AI-Powered Search & SEO in 2026: What Venues Need to Know

Every few months, like clockwork, someone hits the SEO panic button.

“SEO is dead.”
“This changes everything.”
“It’s all about AI now.”

If you look after digital marketing for your venue, you’ve likely seen this headline before, perhaps with a few different buzzwords attached. Remember when mobile-first was going to kill desktop SEO? Or when voice search was supposed to render everything obsolete?

The latest panic? Google’s AI Mode, AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, Perplexity and the wider world of AI-powered search tools, fundamentally changing how people find information online.

Yes, it’s true: the way people search is shifting. But that’s nothing new…it’s always been shifting. The crucial question to ask isn’t whether AI is changing search (it is), but whether your venue’s SEO strategy was built on solid enough ground to begin with.

Cutting Through the Noise: Is SEO Really Dead? 

Let us start by reassuring you…a lot of what’s being said about AI search right now is noise.

It misrepresents how Google works today, in fact, how it’s always worked. Worse, it’s stoking anxiety among venue marketers and, conveniently, upselling fixes you didn’t need yesterday and probably still don’t today.

Yes, AI Overview is real. AI Mode is active. ChatGPT Search exists. But if your venue has been investing in smart, user-focused SEO, there’s no need to panic. Even Google, that uses AI to power billions of searches every day, is saying this: the fundamentals haven’t changed.

As always, you’ve come to the right place for frank reality. So, it must be said, if your existing SEO strategy hasn’t moved beyond chasing keywords, stuffing meta descriptions and hoping algorithm updates wouldn’t notice, it’s time for a rethink. But not because AI killed SEO. Because that approach was never sustainable in the first place.

The AI Search Landscape in 2026 

Google’s AI Overviews now appear at the top of many search results, pulling information from multiple sources to create instant answers. ChatGPT Search and Perplexity offer conversational interfaces where users can ask follow-up questions and refine queries in real time.

These tools synthesise information, presenting summaries and often answering questions without users ever clicking through to a website. This creates zero-click searches, where the search engine provides enough information that users never visit your site.

But here’s what the panic merchants won’t tell you: AI search engines still need sources. They’re pulling that information from somewhere. And if your content is authoritative, well-structured and genuinely helpful, you become that source.

What’s Really Different About AI Search? 

People using AI Mode aren’t typing “wedding venues.”

They’re asking: “What’s the most elegant Central London wedding venue with views over the Mall?” or “Which Westminster venues offer sustainability credentials for conferences?”

That’s a different kind of search. It’s long-form, conversational, emotional and packed with intent.

If you’re still chasing broad short-tail terms, you’ll be invisible here. But here’s the thing: you always were. AI hasn’t reinvented SEO. It has simply exposed lazy strategies that were never built around how real people search.

What’s Still Working in SEO Right Now 

Before we talk about what needs to change, let’s be clear about what’s still working.

Original, high-quality content still forms the foundation of any successful strategy. Technical SEO (focused on site speed, mobile optimisation, clean URL structures and proper schema markup) hasn’t gone anywhere. Building genuine expertise and authority through E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is becoming more important, not less. User experience remains paramount.

The critical difference? These elements now serve both traditional search engines and AI systems. If your SEO strategy has always been grounded in relevance, clarity and user intent, you’re already playing the game right.

How AI-Powered Search Changes Your Content Strategy

This is where things get tactical. AI-powered search changes how you need to structure, format and present information.

Stop Chasing Short-Tail Keywords

Short-tail keywords are noisy, expensive to rank for and rarely convert because they lack specific intent. AI search makes this even clearer. Start thinking in vectors. Two venues might both talk about conference spaces, but one focuses on eco events while the other emphasises scale. Totally different search intent, meaning totally different optimisation needs.

Content Formatting for AI Extraction 

AI systems read differently than humans, although they’re designed to mirror human comprehension. Structure content so it can be easily extracted, understood and cited:

• Include clear and concise summaries at the top of articles, as large language models (LLMs) pull these for direct answers. 
• Incorporate well-structured headings that create scannable content hierarchies. Each H2 and H3 should be a clear, answerable question or topic marker. 
• Feature bullet points and lists that AI can easily parse and extract. 
• Directly answer questions throughout the entire page, ensuring that even a paragraph halfway down can be picked up by AI, because each section is addressing specific user queries. 

