Key Takeaways
- SEO isn’t dead — the 2019 version is. AI has expanded search, not replaced it.
- AI and traditional search coexist. People use both to explore and validate information.
- SEO remains foundational. Quality content, authority, and technical performance still drive visibility.
- GEO extends SEO. It helps brands earn mentions and citations in AI answers.
- Brands must manage their online presence.
SEO is not dead or dying. It remains a core way for businesses to build visibility, demonstrate authority, and connect with people searching for information, products, and services. AI has introduced new search experiences, but it has not eliminated traditional search. Instead, people increasingly use Google and AI tools together.
The concern is understandable. AI Overviews and answer engines can resolve some questions without a website visit, organic traffic is shifting, and rankings no longer capture every way a brand appears online. Questions about whether SEO is dead regularly surface on Reddit and throughout the marketing industry.
However, these changes point to an evolution of SEO, not its disappearance.
Straight North has navigated changes in digital marketing since 1997. Mobile search, voice assistants, featured snippets, and algorithm updates have all required SEO strategies to adapt. AI represents another significant shift, but the same pattern applies: preserve the fundamentals that work and adjust the strategy for new ways people search.
In this blog post, Straight North AI and Search SEO and GEO Expert Tom Lustina explains what current usage data reveals, how Google and AI platforms are becoming more connected, and what marketers should prioritize next.
What continues to work:
- Technically sound, crawlable websites
- Useful content aligned with search intent
- Firsthand experience and subject-matter expertise
- Strong authority and third-party recognition
- Original research, evidence, and clear sourcing
What needs to change:
- Focusing on exact-match keywords without considering intent
- Pursuing link volume instead of relevance and authority
- Publishing generic content simply to increase page count
- Creating separate pages for minor keyword variations
- Measuring success through rankings and clicks alone
The use of AI does not determine whether content succeeds. In an analysis of 600,000 pages, Ahrefs found virtually no correlation between the amount of AI-generated content and Google ranking position. The more important considerations remain quality, usefulness, originality, and trust.
SEO is becoming broader, not less important. Traditional rankings still matter, but marketers must also consider AI citations, brand mentions, online sentiment, and visibility across the platforms people use to research and make decisions.
The latest usage data supports that conclusion, showing that AI is expanding search behavior rather than simply replacing Google.
Will AI Replace SEO? What the Usage Data Says
Will AI replace SEO? Current usage data suggests it will not. People still use Google, and AI search appears to be expanding how they find information rather than making traditional search obsolete. SEO is not dead, but it must evolve to support discovery across both search engines and AI platforms.
An August 2025 Semrush study analyzed 260 billion rows of clickstream data to examine how people used Google before and after adopting ChatGPT. It found no statistically significant decline in Google usage. Instead of abandoning one platform for the other, people continued using both, with Google activity remaining steady and increasing slightly among some users.
ChatGPT vs. Google market share also shows the size of the gap. Datos data cited by SEO.com estimated ChatGPT’s search activity at approximately 4.33% of traditional search volume. ChatGPT is growing quickly, but it still represents a single-digit share compared with Google and other traditional search engines.
People also use the platforms differently. Another Semrush analysis found that approximately 70% of the ChatGPT queries it studied fell into an “unknown” intent category. In other words, much of ChatGPT activity does not resemble a conventional search. It includes brainstorming, writing, problem-solving, and other conversational tasks that create new activity rather than simply diverting searches from Google.
Tom breaks down the usage study and why its findings matter:
Semrush conducted a study based on usage of Google and usage of ChatGPT. More specifically, how people used Google before and after they started using ChatGPT. And what they discovered is people actually use Google more once they start using ChatGPT. And that is incredibly important to us, because we’ve had this fear over the last year or two that ChatGPT was coming on, and AI platforms were coming on so strong that traditional search would just go away. Once you start using ChatGPT, there’s really not an interest in using anything else, but that is exactly the opposite of what we’re seeing. In fact, when people start using ChatGPT, they use Google more, so it’s not one or the other. You actually use both, and you use both more as a result.
The platforms can also support different parts of the same research process. Someone might use ChatGPT to explore a subject and then turn to Google to verify a statistic, confirm a date, compare sources, or visit a company’s website. This validation behavior provides further evidence that AI and traditional search are becoming interdependent.
Google also has a strong economic incentive to keep Search relevant. Google Search and other advertising generated approximately $54 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, accounting for about 56% of Alphabet’s total revenue. That does not mean organic search results will remain unchanged. It does mean Google is more likely to adapt Search around AI than abandon the product at the center of its business.
The available AI search behavior data does not support the idea of AI replacing Google Search or making SEO obsolete. It points toward a future in which people move between traditional results and AI-generated answers depending on what they need. This interdependence raises another question: How will SEO need to change as those experiences become more closely connected?
