While writing The Race for AI article, I had to stop and think. The advent of ground-breaking language models entering the market is having a profound effect on the way we search and find answers to life’s many questions. Traditionally a search engine was the most effective and we relied on a bunch of secret algorithms to determine the best result. Now, that is changing.
In the past, search engine optimization (SEO) professionals focused on optimizing webpages to increase organic traffic and achieve higher rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs). However, with the introduction of paid ads and featured snippets, it has become more challenging to land on page one of the SERPs, let alone the top 1-3 links.
As AI continues to evolve and become more advanced, it is likely that traditional search engines will play a less significant role in the way we search for information. AI-infused tools are becoming more adept at providing quick and accurate answers without displaying the source. This could potentially diminish the importance of website ranking and visibility in SERPs.
What happens next when we can no longer see the websites that our answer is referencing? Siri shows us the website reference. Chat-GPT and other AI infused tools just give us an answer and unless requested, never display the source.
Sometimes it’s an amalgamation of results that have been summarised, but the individual opinion and prestige from specific blogs or journalists is starting to disappear.
What are the implications? How does this effect SEO and how does this change our approach to content optimisation?
As language models continue to evolve and become more advanced, it is likely that we will see further changes to the way we search and find information. The reliance on traditional search engines may decrease as more AI infused tools are developed to provide us with quick and accurate answers.
This could have a significant impact on SEO and content optimization, as the importance of website ranking and visibility in SERPs may diminish. As a result, businesses and content creators WILL need to shift their focus towards creating high-quality content that is easily discoverable by AI tools and voice assistants.
How is this done?
That’s the million-dollar question.
T3B
