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Is SEO dead? How GenAI changed search
No, SEO is not dead. Despite the rise of AI search, SEO remains the biggest source of web traffic and can help brands appear in AI search.
With organic web traffic plummeting across most websites, marketers have been questioning SEO's future -- and rightly so.
The rise of generative AI (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity has changed how users access information. These tools offer direct answers to queries, eliminating the need for users to visit websites. As a result, Gartner expects brands to lose 25% of their web traffic by 2026. This traffic plunge has led people to claim search engine optimization (SEO) is dead, but experts say it's transforming -- not dying.
"SEO is about as dead as print is, which is meaning to say it's not going anywhere -- it's going to change," said Liz Miller, vice president and analyst at Constellation Research.
While traditional SEO may be less effective than it once was, it remains important for marketers because users rarely click on links in AI responses. To adapt to an AI search landscape, marketers can take key steps, such as identifying traffic dips, optimizing for content authority and tracking different metrics.
Why are people asking if SEO is dead?
Consumers increasingly use GenAI chatbots, like ChatGPT and Perplexity, in addition to traditional search engines. Even traditional search engines like Google and Bing have rolled out generative features, like AI Overviews and AI Mode, which answer users' questions directly. As a result, people don't need to leave the search tool to find information, and brands lose significant traffic to their sites.
"Every client I speak to is losing traffic to their owned and operated properties, their site and their app," said Nikhil Lai, principal analyst at Forrester Research.
This reduction in traffic has far-reaching consequences for marketing efforts, particularly for SEO-driven strategies. Even content that ranks highly on the search engine results page (SERP) can struggle to reach its intended audience, because AI lets people bypass the SERP altogether.
Decreased web traffic leads to the following marketing challenges:
- Less effective content marketing. Fewer visitors mean reduced engagement with blog posts and videos designed to drive conversions.
- Fewer leads. Reduced website traffic limits opportunities for users to complete membership forms, sign up for newsletters and engage with calls-to-action.
- Less data for analysis. Reduced traffic makes it harder for marketers to track user behavior, optimize campaigns and measure ROI effectively.
The perception that SEO is dead stems from a shift in how users access information. GenAI tools eliminate or reduce the need for users to visit websites. If fewer users interact with traditional search results, the value of optimizing for SERPs diminishes and forces marketers to reconsider SEO's effectiveness.
Is SEO dead?
No, SEO is not dead -- but it is changing. Traditional SEO strategies have become less effective as consumers use AI to bypass the SERP. However, less effective does not mean dead. Traditional search engines still generate far more organic search traffic than any other channel.
SEO can also help brands appear in GenAI responses and the sources they cite, because the logic behind how they select source material for answers remains similar to that of traditional search engines.
"Being cited in an answer that ChatGPT gives to a follow-up question is a proxy for ranking in average positions one through three. So, it's a different UI, but the underlying logic is the same," Lai said.
Consumer behaviors around search have changed, but SEO still helps brands show up on SERPs and in GenAI responses. SEO is not dying but evolving to include generative engine optimization (GEO), which is a strategy marketers use to enhance the visibility of their brands and content on GenAI search platforms. Marketers should not abandon SEO for GEO but unify the two strategies as one holistic approach for improving web visibility, said John Dawson, vice president of strategy at Jellyfish, a global digital marketing business.
How can marketers thrive in the AI search era?
While AI-driven search presents challenges, it also creates new opportunities. The following approaches can help brands gain visibility and engagement in this evolving landscape.
1. Identify traffic dips
Marketers should first identify the topic areas experiencing drops in click-through rate. These are often areas where users find answers directly in GenAI search results but don't click through to the brand's website, Lai said.
Marketers should then update that content to offer a clear, branded impression -- one that highlights the brand name, unique value proposition and brand message. This approach can help marketers generate brand recognition even if audiences don't visit their websites directly.
2. Optimize content for authority
Brands must create content that establishes clear authority, because GenAI tools look for credible, authoritative sources as they generate responses. This approach improves visibility in AI search results and builds trust with audiences.
Nikhil Lai
"For every piece of content you create, Google bot and Bing bot have to clearly understand who the author is and why they're an expert in that topic. So, high-quality headshots, implementing author schema, linking to LinkedIn profiles, breadcrumbing to show what the author's position is relative to the CEO of the company to establish that link -- that chain of command -- all that's going to make a difference in your content's visibility," Lai said.
