Search is fundamentally changing. Users increasingly ask ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI systems for recommendations instead of Googling. They get complete answers without clicking links. Your website might rank number one traditionally but never appear when someone asks an LLM about your industry. Traditional SEO metrics measuring clicks and rankings miss this transformation entirely.
The Clickless Search Revolution
Traffic analytics show the symptom; AI answers reveal the cause. When potential customers receive product recommendations, how-to advice, or comparison information directly from language models, they never visit your site. You don’t lose the click because users found better content. You lose it because AI answered their question completely, often synthesizing information from multiple sources you’ll never see in referral data.
Rita Cidre, Head of Academy at Semrush with 15 years leading growth marketing at Zillow Group, NPR, and Time Inc., designed this course addressing the visibility crisis traditional SEO ignores. Featuring insights from search expert Leigh McKenzie, the curriculum teaches measuring and optimizing for a landscape where being mentioned matters more than being clicked.
Keywords vs Prompts: Different Game Entirely
Traditional SEO optimizes for keywords users type into search boxes. AI SEO requires understanding prompts, the conversational queries people pose to language models. These differ fundamentally in structure, intent, and how systems process them. A keyword might be “best project management software.” The equivalent prompt: “I’m managing a remote team of 15 people with tight deadlines. What project management tools integrate well with Slack and have strong time tracking?”
LLMs don’t retrieve pages and rank them. They synthesize responses from training data and real-time information retrieval, potentially citing sources or simply providing answers without attribution. Your optimization target shifts from your website to the entire web. If authoritative third-party sites don’t mention your brand when discussing your category, LLMs won’t either.
Measuring What Actually Matters Now
Traffic metrics become misleading when users never click. You need new KPIs. Share of voice measures how often your brand appears in AI responses compared to competitors. Are you mentioned? In what context? Positively or negatively? As a leading option or afterthought?
Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit provides these measurements, tracking your presence across LLM responses to relevant prompts. You’ll learn hands-on how to monitor AI visibility, compare performance against competitors, and identify where you’re losing mindshare in AI-generated recommendations.
The course walks through measuring brand perception in AI answers. LLMs don’t just mention brands neutrally; they frame them within contexts influencing user decisions. Understanding sentiment and positioning in AI responses becomes crucial for brand management in this new environment.
Five Prompt Types Mapping Customer Journeys
Not all prompts matter equally. The curriculum categorizes prompts into five types aligned with customer journey stages, with deep focus on comparison prompts where users evaluate options. These represent high-intent moments where appearing in AI answers directly impacts conversions.
You’ll conduct prompt research identifying which queries matter for your business, analyzing how competitors appear in responses, and building tracking systems monitoring performance over time. This replaces traditional keyword research with prompt-focused strategy reflecting how people actually interact with AI systems.
Building Citation-Worthy Content
LLMs pull information from sources they consider authoritative and well-structured. Generic blog posts won’t cut it. You need content formatted specifically for AI comprehension and citation. The course teaches AI-preferred formats: tables for comparison data, Q&A sections for direct answers, step-by-step guides for processes, and structured information hierarchies.
Content chunking helps LLMs extract relevant segments. Proper header hierarchy signals information architecture. The pillar and cluster content model establishes topical authority AI systems recognize. These aren’t cosmetic changes; they’re structural decisions affecting whether language models understand and cite your content.
Expert walkthroughs showcase real examples of LLM-optimized content that consistently appears in AI responses. You’ll see specific elements triggering citations and learn to identify what makes content citation-worthy versus ignored.
Third-Party Amplification Strategy
Here’s the paradigm shift: optimizing your website isn’t enough. LLMs synthesize information from across the web. If authoritative industry sites, review platforms, news publications, and community forums don’t discuss your brand, you’re invisible regardless of your own content quality.
The course teaches identifying where LLMs source information about your category, finding untapped citation opportunities, and strategically earning mentions on platforms AI systems trust. This resembles PR more than traditional SEO, requiring relationships, thought leadership, and strategic presence beyond your domain.
Technical Optimisation for AI Systems
LLMs interact with websites differently than Google’s crawler. Technical SEO for AI involves understanding how language models retrieve information, what signals they prioritize, and how technical implementation affects citability.
You’ll master robots.txt configuration allowing or blocking AI crawlers, structured data markup making information machine-readable, and website architecture facilitating content discovery. The Semrush Site Audit walkthrough identifies LLM optimization opportunities and technical issues preventing AI visibility.
Expert guidance from Leigh McKenzie highlights what to prioritize versus what doesn’t matter, including his opinion on the single biggest issue holding sites back from AI visibility. This practical focus prevents wasting effort on technical changes providing minimal impact.
Staying Ahead in Rapid Evolution
AI search evolves weekly. New models launch, existing ones update, user behavior shifts, and best practices emerge through experimentation. Rita emphasizes we’re in the early days of this transformation. The course provides frameworks for continuous adaptation rather than static tactics becoming obsolete.
Downloadable worksheets help you implement strategies immediately, tracking progress as you optimize for AI visibility. The curriculum balances strategic thinking with tactical execution, teaching both what to do and why it matters.
Free Certification in Emerging Specialization
Completing the course and final assessment earns your Semrush Academy certificate in AI visibility essentials. As companies realize traditional SEO misses AI-mediated discovery, professionals understanding LLM optimization become increasingly valuable. This certification demonstrates specialized knowledge few marketers possess.
The field is nascent enough that early adopters gain significant competitive advantage. Most brands haven’t adjusted strategies for AI search, creating opportunity for those who adapt quickly. Whether you’re an SEO professional expanding expertise, a content creator optimizing for new platforms, or a marketer recognizing where audience discovery happens now, these skills position you at the forefront of marketing’s next evolution.
Search didn’t die; it transformed. Users still seek information and recommendations. They’re just getting answers from AI instead of websites. Understanding how to remain visible and influential in this new environment separates marketers thriving from those wondering where their traffic went.
