Navigating the 'Zero-Click Era': SMEs Survival Tactics Through AJSA Suzuki’s Actionable Framework (Part 2)

In our previous article, we discussed the shocking reality of "the zero-click search era," as spoken about by Suzuki-san at his seminar, and how AI filters information (or the so-called "educational background discrimination").

Hearing stories like "search traffic decreased by 30%" or "AI only sees major companies" might make us SMEs feel hopeless. However, the core of Suzuki-san's seminar was in the latter half: "So, what exactly do we do on the ground?" – a discussion on practical strategies.

In this installment, I will explain how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can implement Suzuki-san's proposed strategy, also incorporating my perspective from developing and running Kafkai.

The conclusion is that what's needed in the AI era is "structured information" and "overwhelming primary data (experiences)." I will share concrete action plans to turn AI not into an "enemy," but into our strongest media intermediary, spreading our company’s information.

Suzuki-san's explanation can be summarized as follows: when AI (such as Google's AI Overviews or ChatGPT) generates answers, whether a site is used as an information source depends on three factors:

1. Accessibility (Technical Factor): Whether the information is available in a format that the AI can understand.
2. Information Density (Content Factor): Whether it contains unique "experiences and numerical data" that the AI doesn't already know.
3. Trust Signals (External Factor): Whether it's cited by others.

Let's apply these three elements to specific tasks.

Actually, this concept of three factors is also a fundamental lesson taught in SEO certification courses.

1. Structured Data Must-Have: FAQPage as the Strongest Signal

Suzuki-san repeatedly emphasized the importance of "structured data (schema markup)". In particular, the FAQPage schema is essential.

AI tries to understand from massive amounts of text "what is this question and what is its answer?" However, if it's simply written in plain text, AI might miss it. That’s where the FAQPage schema comes in – you tag it to say "this is a Q&A."

Things You Can Do Now

• Implement FAQPage schema on your company's "Frequently Asked Questions" page or in Q&A sections within blog articles. If you're using WordPress, there should be plugins that make setup easy.
• Aim for at least 10 questions and answers per topic. For example, if the theme is "back pain," cover related questions such as "causes," "prevention methods," and "chair selection" to help AI recognize the page as an expert on that topic.

2. Increase Content "Sweetness": Write What AI Can't

What I found most insightful in the seminar was, "If it's common knowledge, AI won't use it because it already has it." What AI wants is "primary information" that AI hasn't learned yet. Suzuki-san used honey as an analogy for this. (Hence, increasing the “sweetness”)

For example, if you write a general medical explanation of "hyaluronic acid's effects," AI already possesses that knowledge. However, AI can’t write about:

• "Based on 3,000 cases treated at our clinic, the average duration is 8.3 months."
• "In my experience, we see more consultations for X on rainy days."
• "Client A, after using this tool, saw costs reduced by 15%."

Things You Can Do Now

• The “100-Page Q&A Strategy”: What Suzuki-san recommended was to turn customer questions into content exactly as they were asked. Instead of urgent questions like "I have a toothache today," focus on search-intent-driven questions such as "When does swelling after wisdom teeth extraction go down?" and accumulate these.
• Change the subject: Start your writing with “In our experience…” or “In my opinion…” instead of “Generally…”

How Kafkai Supports "High-Sweetness Content" Generation

At Kafkai, we recommend that users leverage AI-generated FAQs as a starting point ("tatakidai" or draft) when creating articles.

Here's how:

1. Rewrite the "Answer" part with Primary Information

The questions generated by our AI (e.g., “When does swelling after wisdom teeth extraction go down?”) capture search intent and make excellent content themes. However, the AI-generated answers tend to remain at a general knowledge level. We recommend that Kafkai users delete these answers and replace them with their own clinic's accumulated data (e.g., "In our cases, swelling typically peaks on day 3 after extraction and subsides mostly within a week or ten days. However, if the tooth grew horizontally...") or unique know-how to create content with “sweetness” that AI can’t produce.

2. Find New Content Seeds from FAQs

Analyzing the list of AI-generated FAQs clarifies what users really want to know and are concerned about, making it easy to see what primary information should be collected and disseminated in the future. For example, if an FAQ like "What foods are best to eat after tooth extraction?" is generated, that can spark a new blog post on recommended recipes or experiences from your clinic.

