As we head further into 2025, one thing is clear: a high-performing website is no longer optional. Whether you’re focused on SEO, running paid ads, or delivering a smooth user experience, your site speed, structure, and technical health are critical to achieving results.

The good news? There are plenty of ways to improve your current site’s performance—and sometimes, that means smart optimisations, while in other cases, a modern rebuild is the most efficient long-term strategy.

Here’s why performance should be your top priority this year—and how to know what action your site needs to thrive.

1. Why Website Speed Matters More Than Ever in 2025

In 2025, a slow website isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a business killer.

• Faster websites rank higher on Google (thanks to Core Web Vitals).
• A one-second delay can cut conversions by 7%—that’s money left on the table.
• Mobile users expect near-instant loading—if they wait, they leave.

Optimising your current site for speed can increase traffic, engagement, and sales— Not sure how your site stacks up? Check Your Website Performance via Google PageSpeed Insights here.

2. Stop Wasting Ad Dollars on a Poorly Performing Site

Running ads? Your website speed directly impacts your ROI.

If you’re investing in Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads, but your site is slow:

• Visitors will leave before your page even loads.
• Your ad spend gets wasted on users who bounce.
• Google may charge you more per click due to poor landing page experience.

Solution: Before running paid campaigns, optimise your website’s speed to ensure you’re maximising every marketing dollar.

3. SEO Without Website Health = A Waste of Time

SEO is a long-term investment—but if your site performs poorly, Google won’t prioritise it, no matter how much effort you put in.

Google’s AI-powered search prioritises fast, efficient websites.
Sites that fail Core Web Vitals will struggle to rank—no matter how great the content.

Before pouring time into content, keywords, and backlinks, ensure your website is built for performance. Read more about how AI powered search is changing the game.

4. What Are Core Web Vitals & Why Do They Matter?

Google measures website health using Core Web Vitals—a set of metrics that determine your site speed, stability, and responsiveness.

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – Measures how fast your main content loads. (Goal: Under 2.5 seconds)
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP) – Replaces First Input Delay (FID), measuring responsiveness when users click or interact. (Goal: Under 200ms)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Checks for unexpected layout shifts that frustrate users. (Goal: Less than 0.1)

Check Your Core Web Vitals via Google PageSpeed Insights here.

How to Optimise Your Current Website (Without a Rebuild)

Not every site needs a full redesign, but most sites need performance improvements. Here are some common issues that can be fixed:

• Reduce plugins & scripts – Too many slow your site down
• Upgrade hosting – Slow hosting = slow site, no matter what you do.
• Enable caching & use a CDN – Speeds up global access.
• Compress images & videos – Large media files cause lag.
• Fix bloated code – Poorly built themes or old code slow things down.
• Reduce “above-the-fold” load – Too many features at the top delay full loading.

If your website is struggling with all these issues, it may be time for a rebuild. But if your site just needs optimisation, fixing these elements can extend its life and performance into 2025 and beyond.

A Note for Shopify Users

The tips above are primarily geared towards WordPress and custom-built websites. If your store is on Shopify, performance optimisation works a little differently.

What we can help with on Shopify:

• Image optimisation and compression
• Body content improvements to support SEO, accessibility, and best practices

What we can’t fully control on Shopify:

• Hosting and caching (these are managed by Shopify’s infrastructure)
• Core theme structure—accessibility and SEO are often limited by the theme itself. While we can tweak and improve theme code, those fixes can be overwritten every time the theme updates.

So, what does that mean for you?
Choosing a lightweight, well-coded, and performance-optimised theme from the start is critical to long-term success on Shopify. If you're unsure whether your current theme is holding your site back—or you're considering a theme change—talk to us first. We can audit your current setup and recommend a strategy that ensures your Shopify store performs at its best in 2025 and beyond.

Website Health Isn’t a One-Time Fix

Improving your website’s speed and performance isn’t something you do once and forget. It’s an ongoing process.

Every time you:

• Add new features or plugins
• Update your design or content
• Launch campaigns or landing pages
• Change your hosting or tech stack

…you can unintentionally affect your website’s load times, Core Web Vitals, and overall performance.

