This time is serious, SEO is REALLY dying

[msyaz]

Thank God, my business is not dependant on SEO. But I will definitely try to include SEO to get new customers but that will never be my primary source of traffic.

Since I started I.M., I just dont like the idea of relying on something that keeps changing like womens mood swing I have zero control over..

 

[sidraejaz]

For years we have laughed when someone asked ''is seo dead?''. Now, it's the sad truth, AI is killing traditional SEO and it will only get harder in the next few years.

Google now created an AI mode. Other search engines tend to follow their steps. Before that, they were creating AI overview and integrating AI. Nobody need to visit your unknown blog to read an AI generated boring text, they can do that directly on an AI model and get personalized answers.

For now, SEO is still alive, but in the coming years it tends to basically vanish from internet. It wouldn't be a surprise if AI mode soon completely replaces the search feature. So, there's no AI Mode in the future. There's only AI results, people click SEARCH and automatically AI start answering, no SERP. Bing and other alternatives are not against AI, no place to hide, it's not only Google.

So, what to do?

1) Pay: This is something that will never change. Nowadays if you want to easily appear on page 1, just pay for ads. In the future, if you want to be featured by AIs, just pay and it will shill your brand.

2) Optimize: If we don't want to invest $$ in the new Google A(I)ds, we'll need to figure out how those algorithms work and how they determine which kind of brand deserves to be mentioned when someone asks for it on their chat system. We will probably need to build some reputation, fake reviews, social mentions (not only links). Social media and videos tend to become much more relevant than guest posts. Instead of blog comments (it will become completely useless), comments on TikTok videos (or whatever social media is relevant in the future) will be much more important. The medium term future is social media + AI.

Just some predictions, share your thoughts too, please.

I agree. Overtime, AI is getting more powerful..

 

[nobelmax]

SEO died on December 2022 when ChatGPT came out.

 

[moonshine7000]

SEO died on December 2022 when ChatGPT came out.

ChatGPT users are spammers.Make money garbage on YouTube is what make Chatgpt popular

 

[pastilan]

AI will ever surpass human knowledge or that it can ever have a life on its own.... Ok, within the circuitry and wires and data centers, etc probably that AI is supreme, but it can't evolve like humans can.

Well, you don't really understand AI if that's how you see it. AI can discover new knowledge on its own.

 

[sheepishpenguin]

I mean, won't AI still have to have a system to determine which content is the 'most' correct / appropriate to serve to the user?

So 'authority' in itself wouldn't be dead, but the way you get it / the way it's determined might change.

Currently, if memory serves, ChatGPT is using Bing's algorithm for web searches.

Theorycrafting here but maybe the 'new' way would be to:

1. Fulfill ToFu keyword intents with social proofing (social media) sites, e.g. YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and so on.
   • Which ChatGPT (most popular and used), would use as references for it's responses.
   • E.g. what features do i look for in a washing machine?
2. Fulfil MoFu keywords with similar social proofing + aggregator websites, e.g. CNET, PCMag, Tom's Hardware, (sorry I'm really only familiar with tech sites), and so on.
   • Which ChatGPT would use as references for it's responses.
   • E.g. what's the best washing machine brand? sumsang omega super top load vs sumsang sigma ultra front load washing machine?
3. Fulfil BoFu keywords with YOUR websites / ecommerce websites, Amazon, Alibaba, Temu, Taobao and so on.
   • Which ChatGPT will have no choice but to serve the appropriate sites in order to fulfill user intent.
   • E.g. buy sumsang sigma ultra front load washing machine.

That's my working theory for now, but maybe the pros would be more knowledgeable for this.

 

[moonshine7000]

Well, you don't really understand AI if that's how you see it. AI can discover new knowledge on its own.

They are paying $4 US per hour to getting training data from Kenyans,that is where getting it's "new knowledge" from.

 

[tazarbm]

Well, you don't really understand AI if that's how you see it.

it's true! I never cared too much how it works since I'm against its concept from the get-go (and like I said, I am against its concept mostly because of how the AI takes its knowledge: stealing it from other people. I'm a righteous guy, and cheaters, thieves, crooks, mobsters, etc get no pass from me)

This being said, you said that the AI can discover knowledge on its own. Well, where will it discover it on its own if that knowledge is not first created by the humans? Please do tell!

 

[ZhiChao1130]

I'm not comfortable with your avatar.

 

[nobelmax]

ChatGPT users are spammers.Make money garbage on YouTube is what make Chatgpt popular

People started using AI bots instead of using google that is what killed it

 

[irfaanshaah2]

100% agree, man. We've been seeing this shift coming — AI is not just "changing SEO", it's replacing the core user behavior.

 

[BrandingCat]

That's why we need to focus on multiple sources of traffic.

 

[MajestySEO]

Interesting topic. I agree things are changing fast, but I would not say SEO is dead. It’s just evolving.

AI might reduce traffic to traditional blog style content, especially generic info posts, but there's still room for useful, well targeted content that answers real questions. Google’s AI still needs sources and if your brand/site is strong, you have a chance to be that source.

