The arrival of advanced AI search engines like Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing AI poses an existential threat to the multibillion-dollar search engine optimization (SEO) industry.
As AI offers more direct answers to queries, the need to optimize websites for search results could disappear.
What is search engine optimization?
For more than two decades, businesses, blogs, news sites, and more have used SEO strategies to increase their visibility on search engines like Google and Bing. The goal is to appear higher in the results when users search for relevant keywords.
An entire industry of SEO consultants helps websites improve rankings by highlighting keywords, optimizing metadata