The search engine optimization (SEO) industry's shift in 2024–2025 is no longer a sequential advance but has become a comprehensive restructuring of the nature of information retrieval. According to observations of the Tan Phat Digital team, as we approach 2026, the line between traditional search and feedback from artificial intelligence (AI) has been blurred, leading to the birth of a new model: the post-search era. In this context, algorithms are no longer simply content filters but have become intelligence-aggregating entities, requiring SEO strategists to shift their thinking from link ranking to establishing entity and authority in the minds of large language models.
The explosion of generative AI has put Google in a dilemma: maintain traditional advertising revenue or compete with competitors like Perplexity and OpenAI. The result was the birth of AI Overviews (AIO), a feature that forever changed user click behavior and redefined the value of organic traffic.
The Fall of the Ten Green Links Model and the Rise of AI Overviews
The most visible change is the dominance of AI Overviews at the top of the results page. Instead of providing a list of websites, Google now provides a complete answer compiled from multiple sources. Empirical data shows that this feature explosion has created unprecedented volatility, especially the rise of zero-click searches.
Based on in-depth research, AIO coverage has fluctuated widely throughout 2025. From a low base, AIO has expanded to almost every type of search intent. Click-through rates (CTR) in the presence of AIO are a brutal reality: studies show that only about 8% of users click on source links within AI answer panels. Tan Phat Digital sees this phenomenon creating a great divide, where total global search traffic increases but actual website traffic decreases by 20% to 40%.
AI Overviews 2025 Penetration Statistics
January 2025:Global AIO activation rate reached 6.49%. Of which, 91.30% are informational queries, 8.15% commercial and only 0.84% navigation. CTR is estimated at 15.00%.
July 2025: Activation rate jumped to 24.61%. Informational queries dropped to 75.00%, while commerce increased to 15.20% and navigation reached 5.40%. CTR decreased to 11.20%.
November 2025: Activation rate stabilized at 15.69%. Information queries accounted for 57.10%, commerce reached 18.57% and navigation increased sharply to 10.33%. CTR continued to decrease to 8.00%.
Forecast for 2026: AIO activation rate is expected to remain around 18.50%. Commercial and navigational queries will account for a higher share (22% and 12.5% respectively). CTR is expected to reach a new bottom of about 7.50%.
Reengineering the algorithm: From keywords to entities and real experiences
In 2024–2025, Google rolls out core updates to remove AI-generated spam and prioritize real experiences. The E-E-A-T concept has been upgraded with a special focus on practical experience. The algorithm is now capable of distinguishing posts that aggregate data from posts from people who have actually experienced the product. Experts at Tan Phat Digital confirm that websites with thin content or only keyword optimization can lose up to 70% of traffic.
Roadmap for system updates and market impact
March 2024 (Core Update): Target to reduce 40% of unuseful content. The result is mass de-indexing of low-level AI pages.
August 2024 (Core Update): Prioritize high-quality, factual content. Over-optimized pages are demoted.
November 2024 (Site Reputation Abuse): Fight against parasitic SEO. Many large newspaper sites lost rankings in the product review segment.
March 2025 (Core Update): Support for small and individual publishers. Creates strong fluctuations in in-depth information queries.
June 2025 (Core Update): Enhanced E-E-A-T weighting and AI Mode. Traditional affiliate sites recorded a serious decline.
December 2025 (Core Update): Optimized for Discover and AI Overviews. Traffic from Discover for many news sites collapsed.
The system for evaluating the usefulness of content is now fully integrated into the algorithm core. An important finding that Tan Phat Digital wants to note is that Google now adjusts the definition of "satisfying content" based on the type of search: factual queries need direct answers, while comparison queries need multi-dimensional analysis.
Topic authority and the "lane lock" model
In the AI era, Topical Authority is the pillar of every successful strategy public. Google prioritizes websites that demonstrate depth about a specific niche. At Tan Phat Digital, we apply this strategy through a Hub-and-Spoke model to establish ownership of a topic, helping businesses appear as a single expert in AI responses.
2026 Domain Structure Strategy Comparison
Single Domain Strategy (Single-Domain):
- domain.
Cost: Low, easy to centralize management.
AI SEO: Good for building a strong Knowledge Panel.
