People Are Searching Differently. Is Your Website Ready?

February 3, 2026 | Wayne Eaker

Things are changing with how people find information online, upending decades of search engine optimization theory and practice.

Increasingly, people (maybe including you) aren't typing queries into Google and clicking through results. They're asking ChatGPT for answers. They're using Perplexity to research topics. They're reading the AI-generated summary at the top of Google and never scrolling down or clicking to the actual websites. I've been watching this shift for the past year, and it's accelerating faster than I expected.

If your website isn't positioned for this new reality, you risk becoming invisible to a growing segment of your audience.

The Numbers Are Hard to Ignore

ChatGPT now has 800 million weekly active users - roughly 10% of the world's population. It accounts for 87% of all AI referral traffic to websites, with Perplexity growing fast behind it.

The behavior change is dramatic: 93% of Google AI Mode searches end without users visiting a website. People get what they need from the AI answer and move on.

For businesses that depend on web traffic, this is a fundamental change in how people find you.

How AI Search Works Differently

Traditional search optimization was about ranking high in a list of results. Get to position one, two, or three, and you'd capture clicks. Even position ten on page one had value. But AI search doesn't work this way.

When someone asks ChatGPT a question or reads a Google AI Overview, there's no list to rank on. The AI synthesizes an answer from sources it trusts, and it either mentions your content or it doesn't.

This means the goal shifts from "rank high to earn clicks" to "be a source AI trusts enough to cite."

What Makes AI Trust Your Content?

The way AI systems choose results isn't fully understood, but research into how these systems work suggests some patterns in what gets cited.

  • Clear, direct answers come first. AI extracts information from content that puts the core answer in the first 40-60 words before adding supporting detail. Long introductions and buried conclusions get passed over.
  • Structure matters. Content organized around clear questions, with scannable sections and direct answers, is easier for AI to extract and quote. Structured data (schema markup) helps AI systems understand what your content is about and increases citation likelihood.
  • Credibility signals are weighted heavily. AI systems look for experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness - what Google calls E-E-A-T. Who wrote this? Are claims backed up? Is this a recognized source on this topic?
  • Freshness counts. AI systems prefer current information. Content that hasn't been updated in years is less likely to be cited, regardless of how well it ranks in traditional search.
  • Depth beats breadth. Being a genuine authority on your topic with substantive, comprehensive content matters more than covering many topics superficially. Including statistics, quotes, and verifiable facts helps AI recognize content as information-rich and worth citing.

Different Platforms, Different Preferences

Not all AI search tools work the same way.

What This Means for Your Drupal Site

If you're running a Drupal site, you're in a good position technically. Drupal handles structured data well through modules like Schema.org Metatag and Schema.org Blueprints, which help AI systems understand what your content is about.

But the technical foundation is only part of the equation. The bigger factor is your content itself.

Ask yourself:

  • Do your key pages answer specific questions directly? Or do they describe your services in general terms without addressing what people actually want to know?
  • Is your expertise consolidated or scattered? One authoritative page on a topic is more valuable than ten thin blog posts that each touch on it briefly.
  • When did you last update your core content? If your service pages or key resources haven't been refreshed in years, AI systems may deprioritize them.
  • Would someone consider your site an authoritative source? Not just "a website that exists" but a genuine expert on your topic?

What You Can Do

You don't need to overhaul everything to make your site more citable by AI agents. Here's where I'd start:

  • Audit your most important pages: Look at your service pages, your most-visited content, your key resources. Are they answering questions clearly in the first few sentences? Or are they making visitors (and AI) work to find the point?
  • Think like someone asking AI a question: What questions would lead someone to need your business? Type those into ChatGPT or Perplexity. See what comes up. Is your site anywhere in that answer? What sources are being cited instead? (We have tools that can track this systematically if you want to go beyond manual spot-checks.)
  • Consolidate your expertise: If you have knowledge scattered across many small pieces of content, consider combining them into comprehensive, authoritative resources.
  • Keep content fresh: Set a schedule to review and update your key pages. Even small updates signal that content is current and maintained.
  • Build your authority signals: Being mentioned on other reputable sites, having clear authorship, citing your own sources - these all help AI systems trust your content.

The Technical Side

On the technical side, here's what I can help with on your Drupal site:

  • Schema markup - Structured data that explicitly tells AI systems what your content is about, who created it, and how it's organized
  • Content structure optimization - Ensuring your pages are formatted in ways that AI can easily parse and extract
  • Freshness signals - Proper date handling so AI knows when content was last updated

What's Next

The shift to AI-assisted search isn't slowing down. Businesses that adapt now will have an advantage over those who wait.

The good news: most of what makes content valuable to AI also makes it valuable to humans. Clear answers, well-organized information, genuine expertise, up-to-date content. These are things worth investing in regardless of how search evolves.

If you're curious how your site is positioned, or just want to talk through what this means for you, get in touch. I'm happy to take a look.