TL;DR: The future of SEO is being rewritten by AI. For the next 12-24 months, five key trends will define success: 1) AI Overviews will dominate SERPs, shifting the goal from ranking to being cited. 2) LLM Adoption will continue to fragment the search market, requiring a multi-platform presence. 3) User-Generated Content is becoming a primary source of trust for both users and AI. 4) AI Tools will become indispensable co-pilots for every SEO workflow. 5) E-E-A-T and Brand Signals are now the ultimate defense against algorithm changes and the key to AI visibility.
The ground is shifting beneath the feet of every marketer who relies on search. The comfortable, predictable world of keywords and rankings is being rapidly reshaped by artificial intelligence, leaving many businesses scrambling to adapt.
James here, CEO of Mercury Technology Solutions.
The future of SEO is no longer a distant concept; it's a present-day reality. To stay ahead, you don't need to predict the future, but you do need to understand the powerful trends that are defining it. Based on the latest data and our own work with clients, here are the five most important SEO trends that will dominate the next 12-24 months.
1. AI Overviews Will Dominate the SERP, Shifting the Goal from Ranking to Citation
Google's AI Overviews are the most significant change to the search results page in a decade. These AI-generated summaries appear at the top of the SERP, providing direct answers and often reducing the need for users to click on traditional blue links.
- The Data: The percentage of queries that trigger an AI Overview has fluctuated, from as high as 84% during initial testing to a more stable figure as Google refines its output. As Christine L. Brady, Senior SEO Manager at Remote, notes, "AI-driven summaries now occupy a substantial portion of the SERP... achieving visibility within these AI-generated summaries will become increasingly critical."
- The Strategic Shift: This trend marks the end of the "rank #1 at all costs" era. The new primary goal is to have your content and brand cited as a source within the AI Overview. This requires a move toward creating deeply authoritative "Answer Assets" with clear, quotable information that an AI can easily lift and reference.
2. The Search Market Will Fragment Between LLMs and AI-Augmented Search
For the first time since 2015, Google’s traditional search market share has dipped below 90%. This doesn't even account for the rapid rise of two distinct types of AI search alternatives.
- LLM Search (e.g., ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini): These platforms were not built as search engines but are used for search. They often work off static training data and may not include citations by default. Users seek them out for a more interactive, conversational experience.
- AI-Augmented Search (e.g., Perplexity, Google AI Overviews): These tools are purpose-built for search, have real-time access to indexed information, and include citations by default. Users encounter them within their normal search behavior.
- The User Behavior Shift: The user journey is fracturing. Some users are actively choosing conversational LLMs, while others are encountering AI summaries within their traditional search workflow.
- The Strategic Shift: You can no longer afford a Google-only strategy. Your brand needs to be visible across both types of platforms. This means expanding your authority-building efforts beyond your own website to the platforms that feed these systems. It’s a move from pure SEO to SEvO (Search Everywhere Optimization).
3. Search Engines and AI Will Increasingly Reward User-Generated Content
In a world increasingly flooded with AI-generated content, both users and search algorithms are placing a premium on authenticity. This has led to a massive surge in the visibility of user-generated content (UGC) platforms.
- The Data: Since June 2023, Reddit’s organic traffic has grown by a staggering 603%, while Quora’s has surged by 379%. People want real-life insights from real people, and AI models are learning to trust these platforms as sources of genuine experience.
- The Strategic Shift: Your brand must participate in these communities. This isn't about spamming links; it's about building a genuine presence and demonstrating your expertise where your customers are having conversations. A single, insightful comment on a relevant Reddit thread can become a powerful signal of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) that both users and AI will notice.
4. AI Tools Will Become a Standard Co-Pilot for Every SEO Workflow
AI is no longer a novelty; it's an essential part of the modern SEO toolkit. The efficiency gains are too significant to ignore.
- The Data: 86% of SEO professionals now use AI in their workflows, saving an average of 12.5 hours per week. A recent study found that AI-assisted content performs almost identically to human-written content in search rankings, proving its viability when paired with human editing and strategy.
- The Strategic Shift: The question is no longer if you should use AI, but how. The most effective teams are using AI not to replace human strategists, but to augment their capabilities. Use AI as a co-pilot for time-consuming tasks like initial research, data compilation, and content summarization. This frees up your human talent to focus on the high-level strategy, original insights, and creative thinking that AI cannot replicate.
5. E-E-A-T and Brand Signals Will Become Your Ultimate Defense
As AI makes it easier to produce content at scale, Google is doubling down on the one thing that can't be easily faked: genuine brand authority. Strong E-E-A-T and brand signals are no longer just "good for SEO"; they are your last layer of defense and your best offense.
- The Insight: As KW Chan, our SEO Team Lead, notes, "In 2026, we predict that off-Google brand signals, like the sentiment in niche community threads, will carry as much weight for AI Overviews as many traditional on-page factors. The 'brand' itself is becoming a ranking factor."
- The Strategic Shift: You must invest in building a brand that exists beyond Google. A strong presence on social media, a popular YouTube channel, or a well-regarded industry event all contribute to your brand's authority. These off-Google signals reinforce your E-E-A-T and increase the likelihood that you will be treated as a trusted source by both Google's traditional algorithm and its new AI Overviews.
Your Strategic Roadmap: How to Prioritize These Trends
Feeling overwhelmed? Here’s a simple framework for phasing your efforts.
- Foundational (Do This Now):
- Double down on E-E-A-T & Brand Signals. This is the non-negotiable foundation for everything else.
- Integrate AI Tools into your existing workflows to create efficiency and free up strategic time.
- Strategic (Next 6-12 Months):
- Begin creating dedicated "Answer Assets" specifically designed for citation in AI Overviews.
- Develop a genuine UGC engagement plan for platforms like Reddit or Quora.
- Advanced (Long-Term Vision):
- Implement a full, multi-platform SEVO strategy to build a durable presence across the entire fragmented search market.
Conclusion: The Future is an Integrated Strategy
These trends are not separate phenomena; they are interconnected pieces of the same puzzle. The rise of AI Overviews necessitates a focus on E-E-A-T. The fragmentation of search requires an investment in building a brand that is recognized everywhere. And the surge in AI content makes authentic user-generated signals more valuable than ever.
The most successful SEO strategies in the coming years will not chase a single trend, but will instead build a resilient, integrated system that balances the power of AI with a relentless focus on human value and trust.
