Will SEO be replaced by AI?

As is usually the case, when technology and automated machines start to take charge and become a hot topic within an industry, one of the first concerns people have is whether they can work alongside this to their benefit or whether eventually they will be replaced by it. It is easy to see why when you look back at history. Where once factory workers created products, now automated machines stand in their place. For an industry like this, a switch makes sense. It is faster, more efficient, and safer.  

However, this came to the detriment of many hard workers losing their jobs, and they weren’t the last. As technology advances, more and more industries and workers face the consequences of this, and seeing it happen at such a rapid pace now is concerning for many, especially for those currently in the SEO world.  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) software for SEO has been the talk of the town for some time now for everyone in the digital marketing space, from SEO experts to content creators. Beyond this community, businesses who do their own SEO or get experts to do this are also discussing the same thing: Is AI going to replace SEO entirely, or can the 2 work together in harmony to bring the best results?  

We wanted to dive into this excellent question for ourselves and set the narrative straight. Our blog covers everything you need to know about the relationship between AI and SEO.  

What Is AI Software?  

AI is a machine or computer system that can do many processes that usually require human intelligence. Unlike other computers, AI is designed to make decisions just like humans and even recognise patterns, images, and speech, but it can also do things humans can’t, such as process vast volumes of data. It is already part of many people’s lives, from the Alexa sitting in your living room to the Google Maps app on your phone and the autocorrect feature on texting apps and word processors. Those chatbots that pop up on a website are likely AI, as are digital assistants, and when payments are processed online.  

What is AI for SEO? 

As you can see, AI has various uses, and for SEO, in particular, it is just as vast. Search engines are already relying on AI to make smart recommendations for their users based on past behaviour and interests. They can predict preferences and guide the users toward what they should buy, look at, listen to, or watch next. It is a core part of search engine algorithms, and all SEO experts had to learn more about AI in general and how it works to help their clients.  

With advancement, the AI influence on SEO has only grown. AI is now capable of completing many elements within an SEO strategy, like data analysis, content gaps, and finding trending topics. With the release of the AI-driven tool, ChatGPT back in November 2022, all of the AI SEO possibilities were propelled, and so whether you are working in SEO or want to keep updated about the latest, it is essential to dive deep into these areas and learn how AI is being used in SEO. 

Areas AI Tools Could Be Used In SEO  

AI tools could be developed eventually for all areas of SEO, but currently, this is not the case. At the moment, it can’t search, monitor trends, or get across the right thoughts. It is much easier for AI tools to get confused, mix up emotions, or make errors. However, AI is spreading its wings fast into numerous other areas of SEO, including:  

• Content Creation, Planning, & Analysis  
• On Site  
• Keyword ResearchKeyword research helps websites unearth the best keywords to drive traffic and visibility. This research is supported by a number of powerful web-based tools, the best of which we’ve listed here. 

• Basic Research  
• Data Analysis  
• Local Knowledge Graphs  
• Titles 
• Schema Structured Data  

We will take a more in-depth look at 3 areas where AI tools could make the biggest impact in time to come.  

• Content Creation  

Content creation isn’t easy. It’s time-consuming, requires careful planning, and can seem never-ending. From writing fresh content, updating old blogs, optimising it for search engines, getting linksHyperlinks, also known as links, are the connection points on a webpage that take you to other webpages., and trying to keep up with the competition with the number of blogs produced each year, the list is extensive of what is involved in content creation. So with the introduction of AI tools that can help with this area, naturally, many are curious to know if this is their solution.  

Although it can produce content, this isn’t where the tool is currently excelling. Rather the AI impact on SEO is more geared towards topic creation, summaries, structuring, and briefs. AI tools better understand what users are looking for, guiding the content in the right direction. It means a writer won’t interpret a topic the wrong way, resulting in poor SERP performance. Instead, AI tools can develop content ideas that fit more niche search opportunities, meeting the right search intent.   

• On Site Optimisation  

As part of a Managed SEO campaign, you want to focus on keywords, internal links, technical elements, link buildingLink building is a process of acquiring links pointing to your website. These links are obtained by creating content, participating in social media or commenting on other blogs., and more. AI tools present an opportunity to get better at knowing the search intent. Now you can optimise the content, matching it perfectly to the user intent. This includes getting the right word count length, using the right keywords in the proper context, and creating topic clusters. The end result is that you are more easily meeting the E-A-T expectations set by Google.  

