The article discusses a potential correlation between changes in Google’s organic search visibility and AI search citations, particularly following an unconfirmed Google algorithm update in January 2026. This update negatively impacted the organic search visibility of many major brands, especially affecting their blogs and informational resources. The author investigates whether these declines in organic visibility are mirrored by similar declines in AI search citations across various language models (LLMs) like Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
Key findings suggest that drops in Google’s organic search visibility are generally accompanied by declines in AI search citations. ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode showed the most significant declines, while Perplexity was less affected, indicating it might use non-Google search surfaces for its responses. This suggests a strong link between traditional SEO performance and AI search visibility, emphasizing the importance of maintaining good SEO practices to ensure visibility across both traditional and AI-driven search platforms.
For marketing professionals, this article highlights the critical connection between SEO and AI search visibility. Understanding this relationship can help them optimize their content strategies to maintain visibility across both traditional search engines and AI platforms. It also warns against using tactics that might harm SEO performance, as these could negatively impact AI search visibility as well.