And it’s not just you—Google is constantly updating its algorithms and performance standards. What passed last year may no longer be good enough.

That’s why regular audits, updates, and performance reviews are essential for keeping your website running at its best.

A high-performing website isn’t set-and-forget. It’s maintained, monitored, and improved—continuously.

Final Thoughts: Get the Most Out of Your Website in 2025

A high-performing website doesn’t always require a full rebuild. By prioritising speed, fixing technical issues, and optimising Core Web Vitals, you can get better SEO, higher conversions, and more value from your existing website.

Not sure where to start?

Check your performance via Google PageSpeed Insights here and book a Website Performance Review with us today! Let’s save you money, increase your site’s performance, and make 2025 your best year yet.

AI-powered search and automation are no longer futuristic concepts—they are fundamentally reshaping SEO right now. If your website isn’t AI-friendly, it could be losing traffic, rankings, and business opportunities. Here’s how to ensure your website remains discoverable in the AI-first era.

How AI is Changing Search in 2025

Google’s AI-driven search updates are changing SEO as we know it. Traditional ranking tactics aren’t enough anymore. If AI can’t understand your content, it won’t show it to users. 

AI-powered search engines like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Bing AI are shifting from keyword-based rankings to context-driven, AI-curated results. Instead of just listing pages, AI now summarises content, reducing clicks to traditional websites. To stay visible, sites must optimise for featured snippets, structured data, and conversational queries. Multimodal search is also rising, with AI interpreting images, videos, and voice searches—favouring sites with rich media content. Additionally, AI-powered assistants like Siri and Alexa prioritise clear, well-structured answers. To succeed, websites must embrace structured data, diverse content formats, and AI-friendly optimisations.

Here’s how to ensure your website remains visible in an AI-first search world.

Key Strategies to Optimise Your Website for AI Search

1. Enhance Content with AI-Optimised Formatting

AI search engines prefer structured, scannable content over long, unorganised text blocks.

DO:

• Use clear heading hierarchies (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
• Format answers in concise, AI-friendly summaries
• Include FAQ sections with conversational, voice-search-ready phrasing

DON’T:

• Overload pages with dense text blocks that AI cannot quickly parse
• Rely solely on short-tail keywords—focus on conversational, long-tail queries

Example:
Bad: "Our running shoes have great durability and cushioning for all kinds of athletes."
AI-Optimised: "Looking for the best running shoes for long-distance runs? Our lightweight, cushioned options are designed to support marathon runners with extra durability."

2. Leverage Structured Data & Schema Markup

AI-powered search relies on structured data to understand and categorise content. 

DO:

• Use Product, Review, FAQ, and Article schema to make content machine-readable
• Include rich snippets (e.g., ratings, pricing, availability) to improve visibility in AI-powered search results

DON’T:

• Leave product pages unstructured—AI search engines might not rank them
• Forget to update metadata and schema markups regularly

3. Optimise for AI-Powered Voice Search & Assistants

Voice searches are more conversational than text-based searches. AI assistants favour direct answers, so content should be optimised accordingly.

DO:

• Phrase information as a question-and-answer format
• Use natural, spoken language in your copy
• Optimise for local voice search (e.g., “Where’s the best coffee shop near me?”)

DON’T:

• Overuse robotic, keyword-stuffed phrases that feel unnatural
• Ignore FAQs and structured Q&A sections

Example:
Instead of:
"Best smartphones 2024"

Try:
"Which smartphone has the best battery life for frequent travelers?"

Websites optimised for voice-friendly queries will have a higher chance of ranking in AI-driven search results.

4. Improve Page Speed & Mobile Usability

AI-driven search engines prioritise websites with fast loading speeds and mobile-friendly experiences.

DO:

• Use Google PageSpeed Insights to analyse page load times
• Compress images and enable lazy loading
• Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) for faster global load speeds

DON’T:

• Have large, uncompressed images slowing down page loads
• Overuse JavaScript-heavy elements that AI crawlers struggle to interpret

5. Monitor & Adapt to AI-Driven Search Engines

SEO strategies must evolve alongside AI-powered search. Businesses should regularly analyse how AI interprets their content and adapt accordingly.