In short, Kafkai's AI serves as a "filter for efficiently extracting searchable questions" or "idea generator," and the content inside (the answers) is richly complemented with their own experience or data ("honey"). By leveraging these two aspects, valuable content that can survive in the age of AI can be created.

3. Video Content Matters: AI Watches Short Videos

“Video” is also an important SEO element, especially vertical videos like YouTube Shorts and TikTok. Interestingly, AI starts to read audio and captions within videos as grounds for answers.

Suzuki-san introduced a clinic that mass-produced explanatory videos using AI avatars. For clinics where face-to-face interaction is difficult or small businesses with limited resources, even if it's an AI avatar or slideshow-style video, as long as the subtitles are well done, AI can extract information.

Building a Brand that Gets "Specifically Searched For" - Beyond Technical SEO

Trustworthiness as a brand will be the key in the future, not just technical SEO.

Navigating Relationships with Major Portal Sites

Mr. Suzuki prefaced his remarks by saying, "It's frustrating, but," highlighting that getting listed on major industry portal sites (like MedialDoc for healthcare or Hot Pepper for beauty) is still crucial. This is because platforms like ChatGPT utilize Bing search results, and Bing tends to favor authoritative large-scale sites.

Survival Strategies for SMEs (Barter Negotiations)

Large corporations can simply pay listing fees, but this is a burden for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). That's where Suzuki-san proposed "barter negotiations."

By offering benefits to the portal site – such as featuring their link on your YouTube channel with X number of subscribers or providing unique patient data – you may be able to negotiate reduced listing fees or even free listings. This is a practical, gritty hack.

Is Your CEO and Team Members Visible?

In the AI era, what's hardest to replicate is "a genuine way of life."

Daily activity reports like, "I attended training at X today," or, "After my meeting with Y, I realized..." serve as proof that your company exists and operates earnestly.

Suzuki-san emphasized the importance of CEOs and company owners actively publishing on social media and blogs.

This aligns with our company's ongoing advocacy for transparency and humanity. Imperfect, authentic words from someone "sweating it out" will ultimately build trust (and conversions) more effectively than AI-generated perfection.

Like this seminar report, we also actively compile our firsthand experiences into blog posts. We believe that only with real-world experience can you be recognized as a true expert that AIs cannot imitate.

Shifting to a Team-Based Approach Aimed at 2026

Towards the end of the seminar, Mr. Suzuki predicted that "By 2026, more than half of search results will be AI responses (AI Mode's full-fledged implementation)." At that time, what should we be doing?

It's no longer an era where one web administrator can win alone.

1. Content Hunters (Sales staff or personnel who gather leads from the field)
2. Technical Implementers (Responsible for structured data and video editing)
3. Brand Communicators (Presidents and leaders who put their faces forward and speak)

A team-based approach is necessary, with these three groups working together. It doesn't have to be a complex organizational structure. Even in small companies, spending just 30 minutes each morning sharing "What questions did customers ask yesterday?" or "Did you take any activity photos today?" can suffice.

Conclusion: Exploiting AI as Your "Auditor"

Finally, here's a tip you can try right now. "Ask AI about your company's weaknesses."

Try prompting ChatGPT or similar AI tools with something like this:

"You are an SEO auditing specialist. Compare the following URL (your site) and (a competitor's site). Based on objective data, harshly point out why our site isn’t being chosen by AI search."

AI doesn't lie. It will point out things you might prefer to ignore, such as "thin content" or "lack of credibility." Tackle these issues one by one. This is the quickest improvement strategy.

Kafkai's Proposal

After attending Suzuki-san's seminar, it became clear what we small and medium-sized enterprises should be doing: "Continuously sharing unique experiences that AI can't create."

However, crafting articles from scratch amidst daily tasks is challenging. That's where a tool like Kafkai comes in handy. Use Kafkai to quickly generate article frameworks or drafts, then infuse them with your own "experiences," "numbers," and "on-site photos"—the 'honey'.

It’s not about AI vs. humans; it's about "leveraging AI to deliver human-like value." I firmly believe this is the only survival strategy for us small and medium-sized businesses as we navigate 2026.

P.S. The perspectives on "AI auditing" and "competitor analysis" learned at this seminar align deeply with Kafkai’s built-in features like "Rank Performance" (https://kafkai.com/en/blog/ranking-performance-track-visibility/) and "Market Position Tracker" (https://kafkai.com/en/blog/introducing-market-position-tracker-know-where-you-stand-win-where-it-matters/). Let’s harness the evolution of technology to grow together.