When people ask me if SEO still matters, I usually smile before I answer. SEO is not dying. It is just evolving faster than most teams are prepared for.
A lot of companies are still chasing rankings like it is 2018. But AI engines are not ranking anymore. They are citing.
And once you understand that, the entire game looks different.
What Buyers Really See Now
A few years back, someone typed in a keyword, skimmed a long page of results, and hoped they landed on something helpful. That era is gone.
Today, buyers ask an AI tool a full sentence question and get the answer immediately, often with citations included.
If you are not being cited, you are not even in the conversation. That is the shift leaders need to pay attention to.
Why Your Content Must Be Clear, Structured, and Trustworthy
AI does not scan content the way Google traditionally did. It interprets it.
It looks for clarity, structure, scannability, and actual authority. These signals matter more than keyword volume ever did.
This is the part I really wanted to drive home in the webinar when I said:
“AI does not just find content. It uses it.”
If your content is confusing or inconsistent, AI will skip it entirely and move on to a source it can understand.
Your Website Is No Longer the Center
This is where I usually see eyebrows go up. AI is not reading only your website. It is pulling from everywhere, including:
- Reviews
• Forums
• Social posts
• PR mentions
• YouTube transcripts
• Third-party articles
So even if your site is perfectly optimized, you might still be invisible. That is why an omnichannel presence matters so much. Not for vanity. For visibility. AI reads everything.
The KPI Shift Every Leader Should Expect
Here is the part that surprises teams the most. Organic traffic may go down. And that is completely expected.
Buyers are getting their answers inside AI tools and they click only when they are ready to take action.
So the real metric is not traffic anymore.
It is what happens after the click:
- Form fills
• Demo requests
• Downloads
• Pipeline movement
Traffic is no longer the signal of success. Conversion quality is.
How We Help Clients Adapt
When clients come to us asking how to stay visible in this new environment, we walk them through the same framework I shared in the webinar:
- Audit
What content already exists, and can AI interpret it? - Landscape Analysis
What answers is AI surfacing, and who is getting cited? - Optimize
Make existing content clear, structured, and trustworthy. - Create
Build new content that fills gaps and showcases real expertise. - Promote
Strengthen visibility across every channel AI reads.
This approach is the fastest way to stay relevant as AI-powered search continues shifting.
If You Only Take One Thing From This
Buyers are still searching. They are just searching differently now.
AI decides which brands get surfaced.
Your job is to become the brand it cannot ignore.
If you want to see exactly how this shift works, watch my full webinar Rethinking SEO in the Age of AI, on the StringCan YouTube channel. And if you want help figuring out where your brand stands in this new landscape, reach out and chat with us. Fill out the form, and we will walk you through the next steps.