I think going forward, it’s less about chasing keywords and more about building a brand people trust. That means combining content, reviews, mentions, social proof, and maybe even some paid promotion. SEO is not dying, it’s blending with other digital strategies like PR, social, and branding.

In short, SEO is not dead, but outdated tactics like spammy links or low quality mass posting don’t work anymore. The game is changing and we just need to change with it.

 

[joeblum]

I sat in on a meeting with a Google representative who meets with my client once a week to discuss their Google ads, new Google products, how to take better advantage of the ads, and more. Even with him talking about and trying to sell one of the new Google products, he stated that 'SEO is still very important'. He went on to say that one of the new Google ad products needed to be SEO'd to have the best effect. I agree with a lot of the comments above, but think that SEO still has value and it's still producing traffic.

 

[dabz5]

they aim to completely destroy google as a search engine. Their leadership wants to put ai on top of every search query. After this, google will not make a lot of sense to use.
But google bros will always find an excuse. They will try to rank for the snippets that the AI will decide to show on the side.

 

[FREECOM_PRO]

For years we have laughed when someone asked ''is seo dead?''. Now, it's the sad truth, AI is killing traditional SEO and it will only get harder in the next few years.

Google now created an AI mode. Other search engines tend to follow their steps. Before that, they were creating AI overview and integrating AI. Nobody need to visit your unknown blog to read an AI generated boring text, they can do that directly on an AI model and get personalized answers.

For now, SEO is still alive, but in the coming years it tends to basically vanish from internet. It wouldn't be a surprise if AI mode soon completely replaces the search feature. So, there's no AI Mode in the future. There's only AI results, people click SEARCH and automatically AI start answering, no SERP. Bing and other alternatives are not against AI, no place to hide, it's not only Google.

So, what to do?

1) Pay: This is something that will never change. Nowadays if you want to easily appear on page 1, just pay for ads. In the future, if you want to be featured by AIs, just pay and it will shill your brand.

2) Optimize: If we don't want to invest $$ in the new Google A(I)ds, we'll need to figure out how those algorithms work and how they determine which kind of brand deserves to be mentioned when someone asks for it on their chat system. We will probably need to build some reputation, fake reviews, social mentions (not only links). Social media and videos tend to become much more relevant than guest posts. Instead of blog comments (it will become completely useless), comments on TikTok videos (or whatever social media is relevant in the future) will be much more important. The medium term future is social media + AI.

Just some predictions, share your thoughts too, please.

Totally get where you're coming from — SEO is definitely evolving fast, especially with AI-generated content and search behavior shifting. But rather than dying, it’s transforming. The old keyword-stuffing tricks are out, and now it’s about real value, user intent, and smart optimization. Those who adapt will thrive — SEO isn't dead, it's just growing up.

 

[Hank Tzeng]

For non-English markets, SEO might never die, simply because there isn’t enough data for AI to crawl effectively. As a result, AI either generates nonsensical content from its internal training data or produces outright hallucinations.

In the English-speaking market, there are typically 3 to 5 articles (or even more) available for any given long-tail keyword. However, in non-English markets, there might be no genuinely useful articles available for long-tail keywords—or if there are, they often contain very thin content.

With minimal content resources available, how can AI generate meaningful summaries? Based on my observations, AI summaries appear only when there's sufficient informational content. Otherwise, for long-tail keywords, the search results generally maintain their original format with 8 to 10 links, sometimes without even a "People Also Ask" section.

Moreover, for non-English markets dealing with low-value topics and long-tail keywords, Google might not even be interested due to limited advertising revenue. Still, accumulating these minor niches could still be profitable for individual site owners.

 

[Spicy Chromosomes]

For non-English markets, SEO might never die, simply because there isn’t enough data for AI to crawl effectively. As a result, AI either generates nonsensical content from its internal training data or produces outright hallucinations.

In the English-speaking market, there are typically 3 to 5 articles (or even more) available for any given long-tail keyword. However, in non-English markets, there might be no genuinely useful articles available for long-tail keywords—or if there are, they often contain very thin content.

With minimal content resources available, how can AI generate meaningful summaries? Based on my observations, AI summaries appear only when there's sufficient informational content. Otherwise, for long-tail keywords, the search results generally maintain their original format with 8 to 10 links, sometimes without even a "People Also Ask" section.

Moreover, for non-English markets dealing with low-value topics and long-tail keywords, Google might not even be interested due to limited advertising revenue. Still, accumulating these minor niches could still be profitable for individual site owners.

AI can simply translate the data they have from English to other languages. For informative content it's like that. For very specific information in local markets or services, you may be right.

 

[sashilover]

SEO is dead this time for sure, there is nothing we can do that stop this from happening.

 

[alamin1321]

Yeah, things are definitely changing fast. SEO isn not dead yet, but it’s not what it used to be. AI is taking over, and search engines now care more about real expertise and trust. If you are not building a strong brand with E-E-A-T in mind, it’s going to be tough. Social proof and reputation seem way more important than just links now.