The session brought together experts across digital marketing, internet performance monitoring and DNS infrastructure to answer an increasingly important questions – how do site speed, stability and DNS performance influence not only SEO, but also AI powered search.
Simon Vreeswijk (CMO, Metamend) highlighted how the rise of AIO (AI Optimization) – sometimes called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) – is reshaping digital marketing. While traditional SEO practices remain foundational, success in the AI era relies heavily on the technical integrity of your site.
SEO and AIO: content quality, backlinks, brand authority and website performance matter equally for both.
Performance drives conversions: a one-second improvement in site speed can increase conversions by up to 27%. Faster sites lead to better user experience (UX), lower bounce rates and ultimately higher brand authority – signals that boost ranking algorithms.
Trust signals matter: speed, uptime and security remain core to both traditional and AI search ranking algorithms.
Simon shared practical DNS-driven examples, such as handling large-scale redirects or regional site migrations at the DNS layer to avoid penalties, downtime and licensing costs. He emphasized that stability, security and speed are the three pillars of trust in both SEO and AI search results.
Why Performance Still Matters in the Age of AI
Piril Kavlak (Director of Product Marketing, Catchpoint) brought data-driven insights on how real-world website performance varies dramatically across geographies.
AI search is mainstream: 77% of Americans use ChatGPT as a search engine and traffic grew 134% year-over-year.
Visibility depends on speed: slow performance means lower engagement, lower conversions and reduced inclusion in AI-generated answers.
Metrics that matter: Core Web Vitals (TTFB, LCP, CLS, INP) still apply, they’re in your control, and they deliver high-impact gains when optimized – but must be measured from where your customers are, not just from cloud nodes.
Performance gaps are hidden: a site that loads in 2 seconds from Helsinki may take 28 seconds from Tokyo – a 13x difference. Being online isn’t enough, you need to be consistently fast, everywhere, for everyone, even if you’re one of the industry’s largest players.
Catchpoints 2025 Retail Report revealed that even top brands like Walmart and H&M struggle with consistency across regions. Their WebPageTest is a practical way to benchmark site speed, visualize bottlenecks and even stimulate no-code optimizations before pushing them live.
How do you optimize performance using DNS?
Terry Bernstein (Sr. Director of Product Management, IBM NS1 Connect) dug deeper into how DNS actively shapes user experience.
Two ways DNS impacts performance:
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DNS Latency – every lookup is the first step of page load. Even a 200ms delay ripples across user experience. For mission critical sites, free DNS is inadequate. Global reach does not guarantee global performance, users need to evaluate providers based on performance data in the regions that matter most to them.
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Traffic Steering – This is where DNS becomes a decision-maker. DNS can dynamically route users to the fastest, closest or most available endpoint, boosting reliability and performance.
The ultimate optimization tool is Real User Monitoring (RUM) based steering. NS1 Connect uses aggregated, crowdsourced performance data from end-users to determine which delivery endpoint is the fastest and most reliable at that exact moment. If one CDN is momentarily experiencing a slowdown, the system dynamically shifts traffic to the next best provider until conditions improve.
DNS traffic steering can be described as ‘Waze for the internet’ – routing users based on real-time performance data, not just geography. This ensures users get the fastest and most reliable path minute by minute.
Five Action Steps for Teams
The webinar was concluded with five clear recommendations for organizations that want to future proof their visibility in both SEO and AI Search:
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Run an initial test – benchmark current conditions.
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Validate and deploy – test improvements and push to production.
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Expand visibility – layer in Real User Monitoring (RUM) for deeper insights.
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Optimize traffic – act on findings and implement Traffic Steering.
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Continuously improve – monitor performance and refine strategies.
AI search is reshaping digital visibility but the fundamentals have not changed – a fast, secure, stable website builds trust and authority.
What has changed is the role of DNS as a performance driver and competitive differentiator. DNS is no longer a hidden technical detail, it is a strategic performance driver and competitive advance that directly influences user experience, search engine trust signals and ultimately, your revenue.
If you missed the live session, the recording is available on demand.
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