Multi-Domain Strategy:
Entity authority: Distributed, requires building resources for each brand effectiveness.
Resilience: High, other domains play a backup role.
SERP coverage: High, can occupy 2–4 positions in the Top 10.
Cost: High, requires complex system administration.
AI SEO: Good for consolidation Managing independent specialized niches.
Research from Tan Phat Digital shows that smart multi-domain connected brands can achieve 30% to 45% higher organic traffic than isolated units. However, building topic authority does not stop at text, but requires integrating structured data (Schema Markup) to "feed" AI systems.
The volatility of user-generated content (UGC)
In 2024, Google favors Reddit to bring real human opinions to the forefront. However, this creates the opposite reaction when the SERP is filled with unverified discussions. By early 2025, Google had tightened its quality standards for community content, prioritizing official sites and expert blogs with clear identities.
2025 UGC Platforms Trends
Reddit: Organic traffic dropped sharply (~60% in March) as Google tightened E-A-T standards. Strategy 2026 needs to focus on collaborating with experts and improving moderation.
Quora: Traffic is decreasing as AI content invades, losing credibility. Priority should be given to answers from proven users.
Specialized forums: Stable or slightly increasing thanks to deep topic authority in narrow niche. Should integrate Schema Speakable and FAQ.
YouTube: Strong growth due to Google prioritizing video formats. Need to optimize metadata and original content.
Technical shift: From SEO to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
SEO in 2025–2026 has become a game about data structures. The concepts AEO and GEO were born to describe making content easily extractable by large language models. A groundbreaking technical change was Google's removal of the &num=100 parameter in September 2025, causing reporting tools to be disrupted and bot traffic to disappear, reducing impressions in Search Console by 40% to 70%.
Technical SEO Pillars in 2026
Advanced structured data: Schema types like Organization, Product, FAQ, and Article are required to maintain visibility against AI.
Core Web Vitals 2.0 (INP): Interaction to Next Paint index replaces FID, requiring response under 200ms to be prioritized by AI for citation.
AI-Friendly content: Use clear statements, concise definitions at the top of the page, and structured data tables.
Multi-modal optimization: Optimize metadata for images and videos as Google performs more than 8 billion image searches each month.
Cross-platform search and Information Gain
Google still holds the dominant position, but the market is strongly fragmenting into TikTok, Instagram and ChatGPT. Tan Phat Digital's strategy is "Search Everywhere" - optimizing brand presence across the entire digital ecosystem. In particular, the Information Gain criterion has become more important than ever. Google prioritizes content that brings original data or personal experiences that AI cannot synthesize on its own.
Source of Information Gain for businesses
Exclusive data and research from customer surveys.
Actual case study with specific indicators and lessons learned.
Unique expert perspective, going against the crowd east.
Interactive tools like smart product filters or interest calculators.
Measuring effectiveness in the zero-click era
As traditional organic traffic declines, SEOs must turn to "influence" reporting. The AAIR (AI Answer Inclusion Rate) index is a new measure of how often brands are selected by AI as a data source. Tan Phat Digital recommends that businesses focus on indicators such as Share of Voice in AIO and the growth of branded search (Branded Search) to demonstrate SEO value in the new era.
Modern SEO KPI framework for strategy 2025–2026
AI Influence: Measured by the AAIR index to know the likelihood of being cited by AI.
SERP Real Estate: Share of Voice in Featured Snippets and AI Overviews.
Brand Strength: Track search volume growth Search for brand names directly.
Entity quality: Topic Coherence Score (TCS) to evaluate the depth and consistency of content.
Conversion efficiency: Conversion rate from potential customers instead of just looking at total traffic.
Tan Phat's 2026 strategic action roadmap Digital
Q1 - Platform: Build a solid entity profile and implement detailed Schema Markup.
Q2 - Content: Shift to an Information Gain model, focusing on real-life experiences.
Q3 - Multi-channel: Expand exposure to short videos and optimize for search voice.
Q4 - Measurement: Establish a reporting system based on actual influence and conversions.
The future of SEO belongs to those who know how to tell a brand's story through structured data and irreplaceable human experiences. With the companionship of Tan Phat Digital, the business will not only appear in the Top 10 links but also be the first name mentioned by AI when users search for solutions.
Share
