Search, AI, and The Near Future of the Internet

Top Takeaways From Google’s Search Central Live

Studio 3 Board Member and Chief Strategy Officer Ken Bosan had the unique opportunity of attending “Search Central Live,” a Google conference connecting its own Search execs and other industry experts with online marketing professionals.

Here’s our CSO Ken Bosan’s key takeaways from the conference, as relates to AI, Search, and the near-future of the Internet as it affects your business.

1. AI is “A Golden Age of Innovation” But It “Doesn’t Replace Search”

Mr. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, previously said he sees AI as ushering in a “Golden Age of Innovation,” and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve lives at scale.

That’s probably true, even if a bit too macro for the majority of companies concerned with the micro—the here and now, their own revenue and KPIs.

So what does AI mean for your website, your business, and for ideal clients looking for a company like yours?

Google’s Search execs had some great insights, beginning with the fact that AI won’t replace Search, nor make the majority of your online marketing efforts unnecessary.

(A March 2025 analysis by SparkToro co-founder Rand Fishkin suggests Google Search is 373 times larger than ChatGPT, whose market share is less than 1%. Google delivers on roughly 14 billion daily searches, ChatGPT on 37.5 million “search-style prompts” daily, and Google Search grew by 21.64% from 2023-2024.)

2. AI Content Can Be Okay for SEO

Google Search leadership says its systems don’t specifically penalize or de-rank AI content.

It’s not “AI content” that is a problem per se.

Rather, the problem as Google sees it is “Scaled Content Abuse,” whether the content in question is written by humans, is AI-generated, or a mix of both.

As for “Scaled Content Abuse,” Google defines it as “when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users.”

While AI plays a role in generating creative ideas, at Studio 3, all of the content we create is human-first, reviewed by our Content Team, with a final review by our VP for Content and QC Teams.

In line with Google’s advice, our own focus is on creating unique, quality content for your business that is genuinely helpful to users.

As for “Optimizing for AI” in the manner many companies currently optimize for Search (SEO), Mr. Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison, says, “If you’re optimizing for search, then you’re optimizing for AI.”

3. Search and AI are Now Two Sides of the Same Coin

Of course, this is a massive “coin” and on the AI side of it, there are things we’re focused on to boost organic search rankings and appearance in AI Overviews—such as structured data and schema—as well as a multitude of other developments we’re staying at the forefront of.

Bottom line: While AI is now everywhere and its scope grows daily, its basis is the internet, and Google doesn’t see AI making Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or other online marketing efforts irrelevant.

Rather, AI augments and enhances Search and Search Engine Optimization.

Since the vast majority of our own clients are in the very industries where the most “AIOs” (AI Overviews) are already populating in Search results—Legal and Medical—AI is a topic we’ve kept at the forefront of.

And have even integrated it into our proprietary CMS and Lead Management CRM—the Tresio CMS, and LeadLoop.

(And about that, so much more later.)

Beyond AI, other relevant takeaways from Search Central Live are:

4. ‘Toxic Backlinks’ Aren’t All That Toxic

For a long time, some marketers worried about spammy or so-called “toxic” backlinks, such as those that might be initiated by bots or competitors.

Google’s Search Liaison clarified that Google doesn’t penalize sites for simply being on the receiving end of “toxic backlinks.”

Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan advised that you only need worry about these if you or your former website agency was once engaged in spammy link schemes.

At Studio 3, we focus on the growth of natural, quality backlinks that add value and strength to your website.

5. Core Web Vitals are Valuable but Secondary

“Core Web Vitals” are a set of three metrics Google uses to evaluate the user experience of a website—things like speed of a site, or how much on-page elements shift around after a page loads.

These somewhat technical metrics are used by Google that some SEO agencies focus on, but at the conference, Google said over-obsessing over these metrics isn’t necessary.

What’s more important is that people visiting your company’s website have a pleasant and productive overall experience.

Yes, site speed still matters as does “cumulative layout shift,” but the top priority is properly placed on the overall user experience of a website.

6. ‘EEAT’ is Critical But Not Quite Quantifiable

“E-E-A-T” stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, a framework used by Google in assessing the quality of web content and how high or low it should show up in search rankings.

Mr. John Mueller, a Google Senior Search Analyst, clarified that there isn’t an “EEAT score,” and that websites can’t “sprinkle in” EEAT, nor “trick their way into being trusted.”

The best approach to EEAT is ensuring that a website accurately reflects the “E-E-A-T” of the company behind the website.

Verified bios, real user reviews, awards received, board-certifications, licensing, and media mentions all matter, and will help with E-E-A-T, as will IRL brand-building actions ranging from print media to billboards.

Your website should mirror the experience and expertise of your company—the live human team of specialists that will best serve clients looking for a company like yours.

7. “Know Thyself”

Now, do we assume Google just served up its entire algorithm on a silver platter?

No, of course not, but the conference covered highly valuable information well worth sharing, and added to a large dataset we use daily to help you, our clients, dominate locally.

8. Enhancing EEAT: What Your Team Can Do

Online marketing is a team effort and there are always things your internal team can do to contribute to success.

Some specific suggestions are:

1. Provide unique and valuable insights on your practice, how you care for patients or clients, and stress the nuance or value-adds that are unique to your approach.

2. Encourage client reviews on Google, Facebook, and any popular professional directory sites for your industry.

3. Social proof your business through video testimonials, before and after results, and transformation stories.

4. Gain or maintain access to credible associations in your field.

5. Provide peer-reviewed articles, journals, or professional and news publications, if you have these.

For more on how to maximize your use of these insights and improve your website and marketing, please contact us.

We’re always happy to help.