AI SEO in 2025: Optimizing for LLMs & AI Overviews | ResultFirst

AI Search Optimization in 2025: SEO/GEO for AI Overviews & LLMs

AI is taking every industry by storm. It is also changing the core aspect of the internet, which is searching for information.

  • Gen AI usage among business leaders has seen an uplift from 55% to 75% in the past year.
  • The AI market worldwide is expected to grow by 38% in 2025.

Back in the days of the early search engines, SEO was just about putting in keywords everywhere, getting a lot of links, and just writing content that search engines liked. But times have changed.

This era is about a new player in the game who has become the most important factor to factor in while writing content: AI-driven search.

The kind of AI I am talking about is the one that pops up on searches as AI overviews. Another one like large language models (LLMs) answering questions before you take a look at other results. And search engines are slowly incorporating a human-like bot that talks with flair.

This means that if you’re still trying to just show up on the results page of search engines, then you’re using very old strategies. Times have changed. And AI Search Optimization is all the rage now.

What’s that? It’s a blend of SEO and GEO strategies, and knowing how to structure your words to appeal to AI’s hungry search.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Google Search Generative Experience (SGE), OpenAI’s ChatGPT version of search, or even the Bing’s AI summaries. Any of these and others still require the content you put out to give AI the factors it likes. And not forgetting the humans as well.

So, in this write-up, I’ll talk about what happened these past few years, what all the current strategies are, and how you can stay ahead of the game. Strap in, because we’re in for a ride.

Understanding AI Search in 2025

Search action has changed from dependence on keywords to understanding and resolving users’ intent. More advanced models, such as those utilized by Google, Bing, and Perplexity, interpret natural queries, identify their context, and work to conform to user aims.

AI overviews, which are concise and informative summaries presented at the top of search results, offer quick answers, reducing the need to navigate many links. Consequently, the optimization strategies must now focus on semantic relevance and as a value to the users.

Key Players in AI Search

  • Google: It includes AI Overviews and provides multimodal search functions, such as text-based, image-based, and voice-based input, in its services.
  • Bing: Uses LLMs to provide natural conversation-like answers and enhance image-based search functionalities.
  • Perplexity: Specializes in providing answers to research-based questions, while ensuring that the sources are provided and that the answers are transparent.
  • Emerging Platforms: Innovative search platforms are introduced through companies like You.com and xAI’s Grok, which can be found at grok.com and X.

Technical Foundations

AI search relies on:

  • Natural Language Processing (NLP): Large Language Models understand the intent of user queries, find relevant synonyms, and extract key entities such as people, places, and things.
  • Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) connects trained models with current information to provide accurate, timely responses.
  • Multimodal Search: This type of search handles text, visual, and audio-based input so that users can experience a higher level of immersion.

User Behavior Shifts

By 2025, users expect faster, personalized, and interactive responses. Voice Search usage is increasing steadily; nearly half of all searches use voice (research states), and mobile-first interfaces are the norm. Such readjustment is necessary for search engines to remain visible.

LLM SEO – Optimizing Content for AI Understanding

LLMs are keen on understanding the message of content, not per se the number of keywords. Well-ranked content is brief and authoritative and answers what people are seeking. This is what LLM SEO means.

How LLMs Process Content

  • Semantic Analysis: LLMs deduce main topics, entities, and relationships among them from content analysis.
  • Contextual Relevance: They are interested in assessing content’s ability to answer user questions, with a priority on well-structured, informative pages.
  • Entity Recognition: Large Language Models identify and include information about entities such as “Tesla” and “Elon Musk,” and their attributes.

Steps for LLM Optimization

  • Implement Structured Data Markup

By using Schema.org conventions, specify details of the article, FAQ, and product.

{

“@context”: “https://schema.org”,

“@type”: “Article”,

“headline”: “AI Search in 2025”,

“author”: {

“@type”: “Person”,

“name”: “Jane Doe”

},

“datePublished”: “2025-05-09”

}

Why: LLM SEO is helping them understand content structure and context.

  • Write Natural Language Content

Publish compelling content in a conversational format, starting with questions such as “What is AI search?”. Avoid jargon and prioritize clarity.

Tip: Please test your content’s readability using tools like Grammarly (you aim for a higher than 60 Flesch score).

  • Optimize Entities

Schedule key entities throughout your site, such as linking to a pillar page when using “AI Search.” Check that Google lists the entities you use as references using Wikidata or Google Knowledge Graph.

Example: To optimize a travel site, use the metadata for “Paris” to indicate the location, main attractions, and historical background.

  • Build Topic Clusters

Create a main page such as “AI Search Guide,” and ensure that it is connected to subsidiary topics such as “LLM GEO” and “AI Overviews”.

How: Link internally in various articles to add depth to your content concerning particular topics.

  • Ensure Content Depth

Shoot for an article word count of 1,500+ for deep topics, giving a comprehensive answer to every query aspect. Present facts, examples, and professionals’ opinions.

Example: The ‘AI Search Trends’ story could be based on a 2025 SEMrush report exploring the spread of voice search technologies.

