It is Game Over for SEO?

Traditional SEO is dying a slow, painful death and if you're spending time on the same SEO tactics today, you're wasting your time. After having been on the cards for a long time, the end is very near. Why am I so convinced of this?

1. According to Statista 52% of all searches will be AI-based in 2027. So, in two years, the traditional search volume will be less than AI-based searches.

2. Gartner predicts a significant drop in traditional search volume by 25% by 2026, with organic search traffic expected to decrease by over 50% as consumers embrace AI-powered search. So why invest in SEO and organic search traffic when the broader trend is for traffic from organic search results to decrease by at least 50% in 12 to 18 months?

3. Organic real-estate which took up 80% of a SERP 20 years ago now occupies much less than 50%.

4. Traffic to websites from SERPs, including through Google Ads is down 25-30% since Google started showing an AI response at the top of the SERP.

5. MOST IMPORTANTLY, this is the first time in 25 years, that information is not in the hands of just one player. Where Google dominated traditional search, there are at least 5 major AI-based search tools all vying for marketshare, in what looks like a much more even playing field.

So what is the answer? Tactics need to change. The new sheriff in town is AIO or GEO - you can guess what they stand for. They are the new form of SEO, and will require a different approach. Link-building is dead. Keyword cramming is also dead. But if you know what you’re doing, you can upgrade your tactics and evolve.

What steps have you taken to make sure that AI-based models are including your brand in their responses?