TL;DR: AI Search Results, Challenges and Strategies for Founders
AI-driven SERPs are complicating access to high-quality business insights by prioritizing poorly sourced or irrelevant content. This affects entrepreneurs as lower search reliability wastes time and undermines trust, while diminishing organic traffic and discoverability.
• Focus on creating original, data-rich content to stand out in AI search results.
• Strengthen authority signals like backlinks and precise keywords while retaining human readability.
• Assume zero-click interactions, communicate your brand clearly in meta titles and descriptions.
For tailored strategies that align with these challenges, explore this GEO Startup Guide.
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Introduction: Are AI SERPs Killing the Joy of Discovery?
In 2026, as I toggle between managing CADChain and Fe/male Switch, it’s clearer than ever that Google’s shift toward AI-driven search results has left many of us founders scratching our heads. Search results, once a reliable goldmine of curated expertise, now frequently resemble an unfiltered garbage heap. Valuable insights from high-authority sources are being buried under a deluge of irrelevant, poorly sourced content generated by AI. As entrepreneurs, we rely on search engines for quick, accurate answers to complex business challenges, so this degradation in quality directly impacts our efficiency and decision-making processes.
What’s fascinating, and frustrating, is Google’s insistence on “downplaying” the role of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Despite this, the rise of AI in SEO has brought about structural disruptions that are hard to ignore. As someone who thrives on system design, I approach this shift not with despair but with a practical question: how can founders adapt to an environment where search results are increasingly inconsistent, and what does this mean for our broader strategies around visibility, marketing, and trust?
What’s Wrong with AI-Generated Search Results?
AI search surfaces such as Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) promise faster, more tailored answers, but are they delivering on that promise? In many cases, no. Instead, the results often lack quality control, surfacing questionable sources or irrelevant content. Let me share an example. A recent search for styling advice led to AI-generated results that cited an abandoned Medium blog with broken images, a random sneaker retailer’s blog post, and a piece from LinkedIn, none of which could be considered authoritative in this domain.
- Abandoned blogs and outdated sources: AI systems scrounge from anywhere, even inactive or irrelevant sites.
- Lack of filtering for expertise: Highly knowledgeable content gets overshadowed by clickbait or poorly structured pages.
- User trust at risk: When users encounter such results repeatedly, trust in the platform erodes, impacting user behavior and, eventually, SERP trust metrics.
As a founder who navigates diverse systems from blockchain IP protection to gamified learning at Fe/male Switch, such “garbage” results are more than just an annoyance, they distort the accessibility and discoverability of genuinely valuable content. They diminish the “joy of discovery,” a cornerstone for anyone building something new or trying to refine their expertise in a competitive field.
Why Founders Should Care About This
Any entrepreneur knows that time is our most valuable resource. That’s why misleading, low-quality AI-generated SERPs hurt us in more ways than one might realize. First, you waste valuable hours sorting through junk content to find reliable information. And second, these challenges signal a larger issue for businesses trying to position themselves online: the relevance of your long-touted SEO strategy.
- Organic traffic is getting diluted: AI-generated answers often give the entire response in the results page, diminishing click-through rates to your website.
- Authority and expertise are undervalued: High-quality sites are buried, while AI showcases dubious sources.
- Zero-query journeys hurt discoverability: With AI addressing multiple queries in one response, websites may lose relevance as users get answers without ever clicking links.
For me, as the founder of an online incubator like Fe/male Switch, this raises critical concerns. Our ecosystem thrives on connecting users to high-value resources, playbooks, templates, actionable advice. If our meticulously developed content gets deprioritized in favor of AI-generated fluff, how do we justify our value to users?
Optimizing for AI Without Overhauling Your SEO Strategy
Given the state of AI-driven SERPs, the notion of “chunking” content has been floating around as advice for beating the AI filtration system. For those unfamiliar, chunking refers to structuring your content into bite-sized pieces, purportedly making it easier for AI to process. Google’s own Danny Sullivan, however, has dismissed this idea, emphasizing that human-friendly content will always win in the long run.
Instead of chasing a dubious SEO trick, here’s a roadmap for realigning your strategy to survive the current AI-dominated search ecosystem:
- Prioritize original data: AI systems favor content that includes unique, factual, and verifiable data. Case studies, proprietary surveys, and infographics are invaluable for staying relevant in search results.
- Double down on authority signals: Optimize headlines, strengthen backlinks, and ensure your content adheres to established SEO best practices. Combine this with active engagement on relevant platforms where your audience resides.
- Invest in “zero-click” brand-building: Assume users may not visit your site. What then? Make your brand messaging clear in your meta title, description, and even in your snippet answers.
