Definition
Search intent is the goal behind a query: what someone wants to achieve the moment they type a question into Google or put it to an AI assistant. The classic model has four types — informational (know something), navigational (go somewhere), commercial (compare) and transactional (buy or request) — and that intent decides which type of page can rank and which source an AI answer cites.
The search results themselves tell you which intent Google assumes behind a query. If you see guides and videos, the question is informational; product pages, Shopping results and prices mean transactional; lists with 'best' and 'versus' mean commercial. Many queries carry mixed intent and show a mix. Anyone who builds a page without looking at those results first is guessing.
The practical rule is that the page type has to match the intent. A blog post on a buying query loses to a category page, and a product page on a how-do-I question loses to a guide. That is why you group queries with the same intent into one cluster and serve that cluster with one page, instead of building a page per variant that cannibalise each other.
In AI search, intent becomes more explicit. Questions put to ChatGPT or Google AI Mode are longer and more complete — 'which accounting software suits a sole trader who files VAT' instead of 'accounting software' — and the assistant splits such a question into sub-questions, each with its own intent. Informational pages decide whether the model understands your subject; commercial pages — comparisons, criteria, prices — decide whether it recommends you. You need to cover both stages.
Intent also shifts. A query that was informational for years turns transactional once the market matures, and Google adjusts the results accordingly. So check periodically whether the page type you have still matches what the results show. Traze classifies intent per cluster before it plans a page, so the page type is right from the start.