On 30 November 2022, ChatGPT arrived on the scene like some sort of alien lifeform, mesmerising and wowing all who engaged with it.

This artificial intelligence (AI) engine, allows users to ask it a question or give it a task such as writing some code or a fully referenced essay. And it does a pretty amazing job.

Fears of the destruction of industries and education systems which had existed for years intensified over night. Other big tech giants followed up with their own versions, and the world as we knew it became…well, a little less human.

But as machines and their algorithms are becoming so advanced, what impact will it have on SEO as a profession?

There is no doubt that AI is changing the landscape of SEO and the way we do keyword research, link building and content creation. 

But the first thing to understand is that AI is not going to replace SEO. Rather, it is going to enhance the way SEO is done. 

Here are some examples of how AI can help with SEO:

• Keyword research is improved. AI can ascertain the intent behind a search query and provide more accurate results.

• Better links are built by AI finding new opportunities and analysing patterns.

• Better content can be created. AI understands what readers want and provides insight into what topics are trending.

What specific challenges does AI pose for SEO professionals?

As AI gets better at understanding search queries and the intent behind them, it is increasingly being used by search engines to provide more relevant and personalised results. 

This poses a number of challenges for SEO professionals like us, who need to stay ahead of the curve to ensure our clients' websites continue to rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPS).

Take the increasing use of voice search. With the popularity of digital assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, more and more people are using voice search to find information online. This presents a challenge for SEO professionals, as we need to optimise website content for natural language processing (NLP) algorithms.

Writing for the Search Engine Journal blog, Jeremy Knauff, says “Unlike traditional algorithms of the past, AI has the unique ability to improve its results on the fly, and voice search helps it do that more quickly and more accurately.”

Another challenge is the growing use of mobile devices for searches. As mobile devices get better at understanding location and context, they are increasingly being used to conduct local searches. This means that we need to focus on optimising for local search terms and providing relevant content for mobile users.

And AI is also changing the way that searchers interact with SERPs. 

With features such as featured snippets and Knowledge Graphs (known as Google Business to most), Google is providing searchers with more information directly on the SERP, rather than forcing them to click through to a website. This renders traditional SEO techniques such as link building less effective. Instead, we need to focus on creating high-quality, helpful content that will be featured in these.

And, what does the onset of AI mean for Wild SEO Agency?

At Wild SEO Agency, we are embracing the changes instigated by AI. There’s no doubt it’s going to completely transform the landscape of SEO. And we’re ready for it.

Where we will always need humans is in understanding the nuances of consumer behaviour and in having the creativity to develop and implement effective SEO strategies.

If you would like to chat with a real, living and breathing, strategically astute, human-run agency… don’t leave it all to the robots.