I’ve been doing SEO since 2013. That’s over a decade of watching “this will kill SEO” headlines come and go.
Mobile was supposed to kill it. Voice search was supposed to kill it. Featured snippets were supposed to kill it. And now AI is the latest boogeyman.
Here’s the thing.
SEO isn’t dying. It’s evolving. And I’ve been watching it happen in real time.
The Sky Is Falling (Again)
When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, my LinkedIn feed turned into a funeral procession for search. “Why would anyone use Google when AI can just give them the answer?”
I’ll admit it. I had a moment of panic too.
But then I started actually using these tools. I started testing. I started paying attention to what was happening with real traffic, real rankings, and real user behavior.
The data tells a different story than the panic.
Google still processes over 8.5 billion searches per day. That’s 99,000 searches every single second. ChatGPT, despite all the hype, handles roughly 10 million queries daily. That’s impressive growth, sure. But it’s a rounding error compared to Google’s volume.
The writing’s on the wall, but most people are reading it wrong.
What AI Actually Changed (And What It Didn’t)
Let me break down what’s actually happening.
Google AI Overviews are eating into clicks for simple informational queries. That’s real. A Semrush study found that click-through rates for position one dropped from 7.3% to 2.6% when an AI Overview appeared.
Read that again. It changes everything about how you should approach certain keywords.
But here’s the reality: not every search triggers an AI Overview. According to Ahrefs data, AI Overviews show up for only about 8-12% of searches. Most of those are basic informational queries that were already low-value from a conversion standpoint.
“What year did the Titanic sink” isn’t driving anyone’s business. Never was.
Here’s what AI didn’t change:
People still need to buy things. They still need to hire professionals. They still need reviews, comparisons, and detailed guides before making decisions. AI can summarize, but it can’t replace the depth of expertise that builds trust.
The SEO Winners Are Adapting, Not Panicking
I’ve been testing AI blogging tools since the day ChatGPT went live. I generate content daily as an SEO professional. And I can tell you that the people crushing it right now are the ones who understand one critical thing.
AI is a tool. Not a replacement.
The sites that are winning aren’t the ones pumping out 500 AI articles a day. They’re the ones using AI to enhance human expertise. To speed up research. To identify content gaps. To scale what already works.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Some sites got absolutely wrecked. HubSpot’s organic traffic reportedly dropped 70-80% after Google’s helpful content updates. Travel blog The Planet D lost an estimated 90% of their traffic.
But look at why. Those sites had scaled content production to the point where quality suffered. They’d prioritized volume over value. Google’s AI updates didn’t kill them. Their strategy was already on life support.
How I’m Approaching SEO Now
My strategy has shifted, but the fundamentals haven’t. Here’s my brutally honest take on what’s working:
Focus on commercial and transactional intent. The informational queries that AI Overviews dominate? I’m not fighting for those anymore. I’m going after keywords where people are ready to take action. “Best CRM for small business” beats “what is a CRM” every time.
Double down on expertise. Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines matter more than ever. Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness. AI can regurgitate information. It can’t replicate a decade of hands-on experience. That’s your competitive moat.
Build brand, not just traffic. When people search your brand name plus a keyword, you win regardless of what AI does. Brand searches are immune to AI Overviews. They signal trust to Google. They convert at higher rates.
Use AI to get better, faster. I use AI tools every day. For research. For outline generation. For identifying opportunities. But I never publish anything that hasn’t been filtered through my own experience and quality standards.
The Real Threat Isn’t AI
Here’s what I’ve seen after watching a decade of SEO evolution.
The real threat has never been the technology. It’s always been the people who refuse to adapt to it.
When mobile search exploded, the sites that didn’t go responsive got left behind. When featured snippets launched, the ones who figured out how to optimize for them got more traffic, not less. When voice search became mainstream, smart marketers adjusted their content strategies.
AI is no different.
According to a McKinsey report, 72% of organizations have now adopted AI in some capacity. The SEO industry isn’t being replaced. It’s being upgraded. The question isn’t if you’ll adapt. It’s how quickly.
Where SEO Is Actually Heading
I’ve been feeding the algorithm since 1996. That’s nearly 30 years of watching this industry transform. And here’s what I know for certain:
SEO in 2025 and beyond is about optimization for AI systems as well as traditional search. Some are calling it AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) or GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Frankly, it’s mostly the same game with some rule changes.
The fundamentals remain: create valuable content, build authority, earn trust, optimize for user intent. The delivery mechanisms are evolving. The core principles aren’t.
Search Engine Land reports that 59% of SEO professionals are now actively optimizing for AI search visibility. That’s not an industry in decline. That’s an industry in motion.
The Bottom Line
AI is evolving SEO, not killing it.
I’ve seen too many “death of SEO” predictions to count. None of them panned out. This one won’t either.
The SEO professionals who are thriving right now are the ones who saw this shift as an opportunity, not a threat. They’re learning new tools. They’re adjusting strategies. They’re leaning into their expertise rather than running from technology.
I’ve been adapting to algorithm changes for a decade. This is just the latest evolution.
The question is: are you evolving with it?
Feeding the algorithm since 1996.
