In my last article, I focused on the old, fading king of reach: television and why I believe it might experience a revival.

I see something similar happening with websites. You often read: SEO is dead and websites are losing relevance. In my opinion, the opposite is true.

When AI Answers Before You Click

Since AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s “AI Overviews” have become increasingly part of the search experience, we no longer need to click through long lists of links. The answer comes directly: summarized, compact and often pretty good. So why bother opening an app or visiting a website?

This new way of searching for information is changing our expectations and our habits. When we get answers right in the search field, we need other platforms less and less.

Websites Take Center Stage Again

What surprises many: While apps used to be the go-to solution (“There’s an app for that!”), websites are now moving back into focus thanks to AI search. Why? Simple: AI models rely on web content. They analyze, index, and summarize and they do this best with publicly accessible websites, not with closed app environments.

Suddenly, the visibility and structure of your web presence matter again. Meta tags, clean content, clear topics all of this becomes essential for AI. If you want to stay digitally visible, you have to offer more than just an app or a website without meaningful content.

Content Was and Still Is King

Now more than ever, we must ask ourselves: Is the content on my website relevant? Does it cover the right information and topics? Does it answer users’ questions?

The more thoroughly and clearly advertisers explain their services and products on their website – and do so in context the more likely they are to be integrated into AI search results.

But How Does It Work?

Processing the Search Query:

The search query is broken down into smaller units using Natural Language Processing (NLP), normalized, and enriched with important terms like names of people or companies to better understand the context.

Expanding the Search Query:

Large language models (LLMs) automatically expand the query with synonyms and related terms to deliver more precise and comprehensive results.

Index Search:
The search engine scans a structured data index to find matching content.

Ranking:

AI algorithms rank the results based on relevance, considering context and user behavior.

Displaying the Results:

The results are presented in a user-friendly and easy-to-understand way, often supplemented with recommendations or follow-up questions.

Context Retention:

The search engine remembers the conversation context so that follow-up questions can be meaningfully connected.

And What About Apps?

Of course, apps remain relevant – especially for services that rely on personalization or specific functions. But as the first source of information, they are losing importance. AI search doesn’t happen in your app. It happens in the browser, in the search engine, or directly in a chatbot.

This means: Companies that have long relied on their app as their main customer touchpoint should rethink their strategy. Web visibility and AI readability are (again) becoming a top priority.

What Does This Mean for Us in Marketing?

Very specifically:

SEO remains important: maybe more than ever, but in a new form.

Content must be understandable not just for people, but also for machines.

The website is regaining its role as the strategic center of the digital presence.

And: A strong app alone is no longer enough.

New KPIs are becoming increasingly important: brand mentions in AI-generated answers, visibility in AI snippets, and content quality (e.g., according to EEAT criteria) are emerging as key success factors. Website traffic alone will tell us less and less about how visible you really are.

Time for a Shift in Perspective

I truly believe we are at a turning point. Anyone thinking about visibility, customer contact, and digital presence today cannot ignore AI-driven search. And if you're wondering how your brand will be found tomorrow, you shouldn’t just think about app stores but about the good old web.
Maybe it’s time to reprioritize your online presence to ensure you can still be found.