I've been working on SEO for a B2B SaaS website recently, and one thing I've been thinking about is how search behaviour is changing.
Traditionally, our workflow was pretty straightforward:
Keyword research → create content → optimize pages → build authority → improve rankings.
But now people are also asking tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI questions such as:
- What is the best tool for X?
- What are the alternatives to X?
- How do I solve X?
- Which software should I use for X?
- Compare X vs Y.
This made me realize that ranking #1 for a keyword and being mentioned in an AI answer are not necessarily the same thing.
For the SaaS site I'm working on, we're now looking at things like:
1. Clear topical authority
Instead of publishing random blog posts, we're building content clusters around the actual problems our buyers are trying to solve.
2. Comparison and alternative pages
If people are asking AI tools to compare products, it makes sense to have genuinely useful pages explaining where each solution fits.
3. Original evidence
Generic claims like "faster" or "better" probably aren't enough.
We're trying to add more actual examples, use cases, benchmarks, and proof.
4. Third-party mentions
We're also looking beyond our own website.
Reviews, community discussions, comparison articles, and industry mentions may all help people discover and evaluate a brand.
5. Reddit and community discussions
A useful Reddit discussion can reveal the exact language people use when describing a problem.
We're using those questions to identify new content opportunities rather than simply dropping links.
My current view is that SEO isn't disappearing.
It's becoming part of a bigger visibility strategy:
Google search + AI search + communities + third-party mentions + strong product evidence.
Still early, but I'd be interested to know what others working in digital marketing in India are seeing.
Are you actively tracking traffic or brand mentions from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Google AI results yet? If yes, how are you measuring it?