Why AI still runs on search – and SEO still runs the show

When marketing history looks back on 2025, it will mark the year AI truly hit the road.

Google has used AI in search for years – RankBrain, BERT, Smart Bidding, RSAs, Performance Max, etc.

But this year, it’s everywhere. From boardrooms to one-person shops, everyone’s asking how to use it and avoid being left behind.

Amid the noise, facts have blurred into hype. 

I’ve heard it repeatedly from new clients: “SEO is dead. Don’t talk to us about SEO – talk to us about AI.”

Fittingly, in this spooky season, SEO has “died” more times than every horror villain combined – yet it always comes back.

AI is a true game-changer, but the hype is louder than anything I’ve seen in 25 years of digital marketing. It feeds our urge to fear what’s new and chase what’s shiny.

Let’s take a breath. SEO isn’t dead – far from it. 

Focusing on SEO is still the smartest way to succeed in the age of AI.

There’s nothing new here

AI tools are trained on massive datasets – a process that’s complex, expensive, and resource-intensive. 

In the case of ChatGPT, the most recent training run was more than a year ago, in September 2024.

That means the system’s knowledge is already over 12 months out of date. 

Anything that happened after that cutoff effectively doesn’t exist to these “intelligent” models. 

While that’s fine for answering historical questions, it’s a problem for marketers who need real-time information. 

Dig deeper: AI search is booming, but SEO is still not dead

AI needs RAG to stay current

To deliver up-to-date answers, AI tools must supplement what they already know with what’s happening right now. 

They do this through retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which allows models to pull current data from the web and weave it into responses.

In other words, when ChatGPT “checks the web,” it’s using search results to inform its answers. 

For any question that requires current knowledge, AI systems rely on search – just like the rest of us. 

And that means strong search visibility still feeds visibility in AI.

Dig deeper: How generative information retrieval is reshaping search

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Traditional search is like panning for gold 

A clear behavioral shift is underway.

Traditional search often feels like panning for gold.

You type a short, generic query like “plumbers near me,” then do the hard work of:

• Sifting through results.
• Reading sites.
• Comparing reviews. 

It’s tedious and easy to get wrong.

AI tools change that. Ask a more detailed question, and they’ll search, sift, and structure the information for you.

Take my own experience: I’ve had my share of disappointing plumbers and roofers who looked fine on Google but weren’t.

When I asked an AI tool for help, it spent a moment “searching the web,” then suggested several reputable companies to check out.

That next step – verifying those names – took me right back to search, often through brand queries, for a closer look.

The user journey isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving. 

The confusion is understandable – but dangerous

Every few years, digital marketing discovers a new frontier: search, social, mobile, video, voice, TikTok, programmatic – and now, AI. 

Each wave sparks a tactical arms race to win new ground, often at the expense of what already works.

SEO has weathered many of these shifts. 

Despite declining traffic, it’s entering an era of normalization. 

The old tricks don’t work anymore, and that’s a good thing.

SEO isn’t reinventing itself so much as evolving – even AI Overviews are simply an extension of featured snippets.

What works today is the basics done right: 

• Well-structured sites.
• Clear messaging.
• Strong value propositions.
• Smart user journeys.
• Trustworthy content.
• Solid reputations.
• Credible reviews.
• Metrics tied to real business outcomes.

The challenge is tuning out the noise. 

The AI hype – the threats, the promises, the shiny newness – plays directly to human nature: our fear of the unknown and attraction to what’s novel.

We shouldn’t treat AI as a new battlefield to conquer but as a multiplier that helps refine and scale what already works. 

Use AI to enhance your marketing, not replace its fundamentals.

And those fundamentals always come back to one thing: search. 

How do we improve it? SEO.

Dig deeper: SEO in the age of AI: Becoming the trusted answer

Optimize for humans to teach AI

There’s some good news.

AI is essentially the distillation of everything else – a super-powered autocomplete on steroids with Incredible Hulk-level energy.

Search engines remain the most current and complete map of your business, brand, and marketing environment. 

SEO is the method that ensures your business presents itself clearly and comprehensively. 

AI then draws from that clarity to represent you in the right light.

Unlike the unknowns of AI, the path to strong SEO is well defined. 

Don’t view AI as a replacement for SEO or anything else you’re doing. 

Think of it as a new layer that sits above search – one that gives users an easier way to access information about your business.

Double down on SEO. 

Build a strategy, document it, and make it actionable. 

Focus on the fundamentals, and you’ll see results — in both search and AI.

SEO is dead. Long live SEO.