For decades, search engines have been the digital gateway to your association, the front door through which members, policymakers, and the public find essential information. But in 2025, that front door is shifting.
In Part Two of Accella’s AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) Webinar Series, our panel of experts, including Accella’s Alyssa Hulka, Kelsey Mills, Merrik Kressley, and CEO of APRO, Charles Smitherman, explored one of the most important challenges facing associations today:
When search engines deliver answers, not links, will your organization still be part of the conversation?
The Front Door to the Internet Has Moved
Alyssa Hulka, Chief Experience Officer at Accella, opened the session with a key data point driving urgency: nearly 60% of Google searches now end without a click.
Users are getting what they need directly in the search result or through AI-powered answers, without ever visiting a website. For associations whose visibility fuels advocacy, membership growth, and industry leadership, that shift is existential.
“If you’re not part of the answer, you’re not going to be found.”
–Charles Smitherman, CEO of APRO (Association of Progressive Rental Organizations)
As six out of ten users accept AI-generated solutions and move on, the risk isn’t just reduced traffic, it’s loss of relevance.
Earned + Owned Content: The Two Sides of AI Visibility
Search engines, now AI-driven answer engines, determine authority differently than they once did. Traditional categories of content are back in focus:
- Earned content (PR mentions, authoritative citations)
- Owned content (your research, policy briefs, and web content)
Why Earned Media Matters Again
Kelsey Mills, Website Strategist at Accella, emphasized that authoritative third-party validation now directly influences whether AI trusts your organization enough to quote or cite you.
If your association hasn’t prioritized PR or media placements recently, now is the time to bring them back into your communications strategy and integrate them with website updates.
Your Owned Content Must Be Accessible to AI
Merrick Chrisley, AEO expert at Accella, noted a major shift, “It’s no longer just about ranking, it’s about being pulled into AI answers.”
And AI can’t surface content that is:
- Locked behind a member gate
- Buried in PDFs
- Unavailable to crawlers
That realization sparked a major transformation for APRO. Content once considered a “member benefit”, behind the login, is now being brought into public HTML formats to reinforce industry authority where AI can see it.
Associations must re-evaluate what content truly drives member value and what protects long-term brand authority.
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Why Reddit Is Showing Up in Answers
A surprising takeaway: platforms like Reddit and LinkedIn are heavily influencing AI responses.
Why?
- They provide rich, Q&A-style context
- Their content is easy for language models to interpret
- They’re publicly accessible
And as of this month, organic LinkedIn posts may also be cited in AI answers unless users opt out.
For associations, this shifts the mindset from “Our audience knows where to find us” to “We must show up when and where the questions are being asked.”
The Essential Foundation: Technical SEO Still Matters
Answer Engine Optimization isn’t replacing SEO, it’s evolving from it.
A strong technical foundation remains critical:
- Fast website performance (especially on mobile)
- Clear site structure and navigation
- Machine-readable content
- Schema markup to help AI understand context
Without this foundation, associations hit a “glass ceiling.” AI can’t promote what it can’t effectively crawl.
APRO’s recent SEO audit was an eye-opener, revealing unseen issues limiting discoverability even among its own members.
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What Associations Should Do Next
If your organization wants to be seen and heard by the next generation of search, here’s where to start:
- Assess your technical foundation -> Get an AI Technical Audit Report from our new tool
- Revisit content gating strategy
- Re-invigorate earned media efforts
- Publish content in HTML, not just PDFs
- Monitor your brand mentions and citations
- Go to the board and leaders and make sure they are budgeting for this new, critical work
The sooner you act, the better positioned you’ll be to shape, not chase, AI narratives about your industry.
Want to learn more? View part one of our AEO webinar series here.
Have questions or want help assessing your search visibility? We’d love to talk.
