If you spend any time around marketers, you may have heard rumors that “SEO is dead,” especially with AI search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews entering the picture.
Spoiler: SEO isn’t dead. But it is changing in a big way. Let’s talk about what’s really happening and what business owners should expect going forward.
Here’s what doesn’t work anymore:
Churning out shallow 500-word blog posts on every keyword variant
Stuffing pages with keywords at the bottom “for Google”
Writing for algorithms instead of actual humans
AI is brutally good at surfacing direct answers. If you’re playing the “who can write the most generic blog post about ‘best plumber near me’” game, AI will beat you every time.
But modern SEO has never been just about ranking for a few keywords. It’s about visibility, trust, and relevance everywhere people search: Google, Maps, AI assistants, and other platforms that pull from the open web.
AI search tools don’t just show a list of links.
Here's what they do:
Pull answers from multiple websites
Summarize the key points
Sometimes show only a few source links (or none at all)
That means two big shifts:
Less “10 blue links,” more “one smart answer.” You might get fewer random clicks, but the people who do click will be more intentional and curious.
Quality and clarity matter more than ever. AI tools look for content that is clear, structured, and obviously helpful. Messy, confusing, or thin content is easier than ever to ignore.
Instead of trying to trick an algorithm, you’re now writing for two audiences at once: real people and the AI systems trying to understand what you do and why you’re credible.
So if “old SEO” is fading, what should you do instead?
Own your expertise. Create content that shows you actually know what you’re talking about:
Real explanations, not fluff
Clear how-tos and FAQs
Honest comparisons, pros/cons, and pricing guidance
Be ridiculously clear about who you are and what you offer. Make sure your website and profiles answer basic questions instantly:
What do you do?
Who do you serve?
Where do you work?
How do people contact or hire you?
Keep your business info consistent everywhere. AI systems pull data from all over: your website, Google Business Profile, directories, reviews, and more. If your name, address, services, and hours are inconsistent, you’re harder to trust… and easier to skip over.
Write for humans first, structure for machines. Use normal language, but organize it well:
Clear headings
Short paragraphs
Obvious answers to common questions
That makes your content easier for AI to scan, quote, and recommend.
SEO isn’t about “gaming Google” anymore. It’s about making your business the obvious choice when someone—or some AI assistant—is looking for what you offer.
If you:
Show real expertise
Keep your information accurate and consistent
Create content that’s actually useful
…you’re not just doing SEO. You’re building an online presence that works in an AI-driven world.
So no, SEO isn’t dead. It just grew up.
We hear from our clients that they want to come up in AI search tools when potential clients are searching for recommendations or businesses near them. You can’t do this by simply feeding information to ChatGPT or other AI engines; you need your business information to be included in the materials that the AI models are training on. For Modular Orange clients, we offer an AI indexing service as part of our Growth plan. You can get your business information into the training materials for tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Ready to be where your clients are? Contact us today to learn more!