DO:

• Test AI search visibility using tools like AndiSearch & Firecrawl
• Track how AI-generated search summaries represent your content
• Continuously update schema markup and metadata for accuracy

DON’T:

• Assume traditional SEO strategies will work forever—AI is constantly evolving
• Ignore AI-generated snippets—optimise content so AI pulls the right insights

Example:
Australian news outlets like ABC News and The Sydney Morning Herald have adapted their content for AI-driven search features by implementing structured article markup, voice-friendly summaries, and AI-generated snippets.

Final Thoughts: Future-Proofing Your SEO for AI Search

AI-powered search is already transforming how users find and interact with content. Websites that fail to optimise for AI-driven search risk fading into digital obscurity.

By implementing structured data, AI-friendly content, voice search optimisation, and mobile performance improvements, you can stay ahead of AI search trends and maintain strong online visibility.

The AI search revolution isn’t coming—it’s already here. The question is: Is your website ready for it? Let’s talk. Contact our Chief Maven Kingston Lee-Young to explore AI solutions for your business.

AI is steadily making its way into business operations, offering new ways to improve efficiency and streamline processes. The latest advancement, OpenAI Operator, is a step beyond chatbots and simple automation. Launched on 28th Jan 2025, it’s an AI Agent that can browse websites, interact with digital platforms, and complete tasks independently—bringing real automation to individuals and business operations.

Currently available to OpenAI Pro users in the US, and not in Australia as yet, it’s still important for C-suite executives, business owners, and decision-makers, to understand how OpenAI Operator works, where it applies, and what it means for the future of business.

What is OpenAI Operator?

OpenAI Operator is an AI Agent that can complete digital tasks autonomously—without human intervention. Unlike traditional automation, which follows pre-defined scripts, OpenAI Operator can navigate websites, interact with interfaces, and process online actions dynamically.

Key Capabilities include:

• Web Navigation & Task Execution – It can interact with websites, search pages, fill out forms, click buttons, and interact with online services.
• Problem-Solving – OpenAI Operator is powered by a new Computer-Using Agent (CUA) model, which combines GPT-4o's vision capabilities with advanced reasoning through reinforcement learning. However, if it encounters an issue, it can self-correct or escalate to the human user.
• Multi-Tasking – OpenAI Operator can handle multiple requests simultaneously, improving efficiency in high-volume workflows and breaking down complex tasks into multi-step plans.
• Seamless Integrations – OpenAI is collaborating with companies like DoorDash, eBay, Instacart, Priceline, StubHub, and Uber to embed Operator into real-world business applications.
• Privacy and Security: Operator doesn't collect or screenshot any data, and requires user confirmation for sensitive actions like submitting orders, transacting payments or sending emails.

Unlike traditional AI-powered tools, OpenAI Operator doesn’t just analyse data—it takes action.

How Operator Works

Open AI Operator uses a Computer-Using Agent (CUA) model that combines GPT-4o's vision capabilities with advanced reasoning through reinforcement learning. It interacts with graphical user interfaces by:

• Perceiving the screen through screenshots
• Reasoning about what actions to take
• Executing actions using simulated mouse and keyboard inputs

For example, Operator can:

• Fill out online forms
• Order groceries from services like Instacart (USA)
• Create memes
• Book travel arrangements on sites like Priceline.com (USA)

Current Limitations

Despite its capabilities, Operator has several limitations:

• It can struggle with complex interfaces and tasks like creating slideshows or managing multiple calendars.
• There are daily and task-dependent rate limits on usage.
• It may refuse certain tasks for security reasons, such as sending emails or deleting calendar events.
• Operator can get stuck on complex interfaces, password fields, or CAPTCHA checks, requiring user intervention.

