With the rise of AI era tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews, marketers and SEO professionals have been asking a critical question: Is traditional SEO still relevant?A recent study analyzing 25,000 user searches provides a definitive answer — yes, SEO is not only relevant but essential in the age of AI-driven search.
New Study Links Google Rankings to AI Search Results
According to the research conducted by Tomasz Rudzki, co-founder of ZipTie, the #1 Google search result appears in 25% of AI-generated answers across major platforms, including:
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity AI
- Google’s AI Overviews (formerly SGE)
This means that high-ranking content on Google continues to serve as the backbone for AI-synthesized answers — effectively debunking the myth that AI has made SEO obsolete.
How AI Search Engines Choose Their Sources
The study breaks down the AI search process into three core stages, backed by findings from Google’s antitrust trial:
1. Pre-selection of Sources
AI models start by identifying a set of high-quality, relevant documents. These are often top-ranking pages on Google — confirming that Google’s traditional algorithm still plays a key role in shaping AI responses.
2. Content Extraction
From these shortlisted pages, the AI pulls snippets of content that directly answer the user’s query, favoring concise and contextually rich information.
3. AI Synthesis
Using models like Google Gemini, the AI then combines this extracted content into a single, coherent response.
💡 Key Insight: Google’s internal documentation confirms that using high-ranking content improves AI accuracy — giving traditional SEO even more weight in modern digital strategy.
The Power of the “Query Fan-Out” Effect
Interestingly, not all AI answers rely strictly on pages that rank highly for the original search query. The study highlights a phenomenon called the “Query Fan-Out” technique used by Google AI:
When a user searches for something like “SEO vs SEM,” the AI simultaneously runs multiple sub-queries in the background:
- “What is SEO?”
- “How does SEO work?”
- “What is SEM?”
- “SEO vs PPC?”
…and more.
As a result, content that performs well for related queries can appear in the AI answer, even if it doesn’t rank directly for the original search.
This significantly broadens the landscape of opportunity for SEO — especially for long-tail content creators who focus on semantic depth.
Why This Research Matters for SEO Professionals
Here’s what the findings mean for SEOs, content marketers, and digital strategists in 2025 and beyond:
- ✅ Top rankings still influence AI outcomes. Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity trust high-ranking content to feed their AI engines.
- ✅ SEO fundamentals remain essential. On-page optimization, quality backlinks, and domain authority still impact visibility across AI and traditional platforms.
- ✅ Long-tail keywords and topical depth are more important than ever, especially with AI issuing multiple sub-searches per query.
In short, SEO professionals now play a dual role: ranking on Google and feeding the AI ecosystem.
Final Thoughts
Despite all the buzz about AI disrupting search, this new research makes one thing clear: SEO isn’t dead—it’s evolving.
Top-performing Google content is not only still visible but central to the AI-generated answers shaping the future of search. As platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews continue to scale, the importance of SEO-friendly content that is authoritative, structured, and optimized will only grow.
👉 Action Step: Now more than ever, brands must double down on traditional SEO best practices, while also adapting to how AI engines extract and synthesize data.
AI may be the future — but SEO is still the foundation.
