SEO has been declared dead so many times it’s almost a meme at this point.
1997 is the earliest proclaimation I’ve seen. Here, in a 2009 article about how it was very much alive.
With the internet awash with hype and despair at the moment thanks to AI and claims it’ll kill SEO featuring heavily, I have some thoughts.
SEO isn’t dead: AI changes the process but the fundamentals stay the same
AI has already changed how people find and engage with information.
But the process by which AI evaluates information and decides which to present is built on the same fundamentals as good SEO. Signficant factors are:
- Clarity
- Authority
- Usefulness
- Distinctiveness
If you’ve been doing SEO well, optimising for AI isn’t that different. And if you’ve not done SEO before, there’s still value in doing it.
There will be a shift: here’s how to weather it
The informational layer is where the biggest shift is taking place. AI tools generate answers based on sources, and you’ve got a better likelihood of being a source if your site is well-presented.
Change is happening on the commercial layer, too.
After getting info people will either go to a search engine with a commercial query based on their new understanding, or increasingly, ask an AI tool for product recs.
This makes traditional search one of several options rather than the sole source of information it has arguably been for many years.
If you’ve been doing SEO well, optimising for AI isn’t that different. And if you’ve not done SEO before, there’s still value in doing it.
This means that as well as ranking in search engines, your website and content need to be part of the information AI tools draw from to give people answers.
It also means:
- Outranking similar content as a standalone goal is no longer enough
- Content or product pages that offer very slight variations on what’s already out there won’t cut it
If your brand doesn’t stand out or offer anything distinct it’s unlikely to be referenced – explicitly or implicitly.
But here’s the crux: the process for demonstrating distinctness and value to AI tools is the same as it’s always been for SEO.
The fundamentals that will help you succeed in traditional SEO and AI tools
These are the tools and techniques that still work. If anything, they matter more now because they’re working towards success in two areas instead of one.
- Clear, original content: offer something original to influence AI answers: data, insight, experience, or perspective
- Strong on-page structure: help AI tools understand your content: headings, schema markup, concise summaries, FAQs
- Backlinks and brand mentions: demonstrate authority: backlinks, brand mentions and citations in relevant, high-quality places
- Solid internal linking: help search engines and AI tools understand the relationship between content on your site
- Entity recognition (your brand as a ‘thing’): AI tools need to understand your brand as a thing: consistent information and tone across all platforms
- Solid product pages: this might be the first (and only) place someone visits on your site, so they need to act like landing pages: comprehensive, persuasive, self-contained
- Fast, frictionless checkout: people arrive from AI tools with higher intent than traditional search, but less patience. Eliminate all distractions and hindrances in the checkout process so you don’t lose them
All of this is very familiar to anyone who’s ever read Google’s EEAT guidelines.
The process for demonstrating distinctness and value to AI tools is the same as it’s always been for SEO
How SEO strategy will change in an AI world
SEO is now about ranking in search engines and influencing the answers AI gives.
And for high-intent commercial queries, search engines are still a core destination. Visibility in those spaces still matters and may matter more as AI takes over the lower-intent layers.
The main changes:
- You’re trying to earn a place in the synthesis layer: AI tools don’t cite everything, they cherry-pick from the best. Give them a reason to choose you
- You need to owning your distinctiveness: share your processes, experience, insights, and anything competitors can’t copy and paste
- Treat every page as a potential entry point: funnels are less relevant as users will see less informational content via search
- Build self-contained product pages: act on the assumption users will only see them
The biggest change: if you’ve ever used SEO strategies designed to game the system, it’s time to do better.
And how it will stay the same
Despite the noise, the objectives and fundamentals of SEO haven’t changed: connect people with the right content at the right time.
You still need to:
- Understand your audience and the questions they’re asking
- Create content that’s clear, relevant, and genuinely useful
- Structure your site so people, search engines and AI tools can navigate it easily
- Build authority through trust, expertise, and consistent delivery
- Optimise for conversion, not just visibility
There’s no denying the user journey has changed, but the sites that earn attention and deliver value will succeed – as always.
So no, SEO isn’t dead this time either. AI won’t kill it. But it will force businesses and website owners to do better.
If you want your business to do better online, get in touch.
The sites that earn attention and deliver value will succeed – as always
