Is AI SEO Really Necessary or Is Good SEO Still Enough?

[DevArchitect]

I believe good old-school SEO fundamentals are still the core. However, AI is an amazing tool to speed up the process like keyword clustering or generating outlines. Relying 100% on AI is dangerous, but ignoring it completely means you'll be slower than your competitors. It's all about balance.

 

[Linkzo]

SEO is still the foundation. AI SEO, GEO, AEO or whatever it's called is an additional layer that helps to improve your visibility in AI Overviews and AI-generated recommendations on search. If your content is strong, authoritative, and well-optimized, there's a good chance AI systems will cite it naturally. If not, you'll need to actively build the signals that increase your chances of being referenced. That's exactly what the Client 1 and Client 2 results shared here demonstrate.

Imo, strong SEO is still the foundation. AI SEO can help in some cases, but it's not something every site needs.

If your content is solid and builds authority over time, AI citations often come naturally.

Sure the SEO is still worth and is good.

AI SEO is similar to traditional SEO but instead of promoting webpages connected to keywords, you're promoting chunks of information connected to user's queries. In ideal case, you shouldn't mess with on-page SEO and content. AI SEO is nothing but branding on steroids. You should simplify your brand, products, positioning, etc. so that AI crawlers can understand and use the information. If 3rd-party sources mention and cite your content, it'll assert your brand authority & trust.

I'd say normal SEO if done correctly should suffice, AI will pick your business up that way as well; wouldn't touch AI seo unless I've finished everything i ever wanted to do with normal SEO

I personally wouldn’t treat them as a replacement for the basics. Feels more like an extra layer than a whole new SEO strategy.

what did client 2's site look like before the extra work?

I think good SEO is still the most important part. AI is a useful tool that can save time with research, content planning, and first drafts, but it does not replace understanding search intent, creating valuable content, or building authority.

AI is still an useful tool, but what we really need to care about is the content. AI-specific optimization can probably help in more competitive niches, but I don't think it's something every site has to obsess over. Good SEO fundamentals still seem to do most of the heavy lifting.

Strong SEO remains the foundation AI optimization helps amplify visibility and citations.

I think good seo is still the foundation if your content is useful well structured and your site has enough authority AI can pick it up naturally in more competitive niches though improving topical coverage and content structure seems to increase chances of getting cited i see AI seo as an enhancement rather than a replacement for seo

Good SEO is still the foundation. AI SEO just adds optimizing for how AI answers or cites content on top of it.

Good SEO still provides a strong foundation because search engines continue to value useful content and a well structured website AI can make some tasks faster but it works best as a supporting tool rather than replacing solid SEO practices

AI is useful, but good SEO matters more.

seo is still a must if its good seo

I believe good old-school SEO fundamentals are still the core. However, AI is an amazing tool to speed up the process like keyword clustering or generating outlines. Relying 100% on AI is dangerous, but ignoring it completely means you'll be slower than your competitors. It's all about balance.

 

[Rank_Lift]

strong SEO is still the foundation good content topical authority and quality backlinks can naturally help with ai citations.

 

[DecodeTheSERPs]

That's exactly what the Client 1 and Client 2 results shared here demonstrate.

Worth separating out how people are measuring this before arguing about it. Search Console has had a generative AI performance report since June, impressions only, no click data, and it is still rolling out to a subset of sites. If you do not have it yet you are sampling prompts by hand, which is a spot check rather than a trend, and two people doing that on the same site can easily come away with opposite answers.

 

[4theye]

I think good SEO is still doing most of the heavy lifting. AI-focused tweaks can help in tougher niches, but I see them more as an extra layer than a replacement for solid SEO basics.

 

[Anos_King]

I've worked on two different scenarios with my clients recently.


Client #1: We followed a standard SEO strategy (content, backlinks, technical SEO), and the site started getting cited in AI Overviews naturally.

Client #2: The same approach wasn't enough. We had to implement a more customized strategy that focused on topical authority, entity building, and content structure before we finally secured the citation in AI Overviews.

One putting a lot of effort into AEO / AI SEO / GEO strategy(whatever we're calling it these days) like building entity signals, optimizing for AI citations, and creating FAQ focused content.

Other doing nothing than solid, consistent SEO, good content, quality backlinks, proper on-page optimization and getting cited in AI Overviews without any dedicated AI strategy like other.

So I'm wondering what you guys thinking

Is AI SEO is must-have strategy?
Or simply strong SEO naturally leads to AI citations over time?

Are you getting cited in AI Overviews without changing your SEO strategy?


I'm curious to hear real experiences from others rather than just reading another "AI SEO is the future" post.

Imo, strong seo still be the foundation..Ai Seo optimization helps the site lacks clear topical and entity signals but i wouldn't treat it as seperate checklist. If the content is authoritative, well strut and matches intent. ai citation will happen naturally.

 

[Lucas10126]

SEO still dominates and it should always be a primary focus