AI is coming for SEO’s job.

Search engine optimization (SEO) has become an important part of recruiters’ playbooks, dictating how they format their company’s careers site, job postings, and recruitment marketing materials so they surface in search engine results.

But as AI tools reshape how people search for information on the internet, SEO strategy is being upended. AI overviews appear on 21% of Google search results according to a November 2025 analysis by Ahrefs, while certain queries, such as those comprising a long string of words or questions, generated an AI overview at least half the time. And 28% of US adults use AI chatbots and AI search engines to search simple information, according to a survey from content marketing agency Claneo. (To get into the accuracy of the answers provided by these tools would, unfortunately, be to open a can of worms.)

Already for consumer products, companies are adapting their product and website copy to accommodate AI-powered search tools. This strategy, derived from SEO, is referred to by several names, most commonly generative engine optimization (GEO).

Recruiters will have to do the same, experts say.

AI search is already affecting job searches: 11.6% of the more than 1,600 US workers surveyed by employment agency iHire in June 2025 said they’ve used AI tools to research potential employers. Recruitment experts expect that share to grow.

AI shapes what we decide,” Maria Christopoulos Katris, cofounder and CEO of recruitment platform Built In, said during a panel at Talent Acquisition Week in February. That will apply to job seeking in the not-so-distant future, she added. “Think of a world where, in five years, candidates are starting and stopping their search in the LLMs. You should assume they are starting their search, they’re identifying companies to work for, they're researching you, and they’re making decisions, all without leaving an LLM.”

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