AI Is Rewriting SEO: What Changes for Your Site (video)

Search has changed faster than any other marketing channel over the last decade. AI engines now deliver answers before a user ever clicks, and companies that built their visibility on keywords alone are watching traffic patterns shift under their feet.

Kevin Roy, founder of Green Banana SEO, joins John Golden to explain how Answer Engine Optimization reshapes the playbook. He breaks down the three-block blueprint, the authority signals AI looks for, and why strong SEO still underpins everything.

Key Insights

Here is what you need to know about how AI changes search behavior

AI engines answer questions directly, so users often read a response before clicking anything. Roy’s agency tracks a dip in organic traffic across industries, though not a dramatic one. People still click through when they want to go deeper. The shift matters because roughly 80% of showing up in AI answers depends on solid SEO fundamentals. AI draws on the same online data that SEO has always optimized, so the groundwork still wins.

Here is what you need to know about the three-block blueprint

Roy structures every key page around three blocks. The answer block delivers a clean, quotable definition in two to five sentences. The proof block backs the claim with checklists, steps, or examples. The pathway block points to the next action, whether that’s an FAQ, a product page, or a consultation form. This structure helps AI engines pull, understand, and cite the page. Pages built this way rank for the right queries and earn citations.

Here is what you need to know about schema and authority

Schema used to be a nice-to-have. Now it is critical. The schema must mirror the page exactly, including title, FAQ, and author. AI reads structured data faster than unstructured content. Authority matters more than ever because anyone can generate polished copy. Roy recommends linking every article to an author page, connecting that page to LinkedIn, and referencing other work. This straight line signals that the writer earned the right to be cited.

Here is what you need to know about measurement and tools

Measuring AI-driven traffic remains messy. Roy tests tool after tool and still finds gaps. Some platforms miss citations that his team can see live. Others show citations he cannot reproduce. Bing Webmaster Tools now surfaces AI citations at no cost, which makes it a useful starting point. Roy expects the space to keep shifting as vendors catch up. For now, he recommends triangulating across free tools and direct prompt testing rather than relying on a single dashboard.

Here is what you need to know about content pruning and citations

Companies publishing content without structure confuse AI and hurt their own rankings. Roy recommends pruning pages that compete, orphan pages that lack internal links, and off-topic posts that dilute authority. Wikipedia ranks because every page links logically to related concepts. Local businesses should also claim citations in directories like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and Crunchbase. Consistent name, address, and founding-year data across these listings prevents AI from skipping the brand entirely.

Pull Quotes

“80% of getting ranked in AI, is having a solid SEO strategy because where do you think these engines are pulling from? They’re all pulling from online data.”
— Kevin Roy

“You want AI to be able to pull and understand what the page is about, how you’re backing it up and what you can do next.”
— Kevin Roy

“The thing that AI is concerned about the most is that any of us can write anything about anything and make it sound good now.”
— Kevin Roy

“If you’re just pumping content out to pump content out, stop for a second and think about how easy it is to pump content out now.”
— Kevin Roy

Answer Engine Optimization: Key Statistics from Green Banana SEO

Related Resources

• Green Banana SEO — Book a free consultation
• Sales POP! Podcast: salespop.net/media/podcast/

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.