The Future of SEO With AI: What Changes Next
The future of SEO with AI is not the disappearance of traditional search. It is a broader search environment in which Google, ChatGPT, and other AI platforms coexist. People will move between conventional results and generated answers based on the question, the amount of detail they need, and whether they want to explore or verify sources.
SEO will not become obsolete because AI engines still need accessible, authoritative information to produce useful answers. When an AI platform retrieves current information, it may search the web or draw from a traditional search index before synthesizing its response. Strong Google rankings can help content become discoverable, although AI citations do not always mirror traditional results. Learn more about why traditional search remains foundational to AI visibility.
The transition from traditional SEO is therefore additive, not substitutive. Technical performance, relevant content, backlinks, and authority remain important. GEO builds on that foundation by also strengthening brand mentions, citations, entity consistency, and content that AI systems can interpret easily. As more people ask longer, conversational questions and expect synthesized responses, businesses will need to optimize for both search rankings and AI visibility. Explore how to balance SEO and GEO investments.
Could Paid Ads Become Part of AI Overviews?
Google may eventually bring a more developed paid advertising model into AI Overviews. This informed expectation is based on Google’s business model and the behavioral data available through AI-powered searches — not a documented roadmap from Google.
Tom explains how the information Google gathers from these interactions could shape that potential advertising model:
So, instead of focusing on adding more AI Overviews at this point, they’re focusing on making them more interactive. So, that means adding more links to them so that users can start to click within them more, because that is also a huge part of Google’s model. They want as much search impressions as they can possibly get, and then they want as many clicks as they can possibly get. Once they have more clicks, once they can prove out that people will click within AI Overviews and AI Mode, that’s when they will introduce a paid model, paid advertising with it, because you need clicks for paid advertising. So, we see this, as the next step right now. Google is now focusing on making AI Overviews and AI Mode more interactive. And then, once they perfect that step, or once they feel comfortable with that step, then they will introduce a paid model, and you will see paid advertising within AI Mode and AI Overview.
“We won’t fully understand how people are searching until ChatGPT and other AI platforms release that data. Once they release that data, then we can really focus in on exact prompts and how we should optimize for those.”
As AI answers reveal more context about what someone wants, Google could use those signals to distinguish early research from commercial interest and serve more relevant advertising. Again, this is what the available trends suggest could happen, not a confirmed description of Google’s plans.
For now, SEO budget allocation should reflect this period of overlap. Businesses should continue investing in the SEO foundation that supports Google visibility while gradually dedicating resources to GEO, AI visibility measurement, and content created for conversational search. The balance may shift as behavior changes, but abandoning traditional SEO would mean giving up a major source of visibility that AI search still depends on.
Is GEO Replacing SEO?
No, GEO is not replacing SEO. Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, is the practice of making content easier for AI engines to retrieve, understand, mention, and cite within generated answers.
SEO and GEO pursue visibility on different surfaces. SEO traditionally helps pages earn positions in search results and attract website visits. GEO helps brands become sources within AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other generated-answer experiences.
The two disciplines still share important foundations. Both depend on accessible websites, useful content, topical relevance, authority, and credible information across the web. Google AI Overviews draw from Google’s search ecosystem, while other AI platforms may use different indexes and retrieval systems. Even so, many of the authority and quality signals overlap.
That is why GEO extends SEO rather than replacing it. SEO makes content discoverable and establishes authority. GEO adds the structure, evidence, entity consistency, and third-party validation that can help AI systems use that content in an answer. For a closer comparison, read GEO vs. SEO: What’s the Difference and Do You Need Both?.
Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, belongs in the same expanded strategy. AEO focuses on concise answers for featured snippets, voice search, and other direct-answer experiences, while GEO targets synthesized generative responses.
So, which should a business invest in? Both, but in sequence. Establish the SEO foundation first. Then layer GEO and AEO tactics onto the pages, topics, and questions that matter most. Businesses with mature SEO programs can invest in both simultaneously, using search demand to guide where GEO efforts are most likely to provide value. Read How to Build a GEO Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide for more guidance on setting those priorities.
That connection between traditional search and AI visibility may become even stronger as Google begins sharing portions of its search data with eligible competitors.
What Google’s Antitrust Ruling Means for SEO and AI
In August 2024, a federal court ruled that Google had unlawfully maintained a monopoly in general search and search advertising. On September 2, 2025, the court announced remedies but stopped short of breaking up the company or requiring it to sell Chrome. A final judgment entered in December 2025 restricted certain exclusive distribution agreements and required Google to make specified search-index and user-interaction data available to eligible competitors.
The ruling does not directly change how marketers optimize pages or how Google ranks organic results. Its significance lies in where Google’s search data could appear next. Competing search engines and generative AI companies that qualify for access may be able to use that data to improve their own results and AI-generated answers.