Privacy and Security Measures

OpenAI has implemented several privacy and security features for Operator:

• Takeover mode: Users must take control for inputting sensitive information like login credentials or payment details.
• User confirmations: Operator asks for approval before finalising significant actions like submitting orders or sending emails.
• Task limitations: It's trained to decline sensitive tasks such as banking transactions.
• Watch mode: On sensitive sites like email or financial services, Operator requires closer supervision.
• Data management: Users can opt out of data being used for training and easily delete browsing data, logins, and conversations.

However, it's worth noting that OpenAI retains user data, including chats, browsing history, and screenshots, for 90 days - longer than ChatGPT's 30-day retention period.

Why Businesses Should Pay Attention

The impact of AI Agents like OpenAI Operator extends far beyond IT and Marketing departments. Companies that adopt AI-driven automation will benefit from reduced costs, improve efficiency, and enhance customer service—while those that delay risk falling behind.

Some Potential Business Business Benefits Using OpenAI Operator:

• Ability to Cut Operational Costs – AI Agents can replace manual tasks, freeing employees for higher-value work.
• Speed Up Decision-Making – AI analyses data in real-time, helping leaders and managers to respond faster to market changes.
• Enhanced Customer Experience – AI-driven service automation ensures faster response times and better personalisation.
• Improve Compliance & Security – Operator can monitor transactions, flag risks, and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Scale Without Hiring More Staff – AI Agents can manage workflows 24/7 without increasing headcount.

Key Business Applications & Use Cases

OpenAI Operator is industry-agnostic, meaning businesses across sectors can integrate AI-driven automation. Here are some application ideas for different industries:

1. Customer Service & Support: AI Agents can handle inquiries, process refunds, and assist customers automatically, reducing support costs.
2. Finance & Compliance: Automates invoice processing, monitors transactions for fraud, and ensures compliance with Australian financial regulations.
3. E-Commerce & Retail: Manages order processing, inventory updates, and personalised customer recommendations. Can adjust pricing dynamically based on demand and competitor pricing.
4. HR & Recruitment: Screens job applications, schedules interviews, and assists with onboarding new employees.
5. Travel & Hospitality: AI can manage bookings, optimise travel itineraries, and provide real-time pricing comparisons.

Business leaders should ask themselves: Is my company’s digital presence optimised for AI Agents? If your website, data, or operations aren’t AI-friendly, potential customers—or AI-powered automation systems—might bypass you.

How Businesses Should Prepare for AI Agents

AI is evolving fast, and companies must act now to stay ahead.

Steps to Prepare Your Business for AI Integration:

1. Identify Repetitive Business Processes - Where does your team spend too much time on manual tasks? Start small—automate customer service, HR, or financial operations first.
2. Ensure Your Data is AI-Ready - AI thrives on structured, high-quality data. Ensure your business data is clean and well-organised.
3. Test AI in Low-Risk Areas - Run pilot projects to test how AI Agents like OpenAI Operator fit into your workflows. Monitor impact and scale where AI shows the highest efficiency gains.
4. Train Employees to Work Alongside AI - AI won’t replace jobs—it will change them. Employees need to adapt to AI-powered workflows.
5. Stay Compliant with AI Regulations - Australian AI governance is evolving—ensure compliance with data privacy laws and cybersecurity best practices.

Proactive businesses will gain a competitive advantage—waiting to act may leave you struggling to catch up.

The Future of Work with AI Agents

AI Agents like OpenAI Operator are shaping the future of business automation. As AI becomes more capable, we’ll see:

• Job roles shifting – AI will take over repetitive tasks, while employees focus on strategy, oversight, and problem-solving.
• Greater demand for AI skills – Businesses will need experts who understand how to integrate, manage, and optimise AI systems.
• New business models emerging – Companies that leverage AI effectively will outpace competitors and capture new markets.

The question isn’t whether AI will change business—it’s whether your company is prepared for it.

Final Thoughts: Why Business Leaders Must Act Now

AI Agents like OpenAI Operator are already changing how companies operate. Businesses that integrate AI-driven automation will cut costs, improve efficiency, and gain a strategic edge. Those that delay risk falling behind.

The future of AI isn’t years away—it’s happening now.

How will your business use AI? Let’s talk. Contact our Chief Maven Kingston Lee-Young to explore AI solutions and AI agents for your business.