it for AI and SEO.
- Prioritize Digital PR over chasing plain backlinks: relationships and citations matter more than ever.
- Prune old, useless content: Quality wins. Evaluate, cut, and revise.
- Measure what matters: Track sources wherever possible and ask new customers how they found you.
Heading into 2026, things in search are unpredictable. But if you pay attention to where your audience is, keep your house (website) in order, and make sure people talk about you in the right context, you’ll be in a strong spot—no matter what AI changes next.
Rodney Laws is an ecommerce expert with over a decade of experience helping entrepreneurs build and grow online businesses. He specializes in reviewing ecommerce platforms, optimizing user experience, and guiding brands toward higher conversions. His insights have been published on leading industry sites including UsabilityGeek, G2, Spendesk, and PPC Hero.
As the editor at EcommercePlatforms.io, Rodney combines hands-on knowledge with clear, actionable advice to help business owners choose the right tools and strategies. When he’s not testing the latest software or analyzing trends, he’s sharing practical tips that make complex ecommerce decisions simple.
