Discover how AI is reshaping SEO and how to adapt your strategy for AEO and GEO. Curious about insights gained from the SEO Benelux Conference 2025? Then this blogpost is for you.
The SEO Benelux Conference again made one thing crystal clear – artificial intelligence isn’t a fad in the search landscape anymore; it’s the new normal.
According to Miranda Gahrmann – a keynote speaker with 17 years of SEO experience – AI is transforming not only how we search, but where we search. Younger generations are increasingly turning away from Google in favour of platforms like TikTok and Instagram. At the same time, AI is making search queries more specific, richer in context, and increasingly conversational.
So, what does this mean for SEO? It means that the traditional approach of focusing solely on keywords and backlinks will no longer suffice. AI models process far more than only websites; they learn from everything published online – from comments left on forums, to PDFs. As a result, intent-focused strategies are becoming more important than ever.
The rise of AI has given birth to new SEO concepts such as answer engine optimisation (AEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO). At the conference, Céline Naveau from Semantic explained that SEO should no longer focus solely on search engines, but also on AI response generators such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.
AEO is about optimising your content so AI systems will cite it in their responses. GEO takes this one step further.
With GEO, the goal is to make your brand and expertise visible within the wider ecosystem of generative AI – for instance, being mentioned in AI answers, being present on the platforms that LLMs use as data sources, as well as having plug-in and app integrations.
This calls for content that not only meets best practices in SEO, but also aligns with how AI understands language and relevance. This means structured data, semantic variation and topicality will make the difference here.
An AI-proof SEO strategy starts with understanding both your audience and the AI systems themselves. Céline and her team at Semantic use a framework that takes data analysis as its starting point: which questions does your audience ask, where do they ask them, and in what format?
Based on this information, they cluster questions and topics, and then create content that not only helps search engines but also triggers prompt-based AI tools. Examples include incorporating follow-up questions, summaries and tables. AI mainly privileges content that has a clear structure, mentions brands and provides ample context.
Offsite factors are also gaining importance. Being present on industry platforms, forums, Wikipedia and Trustpilot increases your chances of appearing as a trusted source in AI-generated answers.
During his talk on JavaScript and rendering issues, SEO consultant Jan-Willem Bobbink warned that many modern websites display their content only after JavaScript rendering. AI bots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity are often unable to ‘see’ this content.
The solution? Server-side rendering, clear metadata in HTML and a correctly configured robots.txt. Schema markup also helps AI systems interpret your content more effectively.
Core Web Vitals remain equally important. Sitespeed consultant Erwin Hofman stressed that Google increasingly uses real user data (CrUX) to determine rankings. The websites that perform better – both among users and AI systems – are those that load quickly, remain visually stable and respond well to interaction.
With the rise of AI Overviews, zero-click searches and generative responses, the number of clicks on organic results is dropping. Speaking at the conference, Miranda Gahrmann explained that some websites are losing up to 80% of their traffic due to AI Overviews.
How can you measure success against such a backdrop?
Céline Naveau recommended coming up with new KPIs:
SEO specialist Jan Caerels also advised building or adapting your own tools, such as:
This doesn’t have to cost you a fortune – a lot of this can be done using free tools.
Here are six concrete steps you can take today:
➡️ Restructure your content so it is logical, modular and easy to navigate. Use H2s, bullet points, tables and FAQs.
➡️ Add schema markup such as Article, FAQPage or Product, so that both search engines and AI interfaces can interpret your content correctly.
➡️ Collect your own data by producing statistics, customer surveys or other unique insights that will make your content stand out.
➡️ Monitor AI visibility with tools such as AI Citation Checker or through manual prompts in ChatGPT, Bard or Perplexity.
➡️ Optimise for speed and UX: a solid Core Web Vitals score will increase your credibility with both Google and AI platforms.
➡️ Publish on relevant platforms such as industry blogs, Reddit and Wikipedia. AI models draw heavily on these platforms as training data sources.
SEO expert Baba Hausmann also advocated for a ‘revenue-first SEO’ approach. Focus on what truly matters: fewer vanity metrics, more conversions and tangible business results. It’s better to measure 10 valuable leads than 10,000 irrelevant impressions.
The future of SEO not only lies in keywords and backlinks, but in strategic alignment with how AI works, learns and responds. As SEO consultant Sander Tamaela put it:
“SEO must become antifragile. Change is not a threat, but an opportunity.”
Those who focus on user intent, technical accessibility and content that is both in-depth and well-structured will not only perform better in search engines, but also gain prominence in AI-driven answers.
The SEO Benelux Conference showed that the industry is undergoing a major transformation. The tools are here; so are the insights. Now it’s up to you to take action.
