Digital marketing continues to move quickly, and we know it can be hard to keep up. From Google introducing Search Generative AI performance results in Search Console to the banning of social media for under-16s, how brands create content and how businesses communicate and report online are constantly shifting.
For businesses like yours in South Yorkshire, keeping up with every update is impossible, and working out which deserves your attention is even harder. This month, we’re sharing everything you need to know and how it can benefit your SME in the future.
AI search is changing how customers find businesses
AI search is changing how we view content online, and it’s no surprise. With AEO and GEO rising in popularity, it makes sense that businesses now need better ways to understand how their content appears in AI search results.
Google now allows website owners to measure how their content performs on Generative AI platforms. Businesses can now gain insights into areas such as impressions, pages, countries, devices, and dates – similarly to the way traditional SEO performance is measured.
For businesses like yours, it means:
- AI is changing how customers find new information, so you need to think beyond traditional keyword rankings.
- Your site needs to be optimised for search engines, but also for AI discovery.
- Creating genuinely helpful content to ensure you rank higher on AI search platforms.
Introducing Meta Business Agent
In June, Meta launched the Meta Business Agent, an AI assistant that automates sales, customer support, and appointment schedules. It can help deliver a morning briefing to you if you need to catch up on missed chats, and it also provides insights based on your threads.
This technology also expands Meta’s capabilities across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger.
For businesses like yours, it means:
- AI-powered customer communication tools that can help save time by helping run your daily operations.
- Faster response times can improve customer experiences.
AI-referred traffic converts at a higher rate
AI is becoming a key part of consumer purchase decisions. From finding the best café to comparing services– we’ve all checked out what ChatGPT has to say. Meaning it’s no surprise that AI search is proving to be more beneficial than traditional search. These metrics are now measurable, and the numbers are significant. A Reuters analysis found that AI sources (such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot) convert at rates approximately 42% higher than average web visitors and spend 48% more time on-site.
Consumers are asking a specific question, finding it on an AI search platform, then heading to Google to secure what the AI found for them. This doesn’t mean that SEO is dead; in fact, it’s the opposite. Ensuring you are visible on traditional search engines and AI search engines makes the consumer purchase journey easier. Once, it was only important to get seen on Google; now, both matter equally.
For businesses like yours, it means:
- Ensuring you are visible and recommended on both AI search engines and traditional search engines.
- SEO is not disappearing; it’s evolving.
Social media ban for under-16s
The UK government announced plans for a social media ban for under-16s starting in Spring 2027. This will prevent children from creating or accessing accounts on the major platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. This follows concerns surrounding the impact of social media on young people’s well-being.
While this may not affect every business directly, it will certainly influence overall platform usage and engagement levels. Although under-16s are a smaller demographic and you might not think they are part of your audience, they still contribute to the overall scale of platforms like these, so this impact will be felt.
For businesses like yours, it means:
- That, with fewer consumers overall consuming content, you will be competing for a smaller pool of impressions.
- Costs per clicks and impressions may increase, so ensuring you have a stable organic strategy in imperative.
- You may lose followers due to large-scale account clean-ups.
Final thoughts
We can see a key theme in June, and that is that AI is changing how businesses get discovered. For SMEs in Sheffield and South Yorkshire like your own, this is an opportunity to not just market more, but to provide more powerful marketing. By utilising these AI tools well, you can stay visible and competitive in the (loud, but lovable) digital world.
At Daffodil Marketing, we help you stay ahead without feeling overwhelmed. Whether you need help with SEO, a website redesign, content creation or more, we’re here to help you focus on making your business shine.
