2025 marks a pivotal shift in how prospective students discover and evaluate colleges and universities. With 93% of Gen Z using AI tools weekly and nearly half trusting AI as their primary information source, institutions need to adapt their online presence or risk becoming invisible to potential students.
At Everspring, we've spent the past year helping leading institutions transform their digital strategies for this new AI landscape. Our Digital Marketing Trends series will guide you through the key changes reshaping higher education marketing.
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Five Key Trends Reshaping Student Search
TREND #1: Gen Z is using AI to find programs
Today's students are asking AI platforms and assistants about educational opportunities. If your content isn't optimized for these conversations, you're missing potential applicants.
What the data tells us:
- 93% of Gen Z "knowledge workers" use multiple AI tools weekly, with AI platforms now pushing traditional search results "below the fold"
- 50% of students use AI as their primary information source, and 46% trust AI for career guidance more than human managers [Statista, Forbes]
- 88% turn to AI specifically for overwhelming decisions like choosing educational programs [Google Workplace Survey]
- We've measured a 345% growth in AI-powered traffic for select programs, with ChatGPT driving up to 70% of all AI-referred visits
- Your institution's website has shifted from a discovery tool to a "last mile" confirmation resource, requiring optimization for both human readers and AI understanding
TREND #2: What's good for SEO may not be enough for AI
You may have heard the term "Search Everywhere Optimization" replacing traditional "SEO." Search isn't dead—it's playing a different role in how students discover programs. Optimizing for Google alone might leave you invisible to students using AI tools. Universities are actively seeking answers about this changing landscape and how to adapt their marketing strategies.
What Universities Can Do:
- Structure your website so both humans and AI can understand it
- Create content that answers conversational questions, not just keyword searches
- Continue maintaining SEO fundamentals
- Add technical markers (called "schema markup") that help AI understand your programs
- Create organized content systems that help your institution's unique strengths and offerings appear in results across search engines, AI tools, and other digital platforms. We’ll talk about this more in Trend #4.
TREND #3: Authenticity makes you stand out
As AI generates more generic content, your unique institutional voice becomes even more important.
What Universities Can Do:
- Conduct market research to understand where your programs sit among competitors
- Listen to students and graduates—the University of Iowa's CMO emphasizes empathy in content strategy in a recent American Marketing Association webinar
- Highlight your program's unique strengths and student outcomes
- Transform basic program information into engaging stories that share real student and faculty experiences
- Beware of "the ick" factor—students can spot generic AI-generated content from a mile away
TREND #4: How you organize content matters for AI discovery
Your content structure serves as both a technical and strategic blueprint for current content and a roadmap for future development. AI systems understand relationships between topics differently than humans do, so organizing your content thoughtfully is crucial for visibility.
What Universities Can Do:
- Audit your current content: Evaluate site performance metrics to understand what's working. Are visitors staying on your site? Which pages get the most traffic? Where do visitors drop off? Use these insights to identify content gaps and opportunities.
- Create topic clusters around key programs: Group related content around central themes like "nursing program," "business degrees," or "campus life." This helps AI understand your content's context and relationships, making it more likely to recommend your institution.
- Develop content that answers real student questions: Build pages that directly address what prospective students are asking: "What can I do with a psychology degree?" or "How much does a nursing program cost?" These conversational topics align with how students interact with AI.
- Use clear, consistent structure: Organize content with logical headings, subheadings, and navigation paths. When information is well-structured, both AI systems and prospective students can find what they need quickly.
- Connect related content: Create internal links between related pages to help AI understand the relationships between your programs, faculty expertise, and student outcomes. This creates a more comprehensive picture of what your institution offers.
By thoughtfully organizing your content, you'll improve visibility in both traditional search and AI-powered discovery tools while creating a better experience for prospective students.
Download our comprehensive playbook featuring a ready-to-implement content architecture blueprint and step-by-step 90-day action plan.
TREND #5: New ways to track AI search performance are emerging
Universities need to balance technical optimization with authentic communication.
What Universities Can Do:
- Regularly check your visibility across major AI platforms
- Monitor how AI platforms compare your programs to competitors
- Maintain consistent messaging across all channels
Is Your Institution Ready for AI-First Student Search?
This shift represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Universities that adapt now will capture student attention in this new landscape, while those who delay risk becoming invisible to their most important audience.
Ready to Transform Your Digital Strategy?
Here are a few ways to get started:
- Get a free Visibility Scan to understand your current digital presence
- Download our 90-Day AI Optimization Playbook
Contact us today to ensure your institution stays ahead in the AI era.