AI isn’t the enemy: How bloggers can thrive in a generative search world

If you’re a blogger feeling SEO fatigue in 2025, you aren’t alone.

Between the March and June core updates and noticeable SERP changes, many bloggers have found themselves pushed further down the search results or out of them altogether. 

Most are still trying to make sense of what changed, only to be met with even more disruptive news: 

• AI Overviews are expanding.
• Gemini is everywhere.
• Traditional blue links keep getting replaced by summary boxes, People Also Ask modules, and rich result carousels.

It’s easy to feel like Google has moved on and left creators behind.

But here’s the new reality: the way people search, find, and consume content has changed.

What worked in 2021 doesn’t hold up in 2025. And no, AI isn’t going away. If anything, it’s accelerating. 

AI Overviews are now appearing across more niches and query types. Gemini is being deeply integrated into Chrome and Android. 

Content is being summarized and reused in ways that shape brand visibility and perceived authority, but may never generate a click for bloggers.

That might sound discouraging, but it shouldn’t be. 

Bloggers who will succeed aren’t the ones who block AI bots or wait for traffic to magically come back. They’re the ones who:

• Understand how AI sees content.
• Start building in ways that let their content and brand show up where it matters.

This article isn’t about fighting AI. It’s about aligning with it.

Bloggers should no longer optimize for rankings. They need to optimize to be included, summarized, and reused in AI systems.

How can you do that? In this article, bloggers will learn the following;

• We’ll break down the tools, tactics, and mindset shifts you need to make your site AI-ready.
• Learn why playing offense now is the key to surviving and thriving in this new search era.

Why blocking AI isn’t a strategy (even if Cloudflare makes it easy)

It’s tempting. Traffic is down, and AI feels like the enemy.

Cloudflare offers a shiny new button that promises control: “Block AI bots.” 

With one click, you can stop OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic, and others from crawling your site.

But here’s the consequence of that action for bloggers:

• When you block AI bots, you block your brand from appearing in tools your audience is already using, such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
• You’re entirely removing yourself from the AI results ecosystem.
• In the new search experience, the bloggers who don’t block will be the ones quoted, summarized, and cited.

Cloudflare’s update, launched this month, is part of a growing trend to protect creator content from being reused without attribution.

But here’s the hard truth. Blocking AI doesn’t punish Google or LLMs. It punishes you.

Google has made it clear: AI Overviews aren’t going away. 

They’re expanding into more verticals: 

• Recipes.
• Travel.
• Product reviews.
• Tutorials.
• And beyond. 

And if your content can’t be crawled or reused by these systems, you won’t be part of the answer.

Raptive and other ad networks have already toyed with auto-blocking LLMs for their publishers via robots.txt.

But this approach removes bloggers from the systems shaping the future of discovery.

It’s a risky long-term bet, and that sidelines your content while competitors are picked up instead.

Let’s be honest: visibility is changing. Clicks are harder to earn. 

But your goal as a blogger isn’t just traffic, it’s influence and brand presence. 

And if AI can’t see you, neither can the people using it to find solutions, inspiration, or recommendations.

So if you’re using Cloudflare?

• Don’t toggle that “block AI” switch.
• Instead, optimize for inclusion, because this is the new shelf on which your content needs to sit.

Dig deeper: Cloudflare’s Pay Per Crawl: A turning point for SEO and GEO

Core updates are telling you what Google wants – are you listening?

The signs have been clear all year.

The March 2025 core update hit hard. 

The June core update followed, reinforcing the same message: surface-level content and SEO checklists aren’t enough anymore.

If your site dropped during these updates, it likely wasn’t because of a single issue. It was because Google has shifted the goalposts:

• Thin intros padded with fluff? Cut them.
• Over-explained sections that don’t say anything new? Rewrite them.
• Content built to rank not serve? Reconsider it.
• FAQs that are generalized or lack context? Expand them.

These updates are designed to reward originality, clarity, and firsthand expertise. 

That’s not speculation. Google confirmed this. 

When your content is modular, trustworthy, and experience-driven, it’s not just better for readers. It’s also better for AI systems.