Strengthen E-E-A-T Signals

  • Underline the credentials of your authors (”Jane Doe has over 10 years of SEO experience”).
  • Use credible sites like .edu, .gov sites, or industry reports.
  • Get high-value backlinks using guest posting options or by building proper relationships with the trusted sites via outreach.

SEO for LLMs: Think Like a Machine (But Write for Humans)

  1. Be Clear, Not Clever

There’s nothing more attractive to LLMs than the fact that the content is clear. What does this mean? Clean headings, logical flow, and writing that doesn’t beat around the bush regarding answers. And no fluff.

  1. Answer the Question—Then Go Deeper

If a user searches for something in particular, the answer to the user’s queries is provided in the first few sentences. Don’t ever start with fluff. Then, you can talk about the why, the how, and other things.

  1. Structure Like a Nerd

Make use of headers in your content like H2, H3, etc. Bullet points? Yes. Tables? Even better. AI engines like structure. Why? Because the AI finds it easier to understand and pull the content it needs for its summaries.

Local SEO Becomes GEO-AI

Now let’s talk about local search. You thought optimizing for “near me” was hard before? Try doing it when AI overviews are trying to summarize what’s near a user in real time.

Geo-optimization in 2025 means:

  • Using hyper-local landmarks and references (think “near Fenway Park” instead of just “Boston”)
  • Adding structured data for your business (address, hours, menus, reviews)
  • Creating location-based FAQs like “Do you offer same-day service in Atlanta?”

Why? Because LLMs parse location data to serve better answers. If you’re not explicitly stating your turf, you’re not showing up in AI overviews or voice search results.

Technical Considerations

  • Mobile-First Indexing: Ensure responsive design (test via Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test)
  • Page Speed: Achieve load times <2 seconds using tools like PageSpeed Insights. Compress images and minify CSS/JS
  • Security: Use HTTPS and secure protocols to build trust

GEO for AI Overviews – Getting Featured in Summaries

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that dominate search results, pulling from high-quality sources. GEO focuses on optimizing the content that appears in these snippets, like Google AI Overview.

Pay for Perfomance Seo

How AI Overviews Work

  • Aggregation: A consolidating function of AI accesses data from several sources, and only high-quality, up-to-date information is used.
  • Conciseness: Overviews prioritize efficient, clear answers within a 100-200-word word count.
  • Real-Time Data: RAG ensures fresh, accurate information.

Steps for GEO

  • Answer User Intent Directly

Write headings for distinct issues (i.e., “Why should you optimize for AI Overviews?”). Give responses to “who, what, where, when, why, how” questions about the subject.

Example: A question like this, “Best SEO tools 2025,” should be answered by starting with something like: “Top SEO tools in 2025 are SEM”

  • Include Concise Summaries

Begin the article with a brief (<150 words) synopsis of the major topics.

Example: “Find out how AI search will be in 2025 and LLM SEO and GEO for AI Overviews in our guide.” Find good methods such as structured data, entity optimisation and FAQ sections to increase visibility.

  • Create FAQ Sections

Provide simple answers to common questions in one to two sentences.

Example:

Q: How does AI Overviews influence SEO?

A: AI Overviews are focused on the contributions of a succinct and reliable piece of information that leads to the utilisation of GEO technicals like structured data and well-articulated answers.

  • Use Visual Aids

Augment your guide with charts and tables, and ensure clear alt text descriptions for better SEO and accessibility.

Example: Design a table on SEO tools by features, price, and AI capabilities (features column, price column, and AI capabilities column).

Tip: Use Canva to design and compress images using TinyPNG.

  • Cite Authoritative Sources

Refer to reliable sources such as Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines or a 2025 report from Moz. Sony includes hyperlinked references to original sources to demonstrate transparency.

Why: Increases credibility and improves the chance of being featured in snippets.

  • Keep Content Fresh

Update articles often every three months to include advances in 2025, like new AI searching capabilities. Indicate the content’s recency by including a date that shows when it was last updated.

Tip: Use Google Trends to glean rapidly increasing search interests.

  • Optimize for Voice Search

Use sentence-like familiar conversational sentences (e.g., ‘What are the leading SEO approaches for AI-based search in 2025?’).

How: Speak the content at hand through Siri, Alexa, or other digital assistants to test it out.

Technical Tips

  • Featured Snippets: Organize your response in concise paragraphs (40-60 words), bullet points, or tables to optimize snippet appearance, particularly in AI Overviews.
  • JSON-LD: Use JSON-LD to present structured information for quicker data extraction than microdata.
  • Monitoring: Monitor your AI Overviews’ online presence using tools such as SEMrush’s Position Tracking or Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker.

Example: AI Overview-Optimized Snippet

Query: “Strategies for maximizing your content in AI search engines”.

Optimized Content:

In 2025, the SEO strategies/issues/techniques are AI search optimization and using GEO for AI Overviews for large language models. Use structured data like Schema.org, create naturally conversational text, and include FAQ sections. In AI overviews, make summaries terse and support assertions with credible references. Updating your content regularly and making your site mobile-friendly will increase the possibility of you being listed for AI Overviews.