- Deliver omnichannel value: Supplement your web presence by leveraging other channels like podcasts, newsletters, and social platforms.
My work at Fe/male Switch and CADChain has shown time and again that systems designed to optimize workflows (or even entire methodologies, like gamepreneurship) thrive when they embrace a blended, long-term approach. The same principles can apply to your visibility efforts in the AI search era.
Common Mistakes Founders Must Avoid
- Over-optimizing for LLMs: Don’t restructure your site around fads like chunking. Remember, AI search tools are still evolving, and trying to game their algorithms will backfire as updates roll out.
- Ignoring traditional SEO principles: As much as we’re moving into the age of AI, robust keyword research, high-quality content, and human-focused design keep their importance.
- Neglecting community-driven signals: Your audience’s engagement with your brand, reviews, shares, and direct interactions, now plays a more critical role than ever in signaling trust to AI-driven platforms.
Avoid knee-jerk reactions. Strategies that stand the test of time maintain their focus on customer trust, relevance, and accessibility.
The Path Forward for Entrepreneurs
Adjusting to garbage AI SERPs might seem daunting, but it’s also an opportunity. Founders can strengthen their positioning by focusing on creating irrefutable value that AI systems can’t ignore. Content that informs, entertains, or solves a problem will always have a place, even in a chaotic search landscape.
At the end of the day, this issue is more than a search engine gripe; it’s a signal of deeper systemic challenges in how information is curated online. As a founder, stand firm on your principles, question the systems that impact your growth, and, most importantly, keep building.
Adaptation starts with small, deliberate steps: reevaluating your SEO, diversifying your traffic sources, and putting quality at the core of your content. Whether you’re educating women founders through gamepreneurship, creating IP protections for engineers, or launching your dream sport-tech app, your success depends on cutting through the noise with precision and focus.
Let’s work together on elevating standards for both the search engines we use and the systems we build. The future of entrepreneurship should not be dictated by poorly tuned algorithms, but by the innovators bold enough to defy them.
FAQ on AI-Driven SEO and Garbage SERPs Insights
What challenges do AI-driven SERPs bring to content discoverability?
AI-driven SERPs often surface low-authority, irrelevant content, burying expertise-based sites. This diminishes organic discoverability. Founders must prioritize crafting trusted, human-centric content to mitigate this issue. Learn strategies with the Complete GEO Startup Guide.
How can founders adapt their SEO strategies in the AI-dominated search landscape?
Focus on human-friendly content creation, using original data and authority signals. Avoid trendy fads like chunking for LLMs that lack proven benefits. Explore AI SEO tips for startups.
Are traditional SEO principles still relevant in 2026?
Yes, robust keyword research, high-quality backlinks, and content accuracy remain crucial. AI complements, not replaces, SEO fundamentals. Check out the SEO strategies tailored for startups to succeed.
What does the concept of “zero-query journeys” mean for SEO?
Zero-query journeys involve AI addressing multiple queries within SERPs, reducing click-throughs to high-quality pages. Startups should focus on omnichannel presence to retain relevance. Learn how this impacts organic traffic.
How can “chunking” content impact AI search rankings?
While some suggest chunking content to fit LLMs, Google experts state it’s unnecessary. High-quality formatting optimized for humans serves better. Find guidance on optimizing your strategies.
Why are AI SERPs considered “garbage”?
Low-quality AI-driven SERPs surface outdated or irrelevant content, impacting user trust and brand credibility. Use tools to humanize AI articles and deliver genuine value. Discover tools for building quality AI content.
How do founder-driven ecosystems suffer from flawed AI SERPs?
Garbage AI results distort valuable resources like playbooks or proprietary guides. Prioritize building robust authority signals to ensure these tools remain accessible. Explore insights on system design adaptations for startups.
What steps should founders take towards omnichannel optimization?
Supplement your digital presence with podcasts, newsletters, and cross-platform strategies to strengthen visibility beyond search engines. Elevate your startup’s growth potential with actionable omnichannel steps.
How can startups balance AI SEO with marketing budget concerns?
Start by diversifying your SEO investment across AI-driven platforms while leveraging cost-friendly growth tactics like content repurposing and community engagement. Learn this in detail with marketing budgeting insights.
Why should startups avoid over-optimizing for AI search systems?
Restructuring for trends like chunking can backfire as AI evolves. Stick to timeless strategies rooted in trust signals, high-quality content, and audience engagement. Gain deeper perspectives on AI automations for startups.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the “gamepreneurship” methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the point of view of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