Why?

Because AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT are pulling from sources that are scannable, structured, and credible.

When your posts are easy to break apart and summarize into independent chunks, you’re more likely to show up in snippets, boxes, and even full AI responses.

How do we do this?

• Use H2s and tables of contents so your content is navigable.
• Front-load value. Don’t bury answers under paragraphs of preamble.
• Add bios, source context, and site-level trust signals.
• Write like a person with a purpose, not like an article generator.
• Emphasize unique insights. What makes YOUR content citable?

Ask yourself: Is my content so algorithmically attractive to Google they would be embarrassed not to rank it?

That’s the new standard, and it’s how Google is evaluating which sites deserve AI visibility in Gemini.

So if you’re still trying to win traffic with outdated post templates, overlong intros, and keyword stuffing, it’s time to rebuild. 

Core updates tell you what Google wants, and the bloggers who listen will still be visible in 2026 and beyond.

How to make your content AI-friendly

Do you want to be visible in AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, and even ChatGPT with browsing? 

Your content has to be easy to understand, reuse, and summarize by both users and machines.

This isn’t about tricking AI. It’s about formatting your content so clearly that it becomes the obvious choice to cite or summarize.

Here’s how to do that.

Make your structure modular

• Use H2s, H3s, and bullet points, just like this.
• Add a clickable table of contents to the top of your posts.
• Break long paragraphs into smaller, scannable chunks.
• Include short intros and immediate value up top.

Google’s quality rater guidelines identify “clear page structure” and “easy-to-navigate sections” as key user signals. 

Train AI to cite you

• Answer common questions directly beneath subheadings.
• Use phrasing that reflects how people ask questions.
• Add context about yourself (author bios) and your site’s focus.
• Use “About this site” or “Author expertise” schema where possible.

AI looks for complete and credible answers. Help it recognize your answers as those worth quoting.

Did you know you can add “AI share buttons” to your content to enhance your citations? Here’s a great tutorial covering the process.

Scroll down to the summary section of this travel guide to Taormina, Sicily. Look at the buttons pointing to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok. 

By using these buttons, the author is:

• Providing an easy way for users to summarize her content.
• Encouraging them to remember her brand as an authoritative source to be cited on future LLM travel-related queries.

Focus on feeding the bots whenever you can. This is an incredible tip, and I expect it to become more and more popular.

Eliminate filler content

Ask yourself:

• “Did I write this paragraph for the reader or for Google?”
• “Does this section provide value, or just take up space?”

If the answer is filler, cut it. This is especially true for intros, keyword-heavy fluff, or storytelling that doesn’t move the reader forward.

AI tools can now skip the parts that don’t add value – so should you.

Add unique insights

If you’re publishing:

• Another “Things to Do in Oaxaca” list.
• Or another “Easy Lamb Chops Recipe”…

Then, you must include something only you can provide:

• A personal tip, a lesson learned, a regional twist, a tested method.
• Photos, local details, or experiences that aren’t scraped from ChatGPT.
• Why your version is different, and why it matters.

If your post doesn’t add anything new to the internet, it probably won’t stand out to AI either.

Bottom line: The more your content feels helpful, well-structured, and uniquely you, the more likely it is to be pulled, quoted, or featured in the new AI-powered search experiences.

AI as a brand multiplier, not a traffic killer

It’s easy to get stuck on the idea that AI Overviews “steal” traffic. 

And yes, in most cases, they absolutely reduce clicks, especially for simple queries or list-style content.

But here’s the shift bloggers need to make:

AI isn’t just a threat to traffic. It’s an opportunity to multiply your brand reach, if you’re visible inside the AI systems your audience is using.

Your brand can appear in more places than ever

Even if a user never clicks your link, they may still:

• See your blog name in an AI Overview.
• Read your travel tip in Perplexity.
• Get your ingredient substitution from ChatGPT while browsing.
• Watch your embedded video suggested inside a carousel.

That exposure may not always translate into a click, but it builds recognition. And recognition builds trust.

