As I write this final article for 2025, I am reflecting on the influence of AI on marketing. As the year has progressed, it is evident that AI is no longer a new frontier, but a mainstream tool that thousands of businesses have integrated into their workflows. In marketing, I’ve seen it work well when used correctly. Unfortunately, I have also seen it create somewhat of a mess, particularly for clients who have replaced the human element of content marketing with an AI-powered solution.

As the second half of the year unfolded, the team and I have had a larger data set to analyse content performance from a search perspective, and it is very clear that human-written content is winning the search game by a large margin.

Why is this the case?

There are reasons why human-written content is outpacing AI content, and when you think about it, it makes sense.

AI search bots are programmed to look for and recommend “trusted” content sources. This is a critical part of your content marketing strategy. With so much content on the internet, trust is the primary driver, and AI bots use a complex series of algorithms to sift through what is authentic and what is not.

One of the triggers is engagement. People can distinguish between human-written and AI-generated content – AI-produced content reads differently and lacks the emotive storytelling that resonates with the human psyche. There is a saying by the novelist and editor, E.L Doctorow, “Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon”.

This quote, written long before the advent of AI, aptly sums up the intent of this article. Readers must engage with your content, or you are losing on two levels. The reader tunes out and jumps off. This affects your time on page stats and signals a lack of relevance, and you lose the trust of the potential client who can see that you haven’t answered their questions, solved their problem, or made the effort to engage with them. In short, the shortcut doesn’t work and, in fact, is doing you harm.

We have observed this trend in our statistics across all clients, regardless of the fields or industries in which they operate. While traditional Google search still dominates search results, it is losing ground to AI search. Just like your potential human customers, AI search has an insatiable appetite for trustworthy, human-produced content.

Looking back

Reflecting on Deb’s Desk over the past twelve months, it is evident that most of the commentary has centred on AI and how it is reshaping modern marketing. These articles have been interspersed with additional content that affirms the need for quality over quantity and ensures the content you produce is not only written by humans for humans but is also optimised for traditional Google search (SEO) and AI search (GEO). Below, I’ve highlighted a few standouts that connected with our database, proving insightful and helpful to our clients.

• Voice search and ChatGPT adapting your SEO for conversational queries
• 3 Digital Marketing Trends Every Business Leader Should Act On
• Optimising Websites for AI Search – Future Proofing your Digital Footprint
• What is going on with AI search?
• Are conversations the new marketing trend?

If you missed them during the year, they are worth taking the time to look over as you contemplate your marketing for 2026.

Moving forward in 2026

If you haven’t already, it is critical to make 2026 the year for updating your digital marketing. Businesses, particularly those in the B2B landscape, will be impacted by AI more than any other. Potential clients will continue to use AI as their primary search tool, and this trend is expected to grow exponentially. While this shift has expanded the client pool, the opportunity to be the business of choice has narrowed. As discussed this year, AI search does not create a list, unlike traditional search. Instead, it recommends a small number of options based on the search request. This is the gap that must be filled to ensure your business is one of those recommendations. Businesses that have already technically optimised their websites for GEO and invested in human-produced content are reaping the rewards. We have seen our “optimised” clients dominating their AI search results, and for some, this has happened very quickly, reinforcing how GEO is shaping how people interact with the internet.

Optimising your website and content will take professional oversight. From schema markup to optimising your content pages, the process is involved and requires a collaborative team of coders and writers to ensure the technical aspects are addressed correctly. A consistent content schedule must be implemented to provide visibility, and weaning off a reliance on AI to produce content is highly recommended.

Using human-produced content is more than satisfying the AI algorithm. People do business with people, and your content is often your introduction. Don’t risk losing a client because they can’t find a connection. Facts demonstrate competency; however, a story builds trust and provides a platform for connection.

We have built sustainable AI search knowledge throughout 2025, which is underpinned by our clients’ results and in-depth trend analysis. While the technology will evolve and most likely change, the fundamentals are cemented. AI is an excellent tool with numerous applications in digital marketing; however, strategy, website architecture, and content creation are not part of the AI mix. If you are seeing a decline in your organic search, don’t wait to see if it’s a seasonal anomaly; it’s not. It is a result of changing consumer behaviour, and it’s time to plug the hole.

We are taking on new clients in 2026

In the last quarter of 2026, we closed our books with new clients while updating our existing clients to leverage AI search. We will be accepting a limited number of new clients in 2026 and welcome the opportunity to discuss your current website and marketing needs in the new year.

Our office will be closed for the holiday break on Friday, December 19th, and will reopen on Monday, January 5th, 2026. Feel free to send us an email over the break, and either Pete or I will be in contact with you.

We wish you and your families a very happy holiday time and a positive and productive new year.