Result: High probability to appear in AI Overviews due to the clear and stylish structure of the article.

GEO SEO in 2025: It’s Not Just Maps Anymore

Local search traditionally focused on “near me” searches and Google Business listings. In 2025, it’s deeper. GEO is emerging as an important contextual layer that LLMs rely on when producing summaries and answers from voice assistants.

Do you want your business or blog indexed in local AI overviews? You’ll need to:

  • Use Local Keywords

Include city names, local terminology, and slang such as “Silicon Slopes”, a term for Utah’s tech hub.

  • Add Local Context

If your article is related to dog training in Denver, give weather advice on snow, mention vital city regulations, or describe the top dog parks (Berkeley Lake).

  • Write Geo-FAQs

Include location-based questions like:

  1. Do you offer plumbing for the residents of Queens?
  2. Which spots are the best for romantic evenings in South Austin?
  • Mark Up Local Data

Include relevant schema.org data, such as your address, service coverage, business hours, and customer ratings. AI platforms use this information to augment their summary data.

Multimodal Search Optimization

Multimodal search integrates both text and images with voice inputs, which rests to the needs of users to search differently.

Actionable Steps

Optimize Images

  • Use descriptive filenames (e.g., “ai-search-trends-2025.jpg”).
  • Add an alternative text to images like “AI search trends chart in 2025”.
  • Include captions for context.
  • Tool: Use Squoosh for image compression.

Create Video Content

  • Develop short (2-5 minute) video clips that answer common questions.
  • Caption and video schema markup should be included.
  • Example: Create an “SEO for AI Search” video with chapters to make it seem like browsing a textbook.

Optimize for Voice Search

  • Speak to specific long-tail keywords, for example, “How do I optimize my website for AI search in 2025?”, to target intent.
  • Your copy shouldn’t be too formal, and you can utilize local keywords such as “SEO services near me”.
  • Tip: Test with Google Assistant.

Enhance Local SEO

  • Keep Google Business Profile consistent by having the Name, Address, and Phone one.
  • Get local citations by attaching your business profile to a place such as Yelp.
  • Why: When somebody searches locally, AI tends to show on-the-spot maps.

Technical Tools

  • Image Compression: Use TinyPNG or Squoosh to speed up page load times.
  • Video Schema: Use Schema.org/VideoObject for better indexing.
  • Local Citations: Use such local citation management resources as BrightLocal.

New SEO Words You’ll Hear: AIO, GEO, and More

A number of new terms have cropped up recently because the SEO and GEO strategies still evolve.

AIO – AI Optimization: AI Optimization should help one make one’s content easily understandable and achievable by machine intelligence.

Three factors make up AIO:

  • Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP injects into systems the ability to understand human language, which powers undertakings such as semantic search, entity identification, and sentiment analysis at scale.

  • Machine Learning

ML automatically extracts patterns from vast data repositories, simplifying content analysis, trend identification, and client categorization.

  • Predictive Analytics

This component uses prior insights to predict things next, thus enhancing content approaches and user targeting.

GEO – Generative Engine Optimization: GEO operates like SEO, but targets AI platforms instead of search engines.

CEO – Chat Engine Optimization: CEO helps to optimize strategies for the platforms that rely on conversational AI systems, i.e. chatbots and voice assistants.

LMO – Language Model Optimization: LMO attempts to solve the problem of how language models process and assess data.

Conclusion

In 2025, organizations need to combine SEO aptitude with GEO plans, with AI search being AI-powered by LLMs and AI Overviews. By leveraging structured data, developing intuitive language content, and customizing your strategy to adapt to multi-format inputs, you will enhance your visibility and engage your audience.

Content conversational leaders in SEO, such as chatbots or vocal assistants, track progress through Skypes, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc., and change your strategy, if necessary. To succeed in future searches, be an expert, stay clear, and be dynamic—begin optimizing so you can remain competitive.

FAQ’s:

The AI search optimization entails optimizing content for the Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI Overviews by using SEO (such as structured data, clear content) and GEO (e.g., concise summaries, FAQs) for enhanced visibility in the AI-based search results.

AI Overviews are AI-summarised articles on top of search results, compiling condensed and authoritative answers from various sources instead of the conventional results display of individual webpages.

Structured data (e.g., Schema.org) facilitates LLMs' comprehension of content hierarchy and entities, improving the probability of appearing under AI Overviews and featured snippets.

Try conversational, long-tail phrases such as “What are the best SEO tools for 2025?” Use local keywords and experiment with queries through voice assistants such as Siri or Alexa.

Set up Google Search Console for queries, Google Analytics 4 for engagement, SEMrush or Ahrefs for AI Overview tracking, and use Google Data Studio for custom dashboards.

Include hyper-local references (eg, “nearby Fenway Park”), add location-specific FAQs (eg, “Do you do plumbing in Queens?”), Use local context, and add Schema.org markup for business information.

Refresh material every quarter to reflect 2025 trends, adding “Last Updated” date to indicate freshness to LLMs and AI Overviews.

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