How we search has changed more in the last year than in the previous decade.
Every week, I talk to brands convinced they’re doing everything right.
- Map the keyword.
- Pick the intent.
- Hit publish.
But users aren’t playing by those rules anymore. They’re turning to AI for instant results – summaries, plans, decisions. Not just another list of links where you dig for answers and hope for results twenty minutes later.
There’s a new search intent driving this shift: Generative.
If you haven’t noticed this shift, your strategy is already behind. It’s time to talk about the new search intent nobody’s naming, but everyone’s using.
The Four Classic Search Intents
For anyone who’s worked in SEO for more than five minutes, the “four search intents” are almost muscle memory:
1. Informational
“What is gut health?” or “How does solar power work?”
This is for anyone who wants to learn, understand, or answer a question. You’re aiming to educate, not pitch.
This built empires for content sites and niche publishers.
2. Navigational
“Facebook login” or “Floyi dashboard”
The user knows exactly where they want to go. They type in “Floyi login” to get to the Floyi login page.
Search is a shortcut, nothing more.
3. Commercial
“Best CRM for small business” or “Ahrefs vs Semrush”
These searches show up when someone is comparing, researching, or weighing options. They’re shopping around, not quite ready to buy.
Affiliate marketing sites are loaded with these, and SaaS brands rely on them too.
4. Transactional
“Buy Nike Air Max size 11” or “Sign up for Topical Maps Unlocked course”
This is as direct as it gets. The user is ready to take action. Dollars or sign-ups are about to happen.
For years, these four search intents shaped everything. I’ve seen teams build entire sites around them. They drove keyword research, shaped headlines, and even dictated site architecture.
But if you’re honest, you’ve always known real users don’t fit neatly into these boxes. Sometimes an “informational” search turns into a commercial decision halfway down the page. A “navigational” query might lead straight to a transaction. And now, with AI taking the wheel, those lines aren’t just blurred -they’re vanishing.
Enter AI Search and Generative Engines
The biggest shift isn’t just where users search, but how they ask for what they want.
Recent data from Profound’s study of over 50 million ChatGPT prompts makes it clear: generative intent is now the most common type of AI search, making up 37.5% of all user queries.
informational queries, the longtime king of classic search, now account for just 32%.
It’s not just Google, either. AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Bing Copilot are now where users start. They expect AI to actually do the work – analyze, create, draft, deliver – not just point them at a list of resources.
Here’s the hard truth: that link you spent hours optimizing might never get clicked. If your expertise isn’t part of the answer the AI delivers, you’re already out of the game.
The Case for a Fifth Intent: Generative
“Generative” intent? It’s not just a twist on informational or transactional.
Generative intent is when people expect the search engine or chatbot to actually produce something unique – something done-for-them, ready to use, and tailored on demand.
These aren’t rare edge cases anymore in Google Search. I see requests like this in client feedback, analytics, and my own inbox every week:
- “Map out a two-week vegan meal plan using only Trader Joe’s products, and give me a color-coded shopping list.”
- “Read these three SaaS onboarding docs and write a single onboarding email that captures our brand voice. And keep it under 200 words.”
- “Summarize the differences between the top three travel insurance plans in a single chart I can send to my team.”
Generative intent is about outcomes, not just information. People don’t want a pile of links – they want an answer, a plan, a summary, a creative asset, or even a decision, all packaged and ready to use.
The more users see AI deliver these results, the more they expect it everywhere.
For brands, SEOs, and content strategists, this is the new game: it’s not just about ranking number one. It’s about being the answer – or you’re invisible.
The fifth intent is already here, and recognizing it is the first step to staying relevant as search keeps evolving.
What This Means for Brands, SEOs, and Content Creators
Let’s be honest: most marketing teams and site owners are still running the old playbook:
- Research keywords.
- Map them to the classic four intents.
- Publish another “ultimate guide.”
- Hope it ranks.
I taught this approach for years – because it worked. But today, if you’re only thinking in those categories, your best content becomes raw material for the AI blender. You do the research, and the AI serves the smoothie.
