Every few years, a new wave of technology sparks doomsday predictions about the “death of SEO.” Today, that conversation is focused on artificial intelligence (AI), answer engine optimization (AEO), and generative engine optimization (GEO). With Google, Microsoft, and countless other platforms weaving generative AI into the search experience, marketers are understandably worried:
Will traffic disappear in a world of AI-powered answers?
How do we optimize for machines that “summarize” instead of linking?
Is SEO becoming obsolete?
The short answer: No, SEO isn’t dead. It’s evolving, just as it always has.
If you look back, SEO has always been about adapting to user behavior and search technology.
We shifted from keyword stuffing to natural language and semantic search.
We embraced mobile optimization when smartphones changed browsing forever.
We learned to optimize for voice search when Alexa and Siri started answering questions out loud.
We implemented schema markup to help search engines understand and display content in richer ways.
Each of those changes was seen as a potential “SEO killer.” In reality, they forced us to get better, to think less about algorithms and more about users, context, and clarity.
AI-driven search is just the next stage in that evolution.
The biggest shift with AI, AEO, and GEO isn’t that SEO stops working. It’s that search engines, and now AI assistants, are delivering answers before the click.
That means:
More featured snippets and zero-click results.
AI overviews summarizing information from multiple sources.
Generative answers delivered via chatbots and voice.
Marketers need to prepare for a world where visibility and brand presence matter as much (or more) than click-throughs. Instead of fighting it, think of AI search as new distribution for your expertise.
Double Down on Content Quality and Clarity
Write with precision. Use clear headings, concise answers, and well-structured content that AI can easily extract. Schema markup is still your friend.
Shift Success Metrics Beyond Traffic
Impressions, visibility, citations, and brand mentions in AI summaries will matter. Think about share of voice, not just site visits.
Embrace AEO/GEO as an Extension of SEO
Optimize for questions, not just queries. Create content that anticipates intent, covers topics deeply, and provides context AI can draw from.
Build Brand Authority Everywhere
Strong brands will be cited more often. Invest in PR, thought leadership, reviews, and social proof that reinforce credibility across the web.
Capture Value Beyond the First Click
If some clicks disappear, the ones you do earn will be more valuable, coming from users who are further down the funnel, closer to purchase, or already primed to convert. That makes conversion-focused content and strong offers critical.
Marketers don’t need to fear AI, AEO, or GEO. We’ve been here before. The tactics evolve, but the principles stay the same:
Understand your audience.
Create valuable, clear, authoritative content.
Structure it so both humans and machines can use it.
Measure what matters most to your business.
Yes, there may be fewer clicks. But those clicks will be higher-intent, deeper in the funnel, and far more likely to drive results. The job of SEO is no longer just to get traffic, it’s to own visibility, earn trust, and capture the value of the right traffic.
Search may look different in 2025 than it did in 2015, but the goal is unchanged: connecting people with the right information at the right time.
AI isn’t killing SEO. It’s reminding us why good SEO has always been about more than rankings, it’s about visibility, credibility, and impact in every channel where people search for answers.
Joshua Banks
Digital Marketing Leader & Strategist