Why AI Search Matters

Q: AI Search Leaders is launching to address a new skills gap: SEO professionals who can translate AI s

AI Search Leaders is launching to address a new skills gap: SEO professionals who can translate AI search visibility into executive-level strategy command 27% higher salaries.

Q: AI search is not a single discipline — publishers face traffic/licensing problems, e-commerce faces

AI search is not a single discipline — publishers face traffic/licensing problems, e-commerce faces agentic commerce protocols (Google UCP vs OpenAI ACP vs WebMCP), B2B faces LLM brand sentiment, and platforms face disintermediation.

Q: McKinsey found 44% of AI-powered search users now use it as their primary research source, surpassin

McKinsey found 44% of AI-powered search users now use it as their primary research source, surpassing traditional search at 31%, while 87% of marketing chiefs report board-level pressure to build an AI search strategy.

Tom Critchlow from The SEO MBA·Tuesday, April 28, 2026·6 min read

Marketing AI/ML Business

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AI Summary

Tom Critchlow is launching 'AI Search Leaders', a program addressing the skills gap in AI search among SEO professionals. The newsletter argues that AI search is not a monolithic discipline but fragments into distinct problems depending on business type: publishers face traffic/licensing issues, e-commerce faces agentic commerce protocols, B2B faces brand sentiment in LLMs, and platforms face disintermediation. Executives are actively demanding AI search strategies, with roles mentioning AI in their titles paying 27% higher salaries.

Key Facts

✓AI Search Leaders is launching to address a new skills gap: SEO professionals who can translate AI search visibility into executive-level strategy command 27% higher salaries.

✓AI search is not a single discipline — publishers face traffic/licensing problems, e-commerce faces agentic commerce protocols (Google UCP vs OpenAI ACP vs WebMCP), B2B faces LLM brand sentiment, and platforms face disintermediation.

✓McKinsey found 44% of AI-powered search users now use it as their primary research source, surpassing traditional search at 31%, while 87% of marketing chiefs report board-level pressure to build an AI search strategy.

Author Takes

BearishTom Critchlow from The SEO MBA

AI search as a unified discipline

Calling everything 'AI search' is lazy — it fragments into completely different problems depending on business type, and treating it as one thing leads to wrong strategies.

BearishTom Critchlow from The SEO MBA

Self-promoting listicles for B2B LLM visibility

Self-promoting listicles have already hit a wall as a strategy for getting brands mentioned or recommended by LLMs.

NeutralTom Critchlow from The SEO MBA

Future of SEO professionals in the AI era

Search professionals will fork into two paths: those who move upstream into strategic executive conversations, and those pushed downstream into increasingly automated production and reporting work.