I’ve seen brands pour months and serious money into content, only to watch their work become an anonymous snippet – zero clicks, zero credit.
The teams adapting fastest are shifting focus:
- They’re asking, “How do we become the source the AI turns to?”
- They’re thinking beyond rankings and looking at how their expertise can show up in answers, summaries, and instant outputs inside AI chat or search tools.
- They want their unique knowledge, data, or frameworks to become the backbone of what the AI delivers.
At Floyi and TopicalMap.com, I see this shift every week. The clients who win are no longer just checking off keywords. Instead, they’re asking:
- What real jobs are our users trying to get done?
- How can our expertise, data, or processes become part of the actual solution the AI delivers?
- How do we measure authority and influence in a world where clicks and traffic are replaced by AI recommendations?
This isn’t just theory. We’re already seeing:
- Higher engagement from content that’s designed to answer generative prompts.
- Stronger authority signals in AI-powered environments (not just traditional search).
If you’re still focused on rankings alone, you’re invisible where it matters most.
How to Recognize Generative Intent in Your Audience
If you want to spot generative intent, get close to your audience and pay attention to the actual words they use – not just in search logs, but in forums like Reddit, Facebook groups, comments, social media, emails, and support tickets.
We always do this for clients when creating topical maps, because those are the nuances that AI and tools just can’t catch.
Watch for signals like:
- Output Requests, Not Just Questions
- “Summarize this for me.” “Draft an email.” “Make a checklist I can use.”
- These people aren’t asking for advice. They want something done and ready to use.
- Requests for Personalization or Customization
- “Plan my week for me using my dietary restrictions.” “Turn this into a one-sentence intro for my LinkedIn.”
- These users want the solution tailored for them.
- “Do the Work for Me” Tasks
- “Turn this tutorial into a step-by-step guide for my use case.” “Write a cancellation email to my gym.”
- This is pure generative intent, users expect the AI (or your brand) to deliver the finished product.
If you miss these signals, you’ll end up pouring time into content that gets ignored, while your audience finds someone who actually helps them get the job done. The faster you spot these asks, the sooner you can adapt and show up where your audience is headed.
How do you show up?
Don’t just inform – do the work for them. Package up the result and make it easy for both AI and users to use and reference your expertise.
If you become the source, AI engines will start citing you and your brand stays front and center.
Real-World Example: Gut Health Content
Use this practical example to see how you can adapt your content for generative intent in action.
Old approach (gets ignored):
A long blog post explaining gut health principles.
What your audience really wants:
“Summarize a gut-friendly meal plan for a week and give me the grocery list.”
How you adapt:
- Build a one-click meal plan generator (or an embeddable calculator).
- Provide simple tables and ready-to-use shopping lists within your article.
- Create AI-friendly chunks: “Here’s a 7-day meal plan, with ingredients by day, ready to copy and paste.”
- Write a short section with “ready-to-serve” AI prompts users can use to get meal ideas, referencing your brand.
The long blog post – you should still write it to ensure you have the topical coverage on your site.
The Future of Search Is Generative
Think back to how you searched just two years ago. Today, a single AI answer can do what used to take a half-dozen websites. That shift didn’t sneak up on us – it hit hard and fast.
Here’s the reality: the old four intents are relics. Generative intent is now driving what users expect, how they ask, and where real value is created.
If you’re still following yesterday’s rules, you’re writing for a search engine that barely exists.
The move now isn’t just to update your topical maps or briefs. It’s to recognize that your audience wants outcomes, not just information. Whether you’re using Floyi, TopicalMap.com, or any other approach, ask yourself:
- What finished product does my audience actually want?
- Where will they see my work – on my site, or as an AI’s instant answer?
Don’t wait for the next wave of “best practices.” Start listening for generative intent now and make sure your expertise shows up in the answers that matter.
And if you want to future-proof your strategy and turn your expertise into assets that both users and AI search engines want to recommend, check out Floyi.
We built Floyi to help you stay visible, trusted, and ahead of the curve as generative search takes over.