What actually changed
Four shifts that rewrote discovery while you were busy.
The shift isn't subtle and it isn't slow. Answer-first interfaces now intercept queries that used to reach your site. Ranking on a results page matters less when the results page is skipped. Keywords move the game at the wrong level, structure and substance are what earn citations now.
Answer-first interfaces
Search results now lead with a generated answer. The ten blue links dropped below the fold.
Citation, not ranking
AI assistants cite sources in-line. Being one of those sources is the new page-one.
Machine-readable wins
Sites with clean structure get parsed, summarised, and quoted. Sites without get skipped.