SEO In An AI-Driven World
Zach Thompson is CEO of Top Shelf Logic, a marketing firm, where he oversees the strategic vision and growth of the company.
Search engine optimization (SEO) has long been top of mind for companies. But the SEO world has been turned upside down as AI has taken over. The shift has been happening for years, but it has become more apparent today.
We know that SEO is evolving, but the big question is: Are you evolving with it?
If you’re not, you’re going to need to if you want to survive. AI is here to stay, and if you want your website and clients to thrive, it’s time to shift the way you think and work.
Shifting From SEO To GEO And AEO
Search engines are more like answer engines today. Instead of pointing you toward external websites, they now give you answers right on the search results page. That is why SEO has to shift to generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO). This shift can make all the difference in performance level.
AEO is the practice of structuring your content so that AI-powered search engines can easily pull it as a direct answer to a query. When we’re talking about GEO, the focus is on getting cited by large language models, such as ChatGPT.
Agencies now need to think about the wider scope. People are no longer searching for one keyword. They are looking for specific answers to their questions. For example, instead of searching for the best tennis racquets, they may ask, “What are the best tennis racquets for left-handed beginner players?” They are getting specific, and you need to match that specificity. If you don’t, your answers probably will not get picked up by AI.
Remember, AI is still a tool. It needs to be guided along the way. That means shifting how you position content and conduct everyday operations. In my case, I had to shift from focusing on exact-match keywords to more context and intent. I started prompting my SEO team to consider topic clusters rather than keywords.
This shift also means becoming an expert in your field so that when AI answers a question, it cites you as the authority. AI is only as good as the sources it can draw on. You need your content to become that authority. This is why, as much as AI is taking over, it can’t take over the human component.
You can demonstrate your authority by providing firsthand accounts and sharing your experience in your field. I’ve found it’s best to be as specific as possible. That shows that you know what you’re talking about.
Why AI Can’t Do It All
Claude, ChatGPT or whatever other AI tool you prefer can produce a piece of content in a matter of seconds. While that’s faster than any human writer, the product can be overrun with errors. It may contain factual inconsistencies or completely made-up information (also known as AI hallucinations). Who is going to check for these things? You need a human. There is no way that AI is going to cover all the bases.
That’s not to say we should throw away AI-generated content. It can be extremely beneficial for companies just starting that want to build an online presence. By generating multiple pieces of content quickly with AI, you can get your name out there. But you need to be sure you’re sharing the right information.
Why Technical SEO Is Still Vital
AI engines cannot summarize what they can’t analyze. Technical SEO remains a constant. Clean URL structures (web addresses that are logical, organized and easy for people to read) and XML sitemaps ensure that search bots can index your latest insights before they become outdated.
Schema markup and structured data are still crucial. That’s why you still need to have humans involved with your SEO. Someone needs to do this work.
Finding a meeting point where AI and your team members can work for one another, not against one another, is key. I try to pass this idea on to my employees. We still rely on humans for schema markup and other tasks because AI cannot be a substitute for the human touch.
Using AI To Track SEO Performance
AI-powered SEO tools can streamline SEO tracking by analyzing large keyword datasets and automating rank monitoring. They can also track how often content is cited in AI answers, and how search behavior differs across models.
Tools like Ahrefs, for example, help identify content gaps and technical SEO issues. These insights can help you improve your online presence.
Semrush is another popular tool that many use to suggest optimizations based on top-performing content and search engine algorithms.
These kinds of insights are extremely vital because, as content creators, we need to know what is working and what is not if we want to survive. Using that information, we can structure our SEO better and mold it to thrive in our AI-driven world.
If we don’t know what’s not working, how can we fix it? We will be doomed to make the same mistakes repeatedly as AI leaves us in the dust.
When my team uses Claude and other AI tools, we take the information they provide and conduct our own analysis. We can use the information to conduct a deeper dive that can benefit our clients. If we ignored what AI tells us, we wouldn’t be able to evolve.
If SEO teams do not change with the times, I firmly believe many of them will not exist in the next couple of years. While that may sound harsh, it is a reality many must face and overcome if they want a future for SEO in an AI-driven world.
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