Optimise for Passages, Not Just Pages 

Traditional SEO focused on optimising entire pages. AI search optimises passages, so every paragraph needs to carry semantic weight. Every section needs to serve a clear purpose. Think of your content as modular: each section should be able to answer a question independently.

Building Content Authority 

Create comprehensive, layered content that answers multiple related queries. Establish topical authority through content clusters. If you’re a conference venue, don’t just have one page about conferences. Create content around hybrid event technology, sustainability in corporate events, accessible venue features. Each piece reinforces your expertise.

Go deeper than competitors. AI systems reward sources that provide detail, data, examples and insights that can’t be found elsewhere. Include reviews and testimonials (AI systems use these to assess credibility), detailed ‘About’ pages and author bios that establish expertise, citations to authoritative sources and transparent information about your business and credentials. Regular content updates signal active expertise.

Write for People, Not Prompts 

AI isn’t a sentient mind. It’s a predictive engine built on language patterns and user input. It rewards content that’s structured, relevant and genuinely helpful to its consumers.

The best way to optimise for AI? Write clearly, answer questions thoroughly and structure information logically. The same principles that make content valuable for humans make it valuable for AI.

The Role of AI in SEO: Should You Use AI for Content Creation?

Fully automated AI content often fails because it lacks the depth, originality and specific expertise that makes content authoritative. But here’s where AI can genuinely help: the hybrid approach. Use AI tools for research, generating outlines, identifying content gaps and optimising existing drafts. But maintain human expertise and voice for the insights, experiences and perspectives that AI can’t replicate.

Your venue has plenty of unique stories to tell. Case studies of incredible guest experiences and events that surpassed every objective. Challenges you’ve solved. Fascinating details about your spaces that only someone who works there would know. That’s the content AI search engines want to find and cite.

Why SEO Still Matters Alongside Listing Sites

If you’re already investing in platforms such as Hire Space, Venue Directory, Octoplus and other corporate and private event directories, is SEO still worthwhile? Absolutely yes. 

Listing sites help with discovery; your website builds your brand and converts. Someone might find you on a directory, but they’ll visit your website to learn more about your story, see detailed venue information and get a feel for whether you’re the right fit. 

AI search engines cite authoritative sources. Your website can become that source, but only if you’ve invested in it. Organic visibility gives you control and long-term assets. Listing sites can change their algorithms, increase prices, or shift focus. Your website and organic rankings are assets you control. 

SEO and listing sites work together in a complete marketing strategy. Think of listing sites as one channel in a diversified approach. The venues that succeed long-term are the ones building their own authority, not just relying on third-party platforms. 

AI and SEO: Same Principles, New Context 

If there’s one takeaway from all of this, it’s this: AI doesn’t replace SEO. It relies on it. 

When we optimise a venue website today, we’re not just thinking about how Google crawls a page. We’re thinking about how AI Overviews and LLMs extract meaning from passages, summaries and relationships between topics. Through keyword research and audience-specific content, we highlight what makes each venue unique and make sure that value is visible in both traditional and AI-driven search. 

The key to executing this all effectively goes beyond chasing trends. It’s about building visibility that lasts. 

The Takeaway 

If your SEO strategy is built around helping the right people find the right answers, AI will reward you. If it feels like everything’s been upended, it’s probably because your strategy wasn’t built for users to begin with. 

The venues and businesses that embrace this shift, building strategies that understand both how people search and how AI interprets that intent, will lead the way. Those who keep waiting for the “next big change” will always be playing catch-up. 

At Patch, we help you get ahead and stay ahead, with SEO strategies built for people first and future-proofed for AI-driven search. We work with venues across the UK, delivering strategic campaigns that drive real results, not just rankings. 

Because the future of search is already here. 

If you’d like to discuss how we can help your venue navigate AI-powered search optimisation, get in touch. We’d love to chat about building a strategy that works now and adapts for what’s coming next.