Introduction
The SEO sector is experiencing a revolution because of artificial intelligence. There are many concerns about how SEO will change as a result of the development of intelligent chatbots that can seemingly complete any work just as effectively as humans can, as well as the integration of AI-powered capabilities into the two major search engines, Bing and Google. The most well-known chatbot, ChatGPT, is confident that SEO will work out just fine. If that’s your fear, artificial intelligence doesn’t believe it will ever replace web search. Search engines will be necessary for people to obtain more sophisticated and varied information and to locate content that appeals to their own tastes. That being said, under the influence of swiftly evolving AI technology, SEO will alter significantly and here is what might occur:
Converting search engines into conversational answer engines
For many years, Google has been at the forefront of the “answer engine” concept. Instead of returning search results in response to a user’s query, Google has been delivering fast responses and follow-up questions, recommending related news and videos, and attempting to predict the context behind each query. This trend has become much more clear with the advent of AI technology. For the first time, Bing has established the standard for incorporating AI into internet search. They were the first to use conversational AI features in their search engines. The AI bot Bard responds to search queries in real time and even proposes follow-up questions to keep the discussion going.
The bot converses with searchers in the same way that a human would, but it also provides clickable links to the articles it utilized to produce responses.
A few days later, Google announced its AI capabilities: Because their bot is currently in private testing, we could only see a GIF that showed how it will work. Google’s bot responds in real time to a user’s enquiry, typing responses directly in front of their eyes. Unlike Bing, it appears that the chatbot is unwilling to identify its sources, which is troubling for two reasons:
- Google’s bot, like Bard, is scouring the internet for solutions by scanning billions of documents. It appears that denying access to the sources is quite unfair to the publishers who developed such documents.
- Since the bots are using third-party data, there may be human errors in the answers. It will be difficult to validate the information offered by AI technology without the capacity to access two or more sources.
Google claims that they are still working on it and welcome criticism, so there is hope that they will reconsider the current setup and become more upfront with their sources. So far, AI-powered search engines appear to be an extension of what they were previously, Answer engines that seek to provide their customers with additional information as soon as possible. Optimizing for these types of real-time answers will be similar to optimizing for featured snippets if they credit the sources. All you have to do is do your best to answer the inquiries of your target audience, and the chatbots will most likely cite you.
The only difference is that we don’t know how to track your progress: we don’t know how those bot-generated clicks will be registered and tracked. However, we believe search engines will be honest in this regard, allowing you to know which of your pages were most frequently referred by search chatbots. Google currently provides such reports in its highly tailored Discover section.
The impact of AI on the SEO profession
With ChatGPT’s ability to execute all types of traditional SEO duties, such as content generation and optimization, email writing, and even Schema code production, there have been numerous concerns about how many SEO jobs may become obsolete. ChatGPT, in its current state, poses no harm to any profession. It can reduce the need for some outsourcing, allowing SEO teams to undertake additional activities at home, including basic coding.
However, with its existing capabilities, the majority of those accomplished activities will necessitate significant human intervention. Because its written material is basic and identifiable, it cannot be utilized for content production; nonetheless, it can be beneficial in developing content outlines and briefs. Its code is frequently fine-tuned. Its keyword research is straightforward.
So far, ChatGPT is merely a small assistant that can speed up your job rather than replacing you in any duty. It may alter in the future as technology advances, but an SEO career is much more than just executing duties. It necessitates planning and strategy. It’s all about developing relationships and working together. But, more significantly, it necessitates awareness of unpredictable human reactions, something AI will almost never achieve or relate to.
The key is in mutual benefits
So far, we have seen how artificial intelligence can help an SEO’s job. It is obvious that technology may assist both users and web publishers. The goal is to begin leveraging AI technology to learn how we can coexist safely without endangering each other. If you have been in the SEO field for a few years, you must have probably noticed how SEO usually thrives with the introduction of new technology. SEO has never been killed by tools that make SEOs more knowledgeable and productive. Instead, they advanced and integrated the industry.
When SEO was first introduced, we were just concerned with selecting keywords and incorporating them into online documents so that Google could match them with the exact query. Since then, we have gone a long way. We have spent years working with Google, learning how to apply semantic analysis to understand the intent behind search queries, penalizing and filtering out low-quality backlinks, and providing direct answers to users in the form of highlighted snippets and people also ask for results.
A decade or so ago, SEOs had significant development abilities to put together sites and distribute digital content, but with the introduction of powerful site building systems, anyone could make websites and design landing pages. Web analytics has also become more accessible and simple to understand for almost anyone, regardless of SEO knowledge. None of these developments have killed SEO, but rather strengthened it.
The digital marketing sector is not unfamiliar with AI technology. For years, it has been integrated into customer support solutions. There are AI-powered on-page interaction tools, AI-powered social media listening tools, and so on. We have all learned how to use a variety of AI tools to better our digital marketing campaigns. New technology is assisting SEOs in reverse engineering Google’s algorithm, analyzing rivals, improving your keyword strategy, and creating web pages that allow consumers to simply find exactly what they came for.
Conclusion
SEO is increasingly interwoven into product creation, user experience testing, and the establishment of niche relationships. It has evolved beyond simply providing information for search engines and making it easily accessible to search crawlers. SEO is becoming increasingly difficult to defeat as it becomes smarter and smarter. If AI technology appears to be a threat to you, learn more about it. When you learn how to apply it, you will discover that it can benefit everyone, even your users.