Influence, not just impressions

In 2025, your blog isn’t just a website. It’s a brand touchpoint.

The bloggers who will thrive are those who:

• Use AI to amplify their authority, not fear it.
• Share snippets of their expertise across platforms (YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, email).
• Create off-site funnels that convert, such as courses, products, and subscriber communities.

Your blog post might not earn the click. But your brand might earn:

• The follow.
• The sign-up.
• Or the sale.

Don’t hide from AI – teach it who you are

LLMs are trained on billions of documents, but they can’t read your mind. You have to teach them what your blog stands for.

How do you do this?

• Be consistent in how you describe yourself.
• Include branded terms in titles, headers, and content (especially your name).
• Add structured data like author schema, organization markup, and product, recipe, and FAQ schema where applicable.

When AI systems understand your niche, tone, and credibility, they are more likely to pull from you again.

There has been a recent trend to remove the site name from page titles. This feels like questionable advice because the site name is a strong signal to LLMs as to where the content exists.

Just because Google doesn’t show the Site Name in search results doesn’t mean bloggers should be removing the site name from their page titles. 

On the contrary, when our goal is to seed LLMs with brand mentions, this could hurt you, not help you.

Visibility in AI isn’t optional anymore

Your content is going to be used somewhere. The question is this: will it include your name, your brand, and your links or someone else’s?

Embracing AI means making sure your brand shows up in the places your readers are already turning to for help.

Brand mentions are the new “links.” The most successful creators must seed LLMs with these mentions going forward.

Dig deeper: Want to beat AI Overviews? Produce unmistakably human content

The blogger’s mindset shift: From resistance to resilience

Blogging in 2025 isn’t what most of us expected.

The platforms have changed. Google’s priorities have shifted. AI is summarizing content without sending traffic. 

And tools like Cloudflare are making it easier than ever to throw your hands up and say, “Nope, I’m out.”

But that’s not a strategy. That’s surrender.

The bloggers who survive aren’t the ones who resist

They’re the ones who:

• Rethink what visibility means.
• Build for people-first, AI-friendly experiences.
• Optimize for reuse, not just rankings.
• Double down on brand, not just blog posts.

AI isn’t replacing bloggers. It’s revealing which ones were always worth quoting.

Treat your blog like a brand, not just a website

Ask yourself:

• What do I want to be known for in Gemini, ChatGPT, or Perplexity?
• What does my “brand voice” sound like in AI summaries?
• Where do I send people after they find me in an AI box?

The bloggers who thrive next aren’t building “just in case I rank.”

They’re building on purpose, with authority, uniqueness, and portability across channels.

Focus on what you can control

You can’t force a click. You can’t always win the blue link. But you can:

• Make your content scannable, clear, and worthy of inclusion.
• Build topical authority through internal linking and consistent coverage.
• Own your niche’s most important answers, before AI tries to.
• Repurpose your posts into reels, pins, shorts, emails, or summaries that expand your reach.

This is the resilience mindset.

Stop fighting for circa-2021 Google and start showing up where users are actually spending time… in AI.

To prepare for the future, you must let go of the old playbook

The search landscape has changed. And it’s not going back.

Between core updates, AI Overviews, and shifting user behavior, the strategies that once worked (stuffing in keywords, padding content with fluff, chasing rankings through formulas) aren’t cutting it anymore.

But that doesn’t mean you’re out of options.

It means the rules have changed. 

The bloggers who will grow are those who stop optimizing solely for Google and start building for inclusion, visibility, and lasting brand equity.

You don’t need to block AI to protect your content. You need to teach AI how to represent you well.

That means:

• Creating structured, scannable, value-packed content.
• Showing your expertise through real experience, not just word count.
• Building a recognizable brand that surfaces across tools, platforms, and summaries.

This isn’t the end of blogging. But it is the end of blogging like it’s 2021.

So lean in. 

• Train the AI. 
• Build the brand. 
• Meet your audience where they’re actually searching.

The future belongs to creators who don’t just write for clicks, they write to be remembered.

Dig deeper: An AI-assisted content process that outperforms human-only copy