With AI technology advancing, many wonder if it could eliminate the need for search engine optimization. We sought answers from ChatGPT.
The Rise of ChatGPT and Its Impact on SEO
In recent years, various technologies have been labeled as “SEO killers,” but search engine optimization continues to thrive. With the rise of AI technologies such as ChatGPT, concerns about AI replacing search engines and SEO professionals are growing.
Is this a genuine threat, or will SEO continue to evolve and adapt?
AI's Role in the Future of Search
AI technology like ChatGPT is often seen as a potential replacement for search engines and SEO professionals. However, the reality is that AI is more likely to serve as a valuable tool rather than a direct replacement. The way we search and the devices we use will continue to change, but as long as users need assistance, the search will remain relevant.
How AI and SEO Can Coexist
Integrating AI in the digital marketing landscape doesn’t mean the end of SEO. Rather, it signals the ongoing evolution of SEO into a broader digital marketing strategy that considers user intent, personas, competitive research, and market conditions. AI can’t replace the human touch in these areas but it can complement and enhance our work as digital marketers.
Understanding the Limitations of AI
While AI tools like ChatGPT can generate unique content, they have limitations. AI models don’t have an index, knowledge graph, or database of facts, and they can’t crawl the internet or provide real-time updates. The accuracy of their responses depends on their training material, which can lead to inaccuracies, especially for specific or current topics.
AI-Integrated Search Engines – A Threat to SEO?
Search engines like Bing, You.com, and Google’s upcoming Bard are incorporating AI technology, which can cite sources and provide more accurate results. However, this doesn’t spell the end of SEO. AI will not be able to answer every question or provide personalized experiences like human SEO professionals can.
SEO's Enduring Role in Digital Marketing
Search engines exist to help users complete tasks and find information. SEO professionals are crucial in understanding user intent and providing users with what they need. As AI technologies evolve, they will likely enhance SEO strategies rather than render them obsolete.
The problem is that many simple queries lead to irrelevant website links. The user does not want cookie policies, notification alerts, newsletter sign-up pop-ups, and ads.
However, search engines never intended to provide links to websites; their goal was to assist users in accomplishing tasks and answering questions. Google aimed to become the Star Trek computer from its inception but lacked the technology to do so until now.
Websites that provide simple answers to queries such as “How old is Taylor Swift?” or “How many megabytes in a gigabyte?” are likely to experience a decrease in traffic. However, they weren’t entitled to this traffic in the first place. The question remains: who should own that answer? Users are seeking straightforward answers, not a website.
Artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, is excellent at some tasks, such as demonstrating how to write an Excel formula or MySQL query. However, it will not sell a course, teach database theory, or allow users to converse with other developers, as search engines can. ChatGPT can answer numerous common knowledge questions as long as the subject is not contested and has appeared in the training data.
Nonetheless, AI is not 100% accurate, as demonstrated by numerous memes and a well-known bank exposed for an AI-written article that failed to calculate interest correctly. While AI may list the most popular bars in NYC, it cannot recommend the best location to obtain an Old Fashioned like a human can.
The idea of SEO experts using AI to produce content is becoming tiresome. ChatGPT’s API can assist in SEO tasks such as generating content briefs, categorizing and clustering keywords, and producing XML or JSON-LD code based on given inputs. However, these procedures require a great deal of input from various sources and necessitate extensive manual reviews. While answering questions is useful, ChatGPT’s true strength is in text manipulation.
The goal of using ChatGPT’s API is not to create content but to analyze and summarize other content pieces to obtain insights. It’s more of a time-saver than an SEO replacement. SEO is here to stay, particularly for companies that rely on displaying facts they don’t own. While AI can handle boilerplate copy tasks, it cannot generate new ideas or provide the expertise, authority, or trust that a genuine author can.
AI cannot cite sources, think critically, or stay current with the latest trends. People prefer unique content produced by a human, according to available data. People crave fresh ideas and insights that only humans can provide. Job security is ensured for SEO professionals even if search engines change shape from time to time.
Conclusion: Embracing AI as a Complementary Tool
Rather than viewing AI as a threat to SEO, digital marketers should embrace it as a powerful tool that can help improve efficiency and enhance strategies.
In conclusion, while AI technology such as ChatGPT can be useful for certain tasks, it cannot replace human expertise and creativity in SEO. Although it can assist in generating content briefs, categorizing and clustering keywords, and producing XML or JSON-LD code, it cannot provide insights, keep up with the latest trends, or offer the experience, expertise, authority, and trust that a real author can. People still prefer unique content produced by humans, and SEO professionals will continue to have job security even as search engines evolve.
By understanding the limitations of AI and focusing on meeting user needs, SEO professionals can adapt and remain indispensable in the ever-changing digital landscape.
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