Reports of the death of Search and the rise of pay-to-compete are greatly exaggerated, writes Intender’s Sam Attwood.
The conversation about the future of Google search is getting louder across the marketing industry – and harder to ignore.
Scan the trade press and you’ll see growing debate over whether organic search is being squeezed out by paid placements, AI-generated summaries and Google-owned features.
That’s understandable. The Google interface has shifted from a simple list of links to a crowded knowledge dashboard. Users today must navigate past ads, AI summaries, videos, and map packs before encountering a traditional organic result.
But while the frustration is real, to suggest SEO is entering a “pay-to-compete” era misses something important.
What we’re witnessing isn’t the collapse of organic search.
It’s the evolution in how people search, and understanding that difference matters.
Search didn’t change overnight
It’s tempting to see AI Overviews or increased advertising as a sudden turning point. In reality, Google’s results page has been evolving gradually for more than a decade through a process of continual experimentation.
- Featured snippets began answering questions directly in results,
- People Also Ask boxes introduced expandable answers within the SERP,
- Knowledge Panels were supposed to render Wikipedia-style sites redundant,
- Maps and local packs reshaped how local businesses appear,
- Video carousels started surfacing visual content,
- Shopping results transformed commercial search behaviour.
Each of these changes altered how people interact with search platforms. AI summaries and conversational search features are simply the latest evolution in a long process of experimentation and optimisation.
The result is that search has shifted from a list of links into something closer to a layered information environment, where different formats compete for attention and engagement.
Ranking first no longer means owning the page
For many years, SEO success was largely defined by a simple objective: rank first and capture the click.
Today, that single ranking no longer stands alone. Depending on the query, it can sit among a crowded mix of AI-generated summaries, paid search placements, map listings, product results, discussion forums and video results – all competing for the user’s attention.
In practical terms, ranking #1 in organic results now often means being the sixth or seventh element a user actually sees. The brands performing best today are those appearing across multiple parts of this search experience simultaneously.
The quiet rise of zero-click search
One of the most overlooked aspects of the current debate is that declining click-through rates aren’t limited to organic search. They’re happening across the entire results page.
Research into Google’s AI Overviews found that for informational queries, organic click-through rates (CTR) dropped by around 61 per cent and paid CTR on the same queries fell by 68 per cent.
This isn’t a case of Google stealing from Peter to pay Paul. It’s users finding the answer without needing to visit anyone’s website.
Large-scale clickstream data from SparkToro shows that for every 1,000 Google searches in the US, only about 360 result in a click to the open web. More than half of search journeys now end on the results page.
For traditional agencies, this looks like a crisis. For strategic partners, it’s a shift in how “influence” is defined.
Success can no longer be measured by sessions alone. If your brand becomes the source an AI Overview relies on to answer a user’s question, you gain brand equity and mindshare, even if you didn’t get the session.
From search engine to answer engine
At its core, search is shifting from a navigation tool to an answer engine. Instead of directing users to websites, search engines are increasingly synthesising information and presenting answers directly.
Generative AI has accelerated this trend dramatically. Research shows that exposure to AI-generated answers has expanded rapidly across global search markets between 2024 and 2025.
The goal for search engines is obvious: reduce friction between a question and an answer.
For marketers, the objective is no longer just to rank – it’s to become the source that AI trusts enough to reference.
Search is no longer just Google
Search behaviour is expanding beyond traditional engines. People, especially younger demographics, are discovering information across an increasingly fragmented ecosystem.
Search now happens across:
- TikTok and Instagram: For visual discovery and social-proof reviews.
- Reddit: For human-verified advice and unfiltered opinions.
- YouTube: For deep-dive how-tos.
- ChatGPT/Perplexity: For complex problem-solving.
- Amazon: For bottom-of-funnel commercial intent.
For many younger users, platforms like TikTok or Reddit have become the starting point for research and discovery. This shift has given rise to what Rand Fishkin calls Search Everywhere Optimisation.
Rather than optimising for a single search engine, brands must consider how they appear across the entire information ecosystem.
That includes:
- brand mentions across communities
- authoritative content referenced by AI systems
- video content discoverable on visual platforms
- digital PR and earned media that reinforce credibility
In this environment, SEO becomes less about a single ranking and more about building a presence wherever people search for answers.
The companies that thrive will be those that understand search not as a channel but as an ecosystem of discovery.
The brands that adapt will win
It’s easy to look at a cluttered SERP and declare – once again – that search is dying and SEO is dead. In some ways, it is. The era of “gaming” the system with thin content and keyword stuffing is over.
But search demand has never been higher. People are more curious, more connected and more reliant on digital answers than ever before. The pathways have simply become more complex.
The real opportunity for brands isn’t fighting for scraps of a shrinking pie. It’s recognising the “pie” has expanded across the entire internet. The future of search belongs to the organisations that understand how information flows, not just how a crawler works.
Search isn’t dying. It’s expanding. And the brands that evolve with it will still be discovered.
Sam Attwood is Head of Owned & Earned at Intender
