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SEO is moving through a new threshold: it is no longer just a race to the top of search results, but a race to become the source that AI systems and digital platforms want to link to, cite, and redistribute. For Vietnamese marketers, this matters because traffic no longer comes in a single stream from Google, but is split across AI answers, ad platforms, social media, and other intermediary layers.
The notable point is that this shift is not happening in a vacuum. Data from Search Engine Journal shows that ChatGPT tends to link out most often on travel queries; at the same time, publishers are increasingly tightening access for AI bots, while Google and Microsoft continue adjusting how they operate their advertising and display ecosystems. All of this signals a reality: whoever controls the “touchpoint” and the “right to be cited” will have a much bigger advantage than those optimizing only for keywords.
Key points:
- SEO is shifting from ranking optimization to optimizing the ability to be cited by AI and digital platforms.
- Publishers are becoming more defensive toward AI bots, making access to content a strategic asset.
- Changes in advertising and social media show that traffic distribution is increasingly ecosystem-dependent rather than channel-dependent.
- Vietnamese businesses need to optimize content for citability, not just crawlability.
What is happening
At the center of this change is the way users access information. In research cited by Search Engine Journal, ChatGPT tends to attach outbound links most often in travel-related questions, showing that AI is not only “answering” but also acting as a filter and coordinator of reference sources. That is especially important for industries that rely on multi-layered information to make decisions, such as travel, finance, health, education, and e-commerce.
At the same time, publishers are responding more aggressively to AI crawlers. Search Engine Journal cites research by Vince Nero showing that 79% of top news sites block AI training bots via robots.txt, and only 18% do not block any AI crawlers. This shows the market no longer sees content as a default free raw material. Content is now an asset that needs to be negotiated, priced, and protected.
At the platform layer, Google and Microsoft are also restructuring how content and advertising are distributed. Google requires passkeys for Google Ads API users, a signal that platform operations are moving toward a more secure and tightly controlled model. Microsoft Ads has added Ad Preview Hub for Performance Max, making it clearer that advertisers need to understand how ads are displayed in a highly automated environment. These changes are not directly SEO, but they reflect the same trend: control over the path of attention is concentrating in the hands of major platforms.
Why the advantage is shifting from ranking to being chosen
Traditional SEO assumes that if you rank high enough on the SERP, users will visit your site. But when AI answers instead of a results page, the advantage is not only about position; it is about whether your content is clear, trustworthy, and easy to cite enough to be selected as a source. The research showing that ChatGPT links out more on travel queries is a concrete example: AI systems do not distribute all sources equally, but tend to choose the ones most aligned with the query intent.
In parallel, the fact that most publishers block AI bots shows that “access rights” are becoming a new gatekeeper. If content cannot be crawled, cannot be trained on, or cannot be used, its chances of appearing in the AI ecosystem also decline. This is similar to how Google and Microsoft are handling automated advertising layers: platform users must accept a distribution structure that is increasingly determined by the system.
In other words, SEO is moving from the question “how do we rank?” to “how do we become the source the system prefers to cite?” This is a profound shift in mindset, because it affects content writing, website structure, brand signals, and even multi-channel distribution strategy.
The real cost of waiting
The most dangerous thing for a business is not that AI search appears, but that it adjusts too slowly while users have already started receiving information in a new way. If AI has become the first intermediary layer, investing only in old-style SEO articles will reduce effectiveness over time. You may still get traffic, but growth will weaken because demand is being shared with “zero-click” experiences and AI answer layers.
The story of publishers blocking AI bots also reveals another risk: if a business does not have content assets that are strong enough, differentiated enough, and important enough, it will not have the leverage to negotiate with platforms. Meanwhile, advertising platforms such as Google Ads and Microsoft Ads continue to increase control, meaning marketers must operate in an environment where data, visibility, and distribution are all more ecosystem-driven than before.
The real cost of waiting is not just lost traffic. It is also losing the ability to be used by AI, search, and social as a reference source at decisive moments. When a brand is no longer mentioned in the right place, at the right time, and in the right context, it gradually gets pushed into the role of “can exist” rather than “is chosen.”
A view for the Vietnamese market
For Vietnamese businesses, the lesson is not to chase every AI trend emotionally, but to understand which assets can be cited by external systems and which assets are only suitable for internal conversion. Many industries in Vietnam still optimize content mainly by keyword volume, but the new environment requires an additional layer: originality, credibility, freshness, and citability.
This is especially true for sectors with long buying journeys such as education, travel, beauty, health, B2B, and software. If Vietnamese brands rely on only one search channel, they will be vulnerable when AI and platforms change the rules. By contrast, brands that build well-structured content, clear expertise, strong real-world experience, and reusable assets across multiple touchpoints will be more resilient.
From a competitive standpoint, this is also an opportunity. The Vietnamese market still has many gaps in in-depth content, evidence-based content, and content that answers the user’s real questions correctly. Those who do this well early will not only win at SEO, but also win at “SEO for AI” and at cross-platform visibility.
What to do now
- Review pillar pages to increase citability: define clearly, explain in a structured way, add sources and usage context.
- Design content around real user questions, especially comparison, decision-making, and pre-purchase research queries.
- Build brand assets beyond Google: email, social, communities, expert PR, and original content to reduce dependence on a single distribution gate.
- Track how AI answers in your industry: which queries include links, which do not, and which sources are usually chosen, then adjust your content strategy accordingly.
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This article focuses on SEO chuyển từ thứ hạng sang quyền được trích dẫn with a perspective for the Vietnamese market.
References
- Search Engine Journal — ChatGPT Links Out Most On Travel Questions via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern
- Search Engine Journal — How Publishers Can Monetize AI Visibility
- Search Engine Land — Google makes passkeys mandatory for Google Ads API users
- Search Engine Land — Microsoft Ads adds Ad Preview Hub to Performance Max
