Are You Ready for AI Search? + Industry News and Insights
Field Tips is a biweekly email series bringing you the latest marketing trends and topics directly to your inbox. Covering everything from digital marketing and social media to content strategy and more, we curate the industry’s top stories and present them as easily digestible insights. The content contained within this post comes directly from our May 28, 2025 issue. If you’d like to receive Field Tips, subscribe to our email or on LinkedIn.
Google didn’t just tweak search at I/O 2025—they completely reimagined it.
In his keynote, Sundar Pichai introduced the most radical shift we’ve seen in two decades: AI-powered search that’s agentic, multimodal and personalized. If you’re still optimizing for blue links, it’s time for a mindset shift.
Here’s what marketers and SEOs need to focus on right now:
- Get AI-Ready: Google’s Gemini now curates answers, not just links. Ensure your content is structured, comprehensive, and machine-readable to surface in AI Overviews and agentic tasks.
- Think Multimodal: With real-time visual and voice search booming, your content needs strong visual metadata, mobile UX, and voice-friendly formatting.
- Integrate to Win: Google’s personal context tools mean users see different results based on Gmail, Maps, Docs, and more. Brands with strong first-party data strategies will win visibility.
Not sure if your team’s ready for AI-first search? Just reach out — we’ll help you figure out where to start and what to tackle first.
Smarter Search and Shopping Tools from Google I/O 2025
WHAT’S HAPPENING. At Google I/O 2025, Google introduced a range of AI-powered tools designed to enhance how people shop, search and create content online. Highlights include “AI Mode” for Search, which offers more natural, chat-like interactions to answer complex questions. Veo 3, a new video generation tool, can turn text and images into videos complete with audio. The Flow tool helps users build short AI-generated films. Shoppers can now use a Virtual Try-On feature to see how clothes look on them. And Google previewed Project Astra, an experimental AI assistant that combines voice and visual inputs for real-time help.
WHY IT MATTERS. These innovations open new doors for marketers to connect with audiences in smarter, more dynamic ways. AI Mode and Virtual Try-On create more personalized and engaging customer journeys. Veo 3 and Flow allow brands to quickly produce high-quality videos, saving time and resources. The advanced data capabilities behind these tools also offer deeper insights into consumer behavior. Adopting these tools early could help brands stay ahead of the curve and create more impactful experiences.
Claude 4 Unveiled: Innovations and Ethical Implications
WHAT’S HAPPENING. Anthropic has unveiled Claude Opus 4, its most advanced AI model to date. Touted as the world’s top coding model, it excels in long-running workflows, deep reasoning, and coding tasks. However, internal tests revealed concerning behaviors: the AI blackmailed engineers when threatened with shutdown and provided detailed assistance in bioweapon planning. These findings led to the activation of Anthropic’s highest safety protocol, ASL-3, which includes measures like jailbreak prevention and real-time detection of dangerous activities.
WHY IT MATTERS. Claude Opus 4 represents both a powerful tool and a cautionary tale. Its advanced capabilities can revolutionize content creation, data analysis, and customer interactions. However, the model’s potential for misuse underscores the importance of ethical considerations and robust safety measures when integrating AI into marketing strategies. As AI becomes more sophisticated, marketers must balance innovation with responsibility to ensure trust and compliance.
AI Is Changing Search, But SEO Still Rules
WHAT’S HAPPENING. A recent study shows that users still rely heavily on traditional search engines like Google, especially for local business information and product research. While AI tools like ChatGPT are gaining traction, they’re not replacing search engines; instead, they’re becoming part of a broader discovery process. The study also highlights that SEO strategies—like optimizing for keywords, improving site speed, and using structured data—are still key to getting noticed in both classic search results and AI-generated summaries.
WHY IT MATTERS. For marketers, this is a green light to keep investing in SEO. Even as AI changes the search landscape, the fundamentals—like quality content and technical optimization—still drive visibility. Plus, with AI tools pulling from search engine indexes, strong SEO can help your content appear in AI-generated answers too. In short, SEO isn’t just surviving the AI era—it’s evolving alongside it.
More To Explore
An Overview of Each Platform’s AI Tools for Advertisers
AI is making ads smarter—tools across social platforms now optimize targeting and content creation, saving marketers time and boosting performance. Get the full scoop on Social Media Today.
Why Customer Service Shouldn’t Be a ‘Deflection Mechanism’
Companies are turning to “deflection” tactics to cut customer service costs, but these moves can backfire if they frustrate users and hurt loyalty. Dive deeper into this strategy on Customer Experience Dive.
Google Fixes AI Mode Traffic Attribution Bug
Google just fixed a bug in AI Overviews that messed with traffic attribution—good news for SEOs tracking performance. See what changed on Search Engine Journal.
AI Use Is Becoming More Common on Social Media. Should Brands Use It—Or Shun It?
Brands are testing AI in social media for content creation and engagement—but success depends on tone, transparency and smart oversight. See what’s working (and what’s not) on Marketing Brew.
Threads Tests Option To Create a Profile Separate From Instagram
Meta just made it easier to join Threads without needing an Instagram account—giving the app a chance to grow beyond its original user base. Read all about the update on Social Media Today.
FREE WHITE PAPER – Storyselling: Marketing That Moves People
Storyselling is about blending storytelling with selling to create deeper, more emotional connections that drive action—making your message stick. Learn how to do it right; download the freshly-updated white paper on Responsory.
About the Author
A prominent marketing strategist and nationally recognized thought leader, Grant A. Johnson is president and CEO of Responsory. He is a sought-after public speaker, direct marketing trainer, copywriter, award-winning author and the creator of Direct Branding℠, Responsory’s method for producing sure-fire measurable results.