• KeywordKeywords are the words and phrases that potential customers might search for to find your business. Research 

AI tools are giving experts the chance to compete better than ever because of their ability to do keyword research. They can identify new keywords quickly – something that would require time and hard work, not to mention creative thinking – which results in opportunities for more rankings. By inputting just 1 keyword, you could generate thousands more related to it, learn how to get a set effortlessly, and know the search intent.  

Will It Take Over SEO?  

Seeing just how much AI is already impacting SEO, it is only natural to question: is AI threatening SEO strategy experts’ jobs?  

Pretty early on, ChatGPT said AI might alter how SEO is done but won’t replace the entire profession. They confirmed that SEO requires human expertise and creativity, giving way to reason that AI should become another tool in our arsenal rather than a replacement for SEO itself, even if it develops, which it should.  

The reality is AI tools aren’t the solution for every element of SEO at this moment in time, and it could be many years before they prove helpful across all SEO. What it is showing, however, is that it holds the potential to be another great tool for our experts to utilise, particularly for search intent purposes, and that can only be a good thing. That being said, take a look at our thoughts on AI, both the pros and the cons, the involvement of search engines, and some of our concerns.   

The Pros Of Using AI  

One of the major things we noticed that AI tools provided us with was efficiency. For elements like meta titles and descriptions, as well as topic ideas, keyword research, and product descriptions, you could complete the tasks much faster. Within a few minutes, you could have 50+ topic ideas to work with. The possibility of AI aiding keyword research even further was a huge win for us, as well. Plus, we got to test this all out for free – ChatGPT is currently free to use! This makes it cost-effective and ensures writer’s block is never a thing. With tools like this, we can discover new opportunities for clients for an improved customer experience and higher rankings.  

The Cons Of Using AI 

Being such a hot topic for many, it is easy to jump the gun and start relying on AI for all your SEO needs. Why pay an agency when you can get it for free? The simple answer is that it just isn’t there yet and won’t replace the entire industry. We do not recommend you take this approach for your content creation.  

Although AI tools can produce content for you in a matter of seconds, it isn’t to the standard people expect. AI content doesn’t have the personality a human-written piece contains, nor any style – something that is crucial in keeping a reader’s attention. We have looked at AI vs human content to give you a better understanding of why you should be sticking to human-generated content. Due to AI content lacking that personality and style, Google will notice when the content is generated in this way. As a general rule, stick to human-generated content – it has a lot of benefits!  

As the tools are still relatively new, as you can imagine, not everyone has good intentions, nor are they entirely happy about it. Tools such as ChatGPT have experienced hackers, while many have noticed that their work is being used to build the AI’s knowledge without consent, bringing about ethical debates.  

A Look At Search Engine Involvements 

Search engines already rely heavily on AI, beyond making predictions for users based on previous behaviours, so much so that you wouldn’t be able to enjoy the service you get if it wasn’t involved. They use AI to rank webpages, understand search queries, gain back some quality control, and provide voice and image searches. Every time you load up your search engine of choice, enter your keywords, and browse through the results, know that this is possible because of AI.  

Out of all the search engines using AI, it is worth divulging more about the giant that exists here: Google. 

In 2015, Google announced that they would be using RankBrainRankBrain is Google's third-generation artificial intelligence system that is used to process search queries., an AI system, to process search results, and later in 2017, they announced they would be using another to find out spam and fight back against it. Fast-forward another 2 years to 2019, and Google began using RankBrain for every search query. Other AI systems they use include:  

• BERT – Designed to help understand search intent and meaning.  

• MUM – Powerful version of BERT to understand context, intent, and searches in other languages.  

If Google is relying on AI, it is clear that it will be a part of SEO for a long time to come, and although it won’t replace SEO, it won’t disappear, either. Search engines need it to keep on delivering to their users, after all. Therefore, rather than shun it away, experts should consider how they can use it to their advantage.  

Are There Any Concerns?  

The concern is that many businesses will turn to AI for all their SEO and content needs. Unfortunately, AI isn’t capable enough to do everything for you. We want to remind our clients that following Google’s guidelines is the most important thing they can do. You want to be doing everything you can to protect your past SEO efforts, and making the wrong AI move could harm this.  

For SEO experts, there is no escaping AI, but remember the reality is AI, like SEO experts, is constantly reacting to the search engines’ actions and updates. When they move forward, we have to, and that will require AI to do the same. This can take time.  

How AI will change the future of search exactly will remain to be seen. In the past, when new tools were introduced, it was only for the benefit of professionals and businesses. The hope is that AI will become another tool that SEO experts can use to their advantage to make their job easier rather than non-existent.