The Current State of SEO in 2025

The Current State of SEO in 2025: A Landscape of Radical Transformation

In 2025, SEO is undergoing a radical transformation driven by artificial intelligence. The emergence of response engines such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, along with the rise of zero-click and voice search, gives rise to new strategies such as AEO and GEO. Brands must create structured, direct and conversational content to maintain visibility and relevance in an AI-dominated environment.

The devastating impact of AI on web traffic

The massive integration of artificial intelligence into search engines is completely redefining the SEO landscape. Between 60% and 65% of Google searches end up generating no clicks at all, a phenomenon known as zero-click searcheswhich on mobile devices goes up to 77%.

This change has led to dramatic traffic losses. Sectors such as technology and science media have experienced drops of up to 60%. Overall, the loss of organic traffic ranges from 15% to 45%, depending on the type of content and sector.

Cases such as Business Insider, with a loss of 55% since 2022, or HuffPost and The Washington Post, which have seen their search traffic halved, reflect this trend. Google is retaining more traffic, becoming an "answer engine".

The new reality: ChatGPT, Perplexity and the AI ecosystem

AI-assisted search engines are growing exponentially. ChatGPT leads with 80.1% of generative AI traffic, followed by DeepSeek (6.5%) and Google tools (5.6%). Perplexity, with only 1.9% share, accounts for 20% of AI traffic in sectors such as healthcare and ecommerce.

In March 2025, AI chatbots surpassed 230 million daily visits, with more than 90% coming from desktops, in contrast to traditional SEO, where mobile dominates.

Evolution towards AEO: Answer Engine Optimization

Traditional SEO is evolving into AEO, a discipline focused on positioning content for direct citation by AI engines. Unlike SEO, which seeks high rankings, AEO focuses on concise and accurate answers.

Emerging files: llms.txt as a new standard

The archive llms.txt is emerging as a standard for communicating with language models such as ChatGPT or Bard. This Markdown file, located at the root of the website, allows structured data to be provided to AI systems.

Benefits include increased visibility, reputation as a trusted source and competitive advantage. Although it is not yet clear whether it will replace the robots.txtis already considered complementary.

Long-tail keywords: the dominant strategy in 2025

The long-tail keywords account for more than 70% of searches. These 3-5 word strings have lower competition, higher ROI and better conversion. In the context of conversational or voice search, they are essential.

For example, users now ask: "Where can I get the best pizza in New York" instead of simply typing "best pizza NYC".

Renewed importance of domain and link authority

Domain authority remains key. Backlinks, especially high-quality backlinks, are the main off-site factor. The "Authority Sniper Link Building" strategy is gaining ground: get a few links from highly relevant sites. Prices range from €150 to over €1,000 per link, depending on the authority.

The indirect but crucial role of social networks

Although they are not a direct positioning factor, social networks influence SEO: they amplify content, generate traffic and strengthen brand authority. They also function as secondary search engines, especially among young people.

Visual optimisation: the SEO of the future

Optimised images and videos are now essential. Google and Apple already integrate AI-enriched visual search. To take advantage of this, it is recommended to use lightweight files, descriptive file names, ALT text and structured data.

The sector rent a car: opportunities in specific markets

The turnover of the rent a car in Spain reached €2.3 billion in 2024, with forecasts of €2.4 billion in 2025. Foreign tourism accounted for 44.3%, which reinforces the value of geographical SEO.

SEO strategies by region:

• United Kingdom: more than 5.5 million SMEs and massive use of the Internet. Importance of local SEO and "near me" searches.
• United States and Hawaii: international driving licence required and need for 4×4 vehicles in places like Mauna Kea.
• Argentina: Difficult roads and preference for 4×4. High prices, especially for this type of vehicle.
• Georgia: emerging market with opportunities for companies like Localiza.

Critical SEO, GEO and AEO actions for 2025

Adapted traditional SEO:

• Use llms.txt together with robots.txt
• Optimise long-tail keywords and conversational searches
• Working for featured snippets and voice search
• Maintain strategies for link building high quality

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation):

• Create clear and structured content for AI such as ChatGPT or Perplexity.
• Using enriched structured data
• Answering specific questions with precision

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization):

• Produce content that works as a direct response
• Optimise for search zero-click
• Develop FAQs and use schema markup

Conclusion: adapt or fade away

SEO in 2025 is a revolution. Businesses must adapt to search zero-clickThe new technologies, optimisation for AI and new ways of consuming content. In sectors such as rent a carThe approach should be hybrid: SEO, AEO and GEO, with adaptation by market.

The future will be multi-channel, multi-cultural and focused on providing clear answers. Brands that lead this transformation will not only survive, they will thrive.