If you are in or around SEO and have looked on LinkedIn at all in the last two years, you’ve likely witnessed firsthand the wildfire that our industry has become.

LLMs and AI chat tools are cutting into organic traffic in ways we can now see. ChatGPT is eating into Google’s market share.

AI-powered features like Copilot and AI Overviews are capturing clicks that were previously ours.

It’s a seismic shift – and many of us are left wondering if SEO is still worth pursuing.

The fear is real

It’s an honest question. Many people, even the most seasoned SEO pros, are asking it.

Traffic is down in many verticals, sometimes dramatically, and clients are nervous.

It’s not just numbers, it’s people worrying about their jobs, their agencies, their livelihoods.

The search results page itself feels like it’s getting carved up by AI-generated answers, endless ads, and zero-click experiences.

It’s easy to feel like the work we’ve built our careers on is crumbling.

I’ll be real: I’m writing this because half the time I feel like I’m scrambling to keep up.

The FOMO is real – and I know I’m not the only one. And if you’re nodding along right now, good. You’re not alone.

Organic web traffic is still valuable.e

Even with AI experiments everywhere, Google still drives over 60% of all U.S. web traffic referrals, according to SparkToro.

That’s not exactly “dead channel” territory.

Yes, AI Overviews and answer boxes might change how users click.

Some queries may be satisfied with the results page.

However, users continue to need in-depth content, products, services, or expertise. They still click through, just more thoughtfully.

Now is not the moment to throw up your hands and quit SEO.

It’s the moment to focus harder on being the site worth visiting, the answer worth citing, and the brand worth trusting.

If your strategy is “rank for anything and hope for clicks,” yes, you should be worried.

But if your strategy is actually to help people? AI can’t kill that.

Dig deeper: The new SEO imperative: Building your brand

AI-EIEIO and the barnyard of new acronyms

In times like these, the industry does what it always does: it invents new acronyms to sell the fear back as opportunity.

I can’t tell you the number of courses, webinars, and straight-up service offerings flooding my newsfeed, all for a price.

You’ve probably seen some of these galloping across your screen: AI Overviews, GEO, and more.

They’re pitched as magic formulas to make your content “AI-friendly,” guaranteeing your brand will be cited in chatbot answers or appear in some AI-powered search result.

Peter Rota, an SEO expert I really respect, recently referred to these as “hustlebro acronyms.”

Couldn’t have said it better.

Because that’s what they are – a new coat of paint on old, solid advice.

However, here’s the truth: even the best in our industry acknowledge that there’s no sure-fire secret playbook.

Wil Reynolds put it so well on a recent LinkedIn post,

• “The real truth is we don’t know what ranks in AI with the precision that we did in SEO, and there’s a chance we never will.”

If Reynolds is willing to say that out loud, maybe the majority of us should too.

What do these acronyms actually mean

Let’s break down the acronyms making the rounds. Here’s what they really mean, minus the hype.

• AIO: Structuring content so even AI summarizers don’t get lost.
• AEO: Crafting content designed to be the answer.
• GEO: Aiming to earn generative AI citations.
• SEX: The same UX best practices, but rebranded to sell.
• ETC: Organizing info so AI and search understand your entities. (Yes, entity SEO… Still here.)

If you’re doing good SEO now, congratulations – you’re already halfway to “AIO” without even trying.

What actually still works

Let’s start with the good news. The rules haven’t changed as much as the hype suggests.

Yes, we need to understand how AI systems ingest, summarize, and present information.

Yes, we should keep learning.

But the best way to show up in those answers is the same as it’s always been: be the best, clearest, most trustworthy source.

• Know your audience better than they know themselves.
• Write the most helpful, thorough content out there.
• Earn links because you’re genuinely worth mentioning.
• Build a site that’s fast, accessible, and easy to love.

Optimizing for AI is essentially optimizing for people, as AI models are trained on our content and reward clarity, authority, and usefulness.

Dig deeper: How to get cited by AI: SEO insights from 8,000 AI citations

How to actually use AI in your SEO work

If there’s one thing I want to be clear about: AI isn’t just a threat.

It’s also a handy tool if you take the time to adapt your processes to include it.

We might not know the “secret” to ranking in AI Overviews, but we know how to use AI to do our jobs better.

Here are a few ways I use AI in my processes:

• Client Education and Discovery: Learn about your client’s industry more quickly. The conversational nature of ChatGPT reduces the time required to search, read, re-search, and develop ideas for strategy, content, and clarifying questions for your client.
• Faster and deeper research: Dive deeper into topics, use AI to pull from its massive knowledge base to strengthen your content. Find sources and previously published information to back up your claims. Offer something unique that your competitors don’t.
• Competitive analysis: Summarize competitor content, identify gaps, and even ask AI to compare multiple webpages on the same topic. This is a great way to understand what your webpage needs to stand out from the crowd.
• Content briefs for writers: Generate structured outlines to hand off to freelance or in-house teams. Once you’ve done the research, use AI to expedite the process of organizing it for a writer.

Is this a comprehensive list? No.

If you’ve spent any time toying around with LLMs, you’ve likely already gotten lost down the rabbit hole of their capabilities.

Everything from automating writing tasks to structured data generation and more.

AI tools have made SEOs more efficient and expanded their capabilities

Is it magic? No.

You still need to check, edit, and think critically.

However, AI can save hours of busywork, help you spot ideas faster, and enable you to focus on real strategy.

Dig deeper: Want to beat AI Overviews? Produce unmistakably human content

How to be the calm voice clients need

Here’s another truth: Many clients are scared right now.

They’re seeing traffic dip, hearing the hype about AI killing search, and worrying about their budgets.

They don’t need someone to sell them the latest acronym. They need someone calm, strategic, and honest.

This is your chance to be that voice:

• Help them see the long-term.
• Show them real opportunities to improve.
• Advise them on diversifying their channels.
• Teach them how to create content worth citing – even for AI.
• Be the partner who helps them navigate change instead of reacting to it.

Final thoughts

I know it’s easy to get cynical or burned out. I’ve been there myself.

But here’s what I believe: SEO is not dead. It’s demanding more from us.

The work remains for those willing to focus on the fundamentals.

The clients are still here for those willing to be calm, strategic advisors instead of selling the following acronym.

And honestly? It’s never been a better time to do meaningful work.

Original Post in Search Engine Land written by Harley Helmer
https://searchengineland.com/stay-grounded-inspired-ai-changes-search-seo-457918