3. Understand the customer's language
As GenAI tools let customers express themselves in conversational language, marketers must use similar language in their content to appear in AI-generated responses. For instance, if a computer company's target audience searches, "What's the best laptop for gaming and schoolwork?", an article that uses conversational language like "a great laptop for handling school projects and gaming" is more likely to show up than one that uses complex jargon, like "a laptop with a high-performance GPU and productivity-enhancing software."
To uncover the kinds of language a brand's target audience uses, marketers can take the following steps:
- Analyze social media platforms. Platforms like Reddit, Quora and YouTube comment sections offer insights into authentic customer language.
- Study customer reviews. Reviews on platforms like Amazon and Yelp often reveal how customers describe their needs, preferences and experiences.
- Conduct surveys and interviews. Marketers can use surveys and interviews to engage with customers and learn about their vocabulary and phrasing.
- Monitor search queries. Tools like Google Search Console or keyword research platforms can highlight the exact terms customers use as they search for products and services. Google's "people also ask" feature can also help marketers identify customer language patterns.
- Engage with customer support data. Customer inquiries, complaints and feedback from support channels can reveal common language patterns and concerns.
Liz Miller
Marketers who use the same language as their audience can create content that is relatable and accessible to both customers and AI tools.
"It's about really understanding and thinking in the voice of your customer," Miller said.
4. Adapt content for a cylindrical marketing funnel
The traditional marketing funnel, with its distinct stages of awareness, consideration and conversion, no longer reflects how consumers interact with content in the AI-driven search era. GenAI tools have compressed the customer journey and transformed the funnel into a shorter, cylindrical shape, Lai said.
"We're seeing that sessions on average are like 25, 28, 32 seconds long, whereas they used to be 90 seconds long. So, the session is shorter, but in that one session, you're asking a lot more questions," Lai said.
Instead of a gradual progression through each customer journey stage, users now engage with all stages of the funnel in a single session. For instance, they might ask questions that help them discover products, evaluate options and make purchasing decisions, all in a short time frame.
Lai suggests marketers design content that satisfies the full spectrum of user intent -- from initial discovery to final decision-making -- within a single piece. Comprehensive content that blends broad awareness with actionable insights and clear calls-to-action is more likely to resonate with both human users and AI systems.
5. Play with AI from the customer's perspective
To adapt to the AI search landscape, marketers must immerse themselves in the tools their customers use, Dawson said. They should gain firsthand insights into how AI retrieves and presents content, as well as the types of questions and language patterns customers likely use. This hands-on experience lets marketers understand the nuances of AI-generated responses and helps them identify opportunities to make their brand more visible in AI search.
John Dawson
As marketers experiment, they should put themselves in the customer's shoes. This approach lets them uncover gaps in their content strategy and align messaging with user needs. For example, brands can test queries related to their industry or product to reveal how AI tools represent -- or overlook -- their brand. This perspective helps marketers refine their content strategies and meet the expectations of human users and AI systems.
"Be really curious and start to play with ChatGPT, play with Gemini, play with Perplexity. Really experience these services and try to put yourself in the shoes of a consumer," Dawson said.
6. Track additional metrics
Although traditional SEO metrics -- like click-through rate, traffic and position ranking -- remain important, they no longer offer a complete picture of how consumers interact with content online, Miller said. Instead, marketers can supplement these metrics with KPIs that align with the way AI platforms retrieve and present information.
These metrics include the following:
- Share of AI voice. How frequently AI tools cite or reference a brand's content in AI-generated answers.
- SERP saturation. The amount of space a brand occupies across all features on search platforms, including AI-generated summaries, paid ads and traditional SERP rankings.
- Prompt visibility. The specific user questions and conversational queries that cause a brand to appear in AI responses.
These metrics and indicators offer insights into how well a brand performs in AI search. They don't replace traditional metrics but complement them to create a more complete picture of digital performance.
Key takeaways
SEO didn't die -- it changed. GenAI has transformed how people search, but traditional search engines still generate more traffic than AI platforms. As AI reshapes the search experience, marketers must adapt their strategies to maintain visibility in both traditional and AI-powered search.
To stay competitive, brands can use authoritative sources, speak in the voice of their customers and regularly track how they appear in AI tools. Marketers who supplement their SEO strategies with GEO are more likely to thrive as search and AI converge.
Tim Murphy is site editor for Informa TechTarget's SearchCustomerExperience and SearchContentManagement sites.
