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Make no mistake: AI is having a big impact on search as major players like Google integrate generative AI features into the core search experience.
There’s only one problem…
Innovation is happening so fast that SEOs are scrambling to understand how AI-enabled search and chat features will impact their rankings, strategies, and performance.
To better understand what’s next, we spoke with SEO expert Krish Kumar, COO of BrightEdge, the industry’s leading SEO platform.
How does AI affect SEO overall?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has had a significant impact on SEO over the years. Since the introduction of Google’s RankBrain, machine learning and AI have been used to personalize and adjust the various factors that affect the ranking of websites. This evolution has greatly reduced the effectiveness of manipulative or “black hat” SEO techniques designed to manipulate search engine algorithms.
While not all SEO professionals have adopted this questionable tactic, the shift has led to a more calculated and strategic approach to achieving SEO goals. Instead of relying on short-term strategies or specific tools, SEO professionals now take a more holistic perspective.
It includes:
- Using artificial intelligence to help understand, process and structure data. By analyzing large volumes of data, AI-powered Insights help SEOs focus on what matters most.
- Using data-driven insights to understand how users interact with search engines and websites. For example, user intent, conversational keywords (something we’ve added to our platform over the past five years) and measuring performance in terms of traffic, engagement conversions and revenue.
- Integrate with digital media channels and move beyond silos. It’s not just SEOs who use his insights. Digital, paid content, and generic marketers base strategies on macro-level insights to understand how consumer behavior is changing in different markets.
- At a granular level, SEO informs all marketing strategies such as email, content, visual and paid.
- Using automation to remove repetitive and mundane tasks to allow SEOs to expand their operations (and skill sets in content and marketing) while being more efficient.
Over the past 14 years, we’ve continuously incorporated artificial intelligence into our platform to help users understand what will make the most impact and identify the most valuable actions.
In addition, core components of our platform, such as BrightEdge Autopilot, use AI to perform repetitive SEO tasks that are difficult to scale, thereby increasing efficiency. More on that later.
What does generative AI content mean for SEO?
The explosion of interest around ChatGPT is exciting to watch. I think the initial buzz was accelerated because users could (for the first time really) interact directly with AI in a conversational fashion.
What I see that can be disturbing is the number of chat-based tools that have flooded the market. It’s a suite of standalone tools, including chat-based features on websites and a flurry of plugins for any type of marketing application, from coding to advanced visualization.
While many of them are useful, many won’t be, and I always recommend experimenting with caution and making sure people are at the beginning and end of any generative content.
When it comes to generative AI and SEO, the basic principles of SEO remain the same regardless of how the content is created. Content must still exemplify expertise, authority, credibility, and expertise to meet Google’s guidelines for high-quality content. In this context, the advent of AI does not significantly change the fundamentals of SEO.
However, SEO professionals will need to work with content teams to ensure that AI tools like ChatGPT are used within these guidelines. They also need to be alert to new algorithm updates and changes to how search engines evaluate content for originality and user value.
The rise of generative AI is expected to increase content production and the ability to create content more quickly and efficiently. It should reduce the manual effort required to reach customers through organic search, making the process more streamlined and efficient.
How will Google’s innovation and search generative experience (SGE) affect SEO and traffic?
Although it is still too early to predict the final impact, we speculate that SGE may affect SEO traffic in a similar way to other “zero click” elements. By occupying prime real estate on the search results page, SGE can serve user queries directly on the search results page, potentially reducing the need for users to click through to the web page.
This can lead to a decrease in top-level traffic to the site. However, it is likely that the traffic that reaches the site will be more targeted, potentially increasing conversion rates.
Consequently, SEO efforts should be more focused on improving the page experience and optimizing conversions. These strategies will help ensure competitiveness in a search landscape that is increasingly populated by SGE results.
It is important to note that the SERP will be different. It’s not decided yet, but the SGE preview is big enough that we can’t ignore the fact that Google is hinting that it will be different.
Either way, SGE represents a great opportunity for SEO teams to shine and optimize content for customer experience.
What do SEOs need to do to adapt and what does the future hold?
With the many updates and transformations in search algorithms over the past decades, it is critical for SEO professionals to prepare for future opportunities and stay current with best practices. The guiding compass for developing effective SEO strategies should remain Google’s guidelines.
At the same time, promoting agility in website organization and practice is crucial. This agility makes it possible to pivot quickly when needed, allowing professionals to capitalize on new keyword opportunities driven by technological innovation or changes in consumer behavior. Emphasis should be placed on reducing manual labor to facilitate faster response and experimentation.
It is also necessary to keep track of competitors. Observing how they use technologies like AI and respond to features like SGE can offer valuable insights and competitive advantage. Experimenting with these new tools and closely monitoring their impact on your business requirements should be part of your strategy.
SGE is different and SEO may need to adapt to some major algorithm changes as it evolves. Also, prepare for other engines like Bing or other LLM.
While entering these new areas and keeping an eye on the competition, SEO professionals should not overlook the key elements that are currently leading to successful results. Balancing innovation with tried and true methods is the key to sustainable SEO success.
What is BrightEdge doing with AI and generative/conversational AI?
For over 14 years, we’ve been on a journey to become the first AI company.
why We believe that AI-first capabilities are essential for all businesses. This journey has begun data cube.
Since then, we’ve pioneered a new generation of deep learning technology, DataMind, using the same deep learning best practices that Google uses in its voice and image recognition algorithms.
Artificial intelligence is woven into the BrightEdge platform to power search, content and digital marketing solutions and empower our customers to navigate their own AI journey.
We did this because we recognized the early benefits of AI for SEO and the time will come when AI will become mainstream.
By building a powerful platform built on AI, customers can rely on a company that has AI on its platform. It also helps our customers feel confident that their SEO platform is built for now and the future and has the agility to innovate and change quickly.
Take BrightEdge Autopilot for example. This and our vision were covered in a 2019 article on the Marketing AI Institute blog and are still very relevant today. How to automate at scale. I think Bing is doing something similar today with the second pilot.
In some cases, BrightEdge Autopilot was built using an early element of GPT to help refine natural language tasks. Today, it’s used by thousands of organizations, saving SEO teams thousands of hours that would otherwise be spent building and auditing internal links.
BrightEdge continues to integrate AI into workflows and critical parts of the platform where chat-based applications make sense for the user, not just for fun or market noise.
The primary goal of our achievements is not to replace human involvement in the SEO process, but to enhance their ability to perform creative and strategic work more effectively.
When it comes to generative AI and the new components we develop, our mission is to empower SEO teams by minimizing their manual work. This may include automatic tagging, redirects, keyword research, or other important but time-consuming activities.
By handling these tasks, we enable teams to focus on strategic initiatives that have a greater impact.
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