As SEO strategists, we have learnt to adapt to every Google update, every shift in search intent and every new platform that changes how people look for information. But this time, the change feels different. AI is not just reshaping search, it’s rewriting the rules of discovery itself.
VML chief discoverability officer Heather Physioc aptly says in VML’s report Search Trends for the Rest of 2025 (And Beyond): “This is the biggest change to search in years. AI is making integrated, synthesised results possible and people are learning to search in fundamentally new ways that will permanently change their expectations of how brands get discovered online.”
For those of us working in South Africa, it brings both risk and real opportunity.
From rankings to being referenced
For years, SEO success was defined by visibility. The goal was to rank high, attract clicks and grow traffic. However, as AI-powered search tools become the new entry point for information, users are no longer scrolling through lists of links. They are getting direct answers.
The question for strategists is no longer “How do I rank?” but rather, “How do I show up inside the answer?” VML associate discoverability director Cy De la Vega sums it up: “Visibility today is about being selected, cited and trusted by AI platforms.”
This requires a new way of thinking about content. Instead of chasing keywords, we now need to build trust signals that AI can understand: structured, semantically rich and deeply contextual information. In this new landscape, optimisation is no longer for a search engine crawler but for how AI interprets meaning.
How does this look in practice? If a user asks: “Best family-friendly safaris in South Africa?” AI might synthesise an answer. Your brand’s goal is to be the trusted source AI references, even if the user doesn’t click through to your site.
Local relevance is the new differentiator
South Africa’s search landscape is unique. Our audiences switch between English, isiZulu, Afrikaans and Sesotho within a single session. We use local slang, reference township trends and rely on mobile devices more heavily than many global markets.
Yet AI systems are still learning our context, and often our market is underrepresented in that data. This presents a powerful advantage. The more South African nuance we build into content — local statistics, regional insights and authentic language — the more we help AI understand our market. For brands, this means moving beyond localisation as a checkbox and instead grounding content in lived local experience.
Hyperlocal data, local experts and real South African examples have traditionally been about cultural relevance. Today they are a strategic approach to SEO in the age of AI.
For example, a restaurant could optimise for “best bunny chow in Durban”, using local dialect and neighbourhood references, rather than just “Indian food near me”. This helps AI provide nuanced local answers.
Authority is now proven, not claimed
In the past, SEO placed heavy emphasis on backlinks and keyword density. Today, AI measures authority through consistency and depth. It evaluates how thoroughly a brand covers a topic, not simply who links to it.
In practice, this means building topic ecosystems rather than publishing isolated articles. A financial services brand, for example, should not only write about budgeting but should own the broader conversation around financial literacy in South Africa.
For SEO strategists, this shift requires more editorial thinking. We must ask ourselves: what topics can we lead rather than just participate in? What unique data, expertise or perspectives can we provide that others cannot? Authority now comes from depth, consistency and credibility, not volume.
For example, a health brand for diabetes should build a comprehensive hub covering prevention, local support and culturally relevant South African dietary advice, not just a single article on symptoms. This signals deep expertise to AI.
Instead of chasing keywords, we now need to build trust signals that AI can understand: structured, semantically rich and deeply contextual information
Structured content is essential for AI visibility
Structured data, clean taxonomy and clear question-and-answer formatting are no longer optional. They are the bridge between your content and AI’s understanding of it. If your content cannot easily be read and repurposed by AI, it effectively does not exist in this new search ecosystem.
For South African strategists, collaboration between SEO, development and content teams is more important than ever. Schema markup and structured formatting are no longer just technical hygiene. They are how we ensure long-term visibility and credibility.
For example, an e-commerce site selling traditional South African crafts can use schema markup for product details and clear FAQs. This ensures AI can easily extract and present rich information when users ask about handmade gifts or authentic Ndebele crafts.
Redefining success in SEO
We are entering an era in which traffic may decline, yet influence could increase. You might not see as many users clicking through to your site, but your content could still be shaping AI-generated responses and influencing user decisions before any click occurs.
New success metrics will emerge, such as brand mentions in AI summaries, visibility in generative search results and entity recognition across platforms. We will begin measuring visibility in answers, not just in traditional search engine results.
This is evolution. Data from the VML report indicates a significant “referral gap”, with AI Mode results often seeing click-through rates to external sites drop below 5%, compared with 20%-25% for traditional Google Search. This, coupled with the average of 2.5-million prompts that ChatGPT users send daily, underscores that brand influence within AI-generated answers is now paramount.
South Africa’s opportunity
One of the country’s greatest advantages is agility. We can adapt quickly, experiment with new approaches and shape how AI understands local markets. If we start prioritising structured, credible and distinctly South African content now, we can help define how it interprets and represents our digital environment.
Sensationalist headlines may be proclaiming the death of SEO, but in reality, it is merely evolving. The strategists who embrace AI as a collaborator rather than a competitor will lead the next decade of digital growth.
Download your free copy of VML’s full 2025 search trends report here.
Rishkah Adams is a senior analyst at VML South Africa.
The big take-out: Structured data, clean taxonomy and clear question-and-answer formatting are no longer optional. They are the bridge between your content and AI’s understanding of it
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