For marketers, that possibility reinforces the connection between SEO and AI visibility. Content that Google can crawl, understand, and evaluate may gain additional opportunities to surface beyond Google itself. Strong Google rankings do not guarantee inclusion in an AI answer, but optimizing authoritative content for traditional search could create value across multiple discovery platforms.
The ruling may also deepen the relationship between AI engines and traditional search infrastructure. AI competitors could become stronger while continuing to depend, at least partly, on the index and data Google has spent decades building. That makes SEO foundational to an expanding search ecosystem — not simply a strategy for earning blue-link rankings.
“And as long as ChatGPT is relying on Google, it’s very clear that both will be around, and it makes sense to continue optimizing within traditional search in order to do better in AI platforms and ChatGPT.”
The long-term effects are still developing as the case moves through appeals and compliance proceedings. For now, the marketer takeaway is straightforward: Google’s antitrust ruling did not make SEO less relevant. By opening parts of its search infrastructure to eligible competitors, it could give well-optimized content more ways to inform both traditional results and AI answers.
How AI Is Changing How People Search
AI is changing how people search by giving them more ways to explore, compare, and validate information. People may use Google for a quick fact, a specific website, or a list of sources. They may turn to ChatGPT or another AI platform when they want a synthesized explanation or a more conversational exchange. Increasingly, they move between platforms instead of relying on only one.
This shift is also accelerating zero-click search. A 2025 Pew Research Center study found that approximately two-thirds of Google searches ended without a click to a result. When an AI Overview appeared, users clicked a traditional result during 8% of visits, compared with 15% when one did not appear. They clicked a source within the AI Overview itself just 1% of the time.
Does that mean AI Overviews will kill organic clicks? No, but they can contribute to an organic traffic decline, particularly for basic informational searches that Google can answer directly. The clicks that remain may come from people looking for deeper information, proof, comparison, or validation.
Straight North’s own survey of more than 100 marketers reflects that more nuanced picture:
- 47.5% reported an increase in organic traffic over the previous year.
- 18.8% reported lower traffic but higher-quality visitors.
- 72.2% said websites remain equally or more valuable than before.
- 55.4% had shifted at least some optimization goals toward visibility and brand awareness.
This is how SEO changes in the AI search era: clicks and traffic remain important, but they no longer tell the entire story. A brand may earn an impression, mention, or citation without generating an immediate website visit. That visibility can still build familiarity and preference, influence a later branded search, and help someone feel more confident when they eventually reach the website.
Brand mentions and sentiment across the web also influence how AI platforms understand and represent a company. That gives marketers a broader responsibility. They must monitor not only rankings and traffic, but also where the brand appears, how it is described, and whether information remains consistent across the platforms their audiences use.
Tom explains why brands need to think beyond Google as search and online behavior become more distributed:
Any of the platforms, any of the AI agents or platforms that are released that are relevant to your audience, a brand needs to live and breathe there as well. You need to interact with them there as well. One, just to be there because they’re there, but also, one of the things that we’re seeing moving forward is ChatGPT and AI Mode will have access to those other platforms, and they’ll use them as well. So it’s becoming more common for you to be within ChatGPT and ask ChatGPT to add to a Spotify list or help you make reservations; you know, all of those types of things. Those are the, like, the simplest ones, but that’s really going to spread, so as a brand, you need to think about everywhere your audience is going to go, because they’re going to go to more places, rather than just always start their session at Google. So you have to think about those other places, and there’s going to be kind of a double benefit there. There’s the benefit of being where your audience is, but you’re also going to do better at AI platforms, because those AI platforms will be going to those other places on your behalf. Acting, you know, on your behalf to interact with your audience.
SEO is still relevant when fewer people click. Its role is expanding from earning visits to building visibility across the places where people gather information and make decisions. Traffic, engagement, conversions, branded search, AI citations, mentions, and sentiment now work together to provide a more complete picture of performance.
For a deeper explanation of how AI systems retrieve and synthesize information, read Evolving Your SEO in the Age of AI.
With this new behavioral reality in mind, how can marketers adapt?
What Marketers Should Do Now
Does SEO still work? Yes. Its effectiveness still depends on many of the same fundamentals: a technically sound website, useful content, recognizable authority, and clear evidence of real experience and expertise. What has changed is the number of places where those signals can create visibility.
Marketers should adapt without abandoning the practices that continue to compound over time.
1. Protect the SEO Fundamentals
Maintain a fast, crawlable, well-structured website. Publish accurate content, strengthen internal linking, earn reputable backlinks, and demonstrate E-E-A-T through expert contributors, firsthand insights, supporting evidence, and transparent authorship.
These fundamentals explain why SEO is important even as search behavior changes. They help pages rank in conventional results while also making their information easier for AI systems to discover, understand, and evaluate.
