Navigating the AI Search Revolution: What Digital Fundraisers Need to Know

The way people search is evolving faster than ever before. With AI-generated answers dominating search engine results pages and conversational platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini becoming go-to tools for discovery, traditional SEO is being rewritten in real-time.

Here’s what is happening, why it matters, and most importantly, what to do next.

Before we start, remember that search isn’t a platform, it’s a behaviour. People searching for information isn’t going away, it’s the way that information is presented that is changing. To build a robust AI service, large language models (LLMs) rely on lots of juicy and good quality (and sometimes not such good quality) information, they’re also going away and searching the web in a similar fashion to how a human user would.

This means content is still vital.

Content now feeds, search, AI information discover and everything else in your fundraising and marketing portfolio.

What are AI overviews and LLM traffic?

AI Overviews are Google’s AI-generated answers that now appear at the top of search results. They are designed to directly answer queries using information pulled from across the web and often include:

• Text summaries
• Bullet points
• Product links
• Images

These answers still register impressions and clicks in Google Search Console, so your content is still being seen.

But that is not the full story. A growing share of traffic is coming from Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, where links are surfaced in chat-style answers. You can spot this traffic in GA4 under referrals from domains such as gemini.google.com or chat.openai.com.

Ninja Tip: Search is no longer just about links and rankings. It is conversational and answer-led.

The click dilemma: zero-click searches are real

AI Overviews can significantly reduce your organic click-through rate (CTR). Users often find what they need directly in the AI-generated summary and do not click through.

This is especially true for informational searches like:

• How to…
• What is…
• Why do…

However, there is an upside. If your site is cited in these summaries, it signals authority and trust. Google has stated that these links can bring in higher-quality, more engaged traffic, even if overall volumes decline.

Ninja Tip: Strive to rank first and be cited. Even when users do not click, brand visibility increases.

The tracking gap: can you see AI traffic?

Google Search Console (GSC)

Currently, GSC does not differentiate between traditional and AI Overview traffic. All impressions and clicks are bundled into the standard Performance report. Between you and I, we’re hoping this changes soon – stay tuned!

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

GA4 offers more options for tracking:

• Referrals: Create custom reports to isolate visits from known AI platforms such as gemini.google.com and chat.openai.com (check out the beaut of a screenshot above)
• AI Overview links: Some clicks contain a #:~:text= parameter in the URL, which helps identify users coming from highlighted answers in AI Overviews.

It is worth noting this is not a perfect system. Not all AI-driven clicks include identifiable patterns.

Ninja Tip: Set up basic tracking now to spot emerging trends, but be aware that full visibility is not yet possible.

A smarter content strategy for the AI age

Content now needs to work for both humans and AI. There’s a lot to think about here so we’ve broken things into sections to help you tackle it. The thing to remember is many, if not all of these principles already apply to best-practice SEO, so a lot of it isn’t that new. Here is how to approach it.

Target long-tail, conversational keywords

Go beyond broad terms like “Donate to charity”. Instead, target specific search intent, for example:

“How to choose the most effective charity to donate to”, or “how many children can my donation help support”.

This is the kind of query that AI Overviews are designed to answer.

Create content that AI can’t easily summarise

On the surface, AI might seem great at crunching a large amount of data down into a bite-sized summary, but tests have proven that it often struggles with complexity and can often highlight incorrect or misleading information. Focus on originality:

• Publish new research
• Share real customer stories and testimonials
• Produce authentic case studies

AI tools only summarise what already exists. If your content is unique, it is more likely to stand out.

Retain supporters through effective content

Remember, your content isn’t just an awareness and acquisition tool, it can have a huge impact on supporter retention. It’s so expensive to acquire a single supporter, which makes is really important to engage and retain them for as long as possible, you can do this through:

• Inspirational content – LLMs and search engines gobble this up too
• Email direct marketing (EDMs) – make sure you publish your email newsletters in a place where LLMs and search engines can eat them up
• RAG (Retrieval Augmented Reality) – is essentially where AI combines its existing capabilities with your knowledge base to provide highly tailored interactive experiences with supporters – think an “always on” expert that can answer almost any question about your cause, impact and work

Supporter love is the name of the game and what better way to do it through informative, engaging and authoritative content!

Structure for Both AI and SEO

Structure is important for machines as well as humans. Breaking things down like this improves human readability as well as helping machines to understand the context and relative priority of information.

• Use clear headings (H1, H2, H3)
• Include bullet points and numbered lists
• Develop FAQ pages

This formatting helps AI understand and cite your content.

Go beyond content: strengthen your SEO foundation

Build topical authority

Do not stop at one article. Create content clusters with a main “pillar” page supported by in-depth subtopics. This shows Google you are a subject matter expert.

Use structured data (schema markup)

Apply schema types such as FAQPage, DonateAction, HowTo, and Article, Organization to help search engines understand and categorise your content correctly.

Diversify your traffic sources

SEO is not limited to written pages it includes videos, images, audio, advertising and community. Make sure you’re diversifying your channel portfolio so you’re not just operating a search machine, make sure you’re thinking about things like:

• Email campaigns
• Social media
• Public relations
• Events
• YouTube
• Podcasts
• Paid advertising

This builds a more resilient marketing strategy, making you less reliant on any single channel.

Build brand strength

All of the above activity will combine to help “build your brand” and encourage branded searches like “CharityName + Donate”. A well-known, trusted brand is your best protection against algorithm changes. Easier said than done, right! This boils down to traditional marketing and improving brand salience (no not just running non-performing “brand” campaigns but making sure you’re being more than just a bottom of funnel bumpkin).

What comes next? A new-look search results page

Search is shifting. Google is now introducing AI Mode as a standard experience.

This mode prioritises AI-generated answers, pushing traditional blue links further down. A new ‘Web’ filter lets users return to the classic list, signalling that AI-first search is the default.

Expect to see:

• Less visibility for general informational content
• More decision-ready users when they do click
• A shift from static content to conversational engagement

The future of SEO and Google Ads

SEO and paid search are evolving.

• Google Ads: Moving towards targeting without keywords, requiring more strategic, creative thinking
• SEO: Now based on quality, relevance, and structure rather than keyword placement alone

Data and tracking challenges ahead

As AI changes how users interact with the web, tracking will become more complex. Voice search, API integrations, and chatbot interactions bypass many traditional analytics setups.

What you can do:

• Implement AI-powered on-site search using tools like Gemini
• Track user prompts and queries to learn what matters
• Use Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect AI agents to your website

This allows for actions like checking stock, booking appointments, asking deep questions about your cause’s impact or making donations directly via AI.

What charities should focus on today

Charities can still thrive in this landscape by creating content AI cannot replicate.

• Share impact stories and testimonials
• Publish case studies and research from your programmes
• Highlight volunteer experiences
• Use compelling visual media like photos and videos

Authenticity is key to cutting through the noise.

Charity giving in an AI world

Hey Google, donate $25 to a top-rated charity helping children

This future is closer than you might think.

To be part of it, charities must:

• Rank highly for relevant queries
• Use structured data including Organisation, Donation, Event and Article schema
• Prepare for API-driven giving models

Final takeaways for a resilient SEO strategy

• Build topic authority through deep, structured content
• Encourage brand-specific searches
• Monitor and protect your reputation
• Track AI-driven traffic where possible
• Act early and iterate often

If you need help adjusting your digital strategy for the AI-powered web, get in touch. The Ninjas are already working at the frontier of this shift.