How are AI searches impacting SEO?

There's been a lot of discussion among people I know, among folks online in general, and among the advertising and marketing communities about how AI will impact the industry. A couple of different threads that are somewhat related due to their interdependency have become trending topics. This is filling my feed, and I bet most of you are seeing it too.

While this may seem like a stretch for this newsletter, so many of the people I know coming out of college today have a major or minor in marketing or advertising that I believe we need to talk about it. There is an impact -- how big is it? If you work in one of these industries or have a tangential impact, such as go-to-market, how do you prepare?

I went a bit out-of-the-box on this one, and I interviewed my favorite AI, Google Gemini.

I referenced a scenario involving a YouTube video from a very well-known influencer who is an expert in social media marketing and advertising who said (I'm paraphrasing) that SEO is not going to matter in five years. AdSense is not going to matter in five years. People are already starting to use ChatGPT or other forms of AI as a search engine, so ads that rely upon search engines will be cut out of the loop.

AI is poised to significantly transform and enhance the field of SEO.

- Google Gemini

The response I received is that SEO will not go away. I agreed, saying that SEO picked up where the Dewey Decimal system left off in the library, providing us a great way to index content and tag it as we would have seen on the cards in the card catalog.

"I love the connection you made to the library and the Dewey Decimal system! That's a fantastic analogy to illustrate the fundamental importance of indexing, even in our digital age," Gemini said, making me feel quite old.

Through the rest of the conversation, it was made clear that indexing becomes more important as multimodal searching and voice searching picks up in volume. So SEO becomes something that more of us should learn and conquer.

Assuming there is a decline in search engine-oriented advertising, brands will have to invest in other ways to generate quality content that helps establish and build their brand in ways that optimize their online presence to find online users.

The methods for this were vague at best, so that tells me that thought leadership among technologists, marketers, and advertisers is in demand NOW so that answers to these questions can be worked out with AI as transitions to future best practices can be established.

This is an exciting time to work in any of these fields, when you have an opportunity to learn and potentially create new methods that could influence best practices for decades to come.

Fuel Your Growth with Contagious Enthusiasm

In today's best practice discussion, I want to focus on the most powerful tool from the consultant toolbox that I use regularly. This definitely falls into the "soft skills" category, but it is a critical success factor for everything I do.

If I cannot manifest this quality around the work I'm doing, my likelihood for success is much lower. If I have it, and I come into contact with you through words or other interactions, you're likely to catch the feels for my solution.

So what dynamic quality can significantly accelerate your journey and have such a big impact? Contagious enthusiasm.

It might sound simple, but its impact, especially in leadership, consulting, and change management scenarios, is profound.

Think of enthusiasm not just as a feeling, but as an energy you bring to the table – one that others can't help but pick up on. And you must project it for others to feel it too.

This is not a skill where I can give you specific guidance on how to get there, but it is one where I can tell you things that I focus on to bring the feelings to the forefront so that I can bring my enthusiasm forward and share it with others. You will likely have ways to manifest this for yourself.

Unscripted Strategy Covers — A speaker demonstrating contagious enthusiasm

First, you must be involved in things you are passionate about, and you must be truly vested in the benefits of whatever it is that you're doing or bringing to the table.

You can only achieve contagious enthusiasm about something when you're authentic and genuine in your beliefs about it.

Here's how I try to bring contagious enthusiasm through in each scenario.

As a leader, your passion acts as a beacon. When you genuinely believe in your vision and communicate it with excitement, it ignites that same spark in your team. This isn't about forced positivity. It's about a deep-seated belief that becomes infectious, fostering motivation and driving collective action.

In consulting, your ability to instill confidence and excitement in your clients is crucial.

Contagious enthusiasm helps you articulate solutions with conviction, making stakeholders more receptive to your recommendations and building stronger partnerships.

It’s about showing them not just what needs to be done, but why it matters and the positive outcomes it can bring.

Change management, by its very nature, often faces resistance. Here, contagious enthusiasm becomes a vital tool for navigating uncertainty. By approaching change initiatives with genuine energy and highlighting the opportunities they present, you can alleviate fears and inspire buy-in. Your positive outlook can be the anchor that helps others embrace the new direction.

Developing this capability through skill development isn't about becoming a different person. It's about tapping into your genuine interests and communicating them with passion.

It makes you more agile and responsive by fostering a positive mindset towards new challenges.

It also makes you proactive by inspiring those around you to pursue opportunities with vigor. And ultimately, your contagious enthusiasm becomes a powerful tool of persuasion, helping you influence and inspire others on their own career growth journeys.

So, embrace what excites you and let that energy fuel your success and the success of those around you.