An AI search engine combines two things: searching the web and formulating an answer in plain language. You type or speak a question, the system looks up relevant sources and a language model writes a summary based on them, often with links to the websites it used. Well-known examples are Perplexity, ChatGPT Search, Google's AI Mode and Microsoft Copilot.
The big difference from a traditional search engine is that you no longer have to work through a list of links yourself. You get an answer, and can ask follow-up questions as if you were in conversation with someone.
For the user that is convenient; for businesses it means a shift. It is no longer just about whether you are found, but also about whether an AI system considers your information reliable and relevant enough to include in its answer.
The exact workings differ by provider, but the basic principle is often the same. First your question is interpreted and sometimes split into several sub-questions. The system then searches an index for suitable pages. Finally, an LLM uses the text fragments it found to compose an answer. This approach is called RAG, retrieval-augmented generation.
That leads to something important: what isn't found in the search step can't end up in the answer either. So your website needs to be findable, readable and relevant in content, just as with traditional search engines.
An AI search engine usually names fewer businesses than a regular results page. Where Google shows ten organic links, an AI answer sometimes contains only three or four names. Competition for those places is therefore fiercer. At the same time, the questions are often more specific and longer, which gives niche businesses an opportunity.
An example: an interior architect in Bristol who specialises in renovating terraced houses. Someone who asks an AI search engine "who can help me make a narrow terraced house in the south-west of England lighter?" may get an answer in which a specialist practice like this fits better than a large, general design firm. The condition is that this specialisation can be clearly found on the web.
AI search engines don't fully replace traditional search; they sit alongside it. Many people use both, depending on their question. A good strategy therefore takes both into account: strong SEO as the foundation, complemented by attention to GEO. On the Spacebird platform you track both channels from one place, so you can see where you are visible and where opportunities remain.
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