Google says the real shift is longer questions, not a new discipline

What happened?

Google published a Think with Google conversation with marketing leaders from Ikea, Debenhams, and DoorDash about adapting to AI search. Two things in it are worth your time. Google states that the average AI Mode search is triple the length of a traditional Search query, a figure it published separately on its own blog in May 2026. And Google says plainly that for organic traffic and discoverability, the best formula for success remains foundational search engine optimization. DoorDash echoed that, calling the idea of answer engine optimization as a wholly separate practice a misconception.

Why does it matter?

You have probably been told that AI search demands an entirely new discipline, usually by someone selling the tool for it. Google, which runs the largest of these systems, is saying the opposite: the fundamentals still carry you. That is genuinely good news for a one person communications team with no budget. The query shift is the part that actually changes your work. People are asking longer, more situational questions, so the pages that get pulled into answers are the ones that answer a whole question rather than target a two word phrase.

Should I do anything?

Take your single most important page and write down the longest, most natural question a person would ask to end up there. Not the keyword, the entire sentence. Then check whether the page answers that sentence within its first two lines. If it does not, add a heading phrased as the question and a short direct answer underneath it. That is one page and about fifteen minutes of work. Leave the rest of the site alone until you can see whether it made any difference.

Learn more

• Google: how AI Mode is changing the way people search
• Think with Google: lessons from marketing leaders on AI Search
• Our guide: GEO vs AEO vs SEO
• Our guide: create AI-friendly FAQs