From Keywords to Conversations: How AI Is Changing Search in 2026

Search in 2026 is driven not by keywords but by conversational intent, LLM reasoning, task completion, and multimodal signals. Google’s shift toward AI Mode, Gemini reasoning, contextual understanding, and conversational follow-ups transforms SEO into a discipline built on entities, clarity, structure, and cross-channel presence. This guide breaks down how search evolves from linear queries to dynamic conversations, and what brands must do to stay visible.