2. Prioritize the Searches That Matter Most
Informational traffic may decline as AI Overviews answer more basic questions directly. Balance that content with commercial and decision-stage topics involving comparisons, costs, services, risks, and next steps. These searches are more likely to require deeper research and a website visit.
Informational content still has value, but it must offer more than a generic answer. Original data, expert commentary, practical examples, and clear explanations can earn AI citations while establishing the authority that supports other pages.
3. Audit How AI Platforms Represent Your Brand
Search for your company, products, services, and experts in ChatGPT and other relevant AI platforms. Ask the questions someone might use when evaluating your credibility. Then examine the answer and its sources.
Look for:
- Incorrect names, addresses, services, or other company information
- Missing or outdated details
- Negative or inconsistent brand sentiment
- Competitors receiving stronger recommendations
- Third-party sources shaping the answer
- Topics for which your brand should appear but does not
Tom explains why marketers must look beyond their own websites when evaluating brand visibility in AI answers:
So, if you ask ChatGPT a question, it’s going to consider the brand, but it’s more likely to consider the rest of the web. So, a major consideration there, for your brand, for your brand queries, for brand marketing moving forward is you have to consider every location where people are talking about your brand, or where they should be talking about your brand. You have to consider how accurate the information there is, as simple as, is the address correct on this website? Because that might be pulled in by ChatGPT to share with your audience. But you also have to consider brand sentiment as well. So people are asking ChatGPT and others questions about whether they should trust a brand, you know, things like that. So you have to conduct those searches within ChatGPT, see if you like the answer that’s coming up, but then also look at the sources there, and if you don’t like what’s coming up, consider a strategy to work with those other sites that are giving that information back to ChatGPT, that is negative sentiment, if that’s the case. So, the traditional searches always help there. But then you also have to consider, more than ever, third-party validation, how accurate your brand information is across the web, but also how people are talking about your brand across the web.
A complex prompt may cause an AI platform to perform dozens of related searches—sometimes approximately 50—to assemble one response. Because the sources and results can change, repeat important brand searches regularly. Track whether the answers, citations, and overall sentiment improve over time.
4. Create Content Worth Citing
GEO builds on SEO by making information easier for AI systems to use as evidence. Answer important questions directly, organize pages clearly, cite reliable sources, add original research, and include insights from people with firsthand expertise.
Authority beyond the website matters, too. Accurate business profiles, customer reviews, industry coverage, expert appearances, and reputable third-party mentions can reinforce what a brand is known for. These are also the signals that can help content earn citations in AI answers. For more tactical guidance, read How to Rank in Google AI Overviews.
5. Measure Visibility and Business Impact
Clicks alone no longer provide a complete measure of SEO effectiveness. Track rankings and organic traffic alongside impressions, AI citations, brand mentions, branded search activity, conversions, and the quality of the inquiries generated.
Straight North’s Lead Validation process evaluates every inquiry, while GoNorth! reporting connects marketing activity with meaningful business outcomes. That gives clients a clearer view of SEO’s revenue effect even when raw click totals change.
Most importantly, treat SEO and GEO as ongoing campaigns. AI answers change as platforms, source material, and online conversations evolve. Regular monitoring helps marketers identify directional changes, correct inaccurate information, and act on new opportunities instead of relying on a one-time audit.
Ultimately, keeping up with these shifts comes down to adaptability—and remembering a few key truths.
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO and AI
Is SEO still relevant in 2026?
Yes. SEO remains relevant because people still use search engines, and AI platforms also depend on accessible, authoritative web content. The strategy now includes traditional rankings, AI citations, brand mentions, and visibility across multiple discovery platforms.
Is SEO still worth it for small businesses?
SEO can be especially valuable for small businesses when it targets relevant services, locations, and decision-stage questions instead of chasing traffic for its own sake. The goal is to generate sales-relevant inquiries and revenue, not simply increase visitor totals. Straight North’s Lead Validation and GoNorth! reporting help connect SEO performance with the inquiries that produce real business value.
Is Traditional SEO Still Important After AI Mode?
Yes. Technical SEO, helpful content, authority, and a well-structured website help search engines discover and evaluate information. These same foundations can also support visibility in AI Mode and other generated answers.
Is Local SEO Dead?
No. People still use Google Search and Maps to find nearby businesses, compare reviews, confirm hours, and get directions. Accurate Google Business Profiles, local citations, reviews, and location pages remain essential, even as AI creates additional ways to discover local companies. Learn more about local SEO services.
Is SEO a Waste of Time if AI Answers Everything?
No. AI does not answer every question, and an answer without a click can still introduce someone to a brand. SEO helps businesses earn that visibility and provides the website experience people use to verify expertise, compare options, and take action. Its value now extends beyond traffic alone.
