The SEO landscape is always shifting, but until now the bedrock beneath it has been fairly consistent: build the right technical foundations, create quality content, build good links, and you’ll be rewarded with good rankings.
But as we pass the halfway point of 2024 we stand on the brink of a major evolution, all thanks to generative AI technologies that are poised to bring transformative changes to the industry as we know it. Tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and other advanced AI systems are more than just another wave in the SEO ocean – they’re a tidal shift.
Let’s explore five key ways generative AI is set to revolutionise SEO.
1. Enhanced content generation and optimisation
Traditionally, creating content that will be favoured by search engines has been an art and a science, requiring a deep understanding of keywords, user search intent, Google’s complex and ever-changing algorithms, and how the three interact.
Generative AI changes the game by allowing content creators to rapidly produce high-quality, SEO-optimised content at the click of a button (or should we say at the entry of a prompt). AI can also be leveraged to analyse pages that rank well for specific keywords and use these insights to generate new, unique content that aligns with what’s proven to work well.
This means that when they use AI tools well, businesses can produce vast amounts of relevant content faster than ever, allowing them to cover more ground and potentially dominate niche areas.
However, don’t expect search engines to stand idly by and reward mass-produced content. With AI content becoming more commonplace, human writers and SEO experts need to work particularly hard to add unique insights and value that AI alone can’t replicate.
2. Personalised search results
Head to Google in certain countries and you’ll already see AI-generated search results. And while some of these have become memes thanks to the wildly incorrect information they give, this only requires some kinks to be ironed out of an incredibly powerful technology that’s already ready to roll out.
Imagine: AI algorithms that tailor your search results based on your search history, your preferences, and even real-time data like your location, the time of day, and which of your friends is nearby. This level of personalisation goes way beyond traditional SEO, where the goal was to rank for specific keywords universally rather than hyper-focussed moments.
3. Algorithms and SERP features are going to change
As we’ve mentioned, search engines are already integrating more AI-generated answers directly into search engine results pages (SERPs). And although Google have provided assurances that external content will still feature, expect a future where the amount is greatly reduced. For businesses the impacts here are potentially enormous: organic search, now often the largest driver of traffic, revenue, and profit, may slowly wither away, forcing businesses and their SEO partners to adapt.
For SEO professionals, this poses an existential challenge. As more and more users get their answers directly from SERPs, SEO strategies will need to change, focussing on optimising for direct answers and featured snippets. Those individuals and agencies that can’t keep up with the change will fall behind quickly.
4. Automation of technical SEO tasks
Technical SEO, which includes tasks like site speed optimisation, management of meta data, site structure improvements and much more, is crucial for improving visibility and user experience. Generative AI can already automate many of these tasks, analysing large amounts of data to identify and fix issues quickly.
This is another existential-level challenge to how SEO agencies operate: swathes of their strategies may soon be completed by AI tools rather than human operators, leading to challenging questions about what SEO agencies will look like in the future, what their role will be and, most importantly, what happens to the people whose jobs are made obsolete.
Conclusion
Generative AI is not making small changes to SEO – it’s changing the game completely and irreversibly. Agencies who don’t keep up with trends will be left behind, and this is likely to cause a lot of panicked soul searching. But rest assured: individuals and agencies in the industry will still be able to provide value to their clients – they just need to invest time now getting – and staying – ahead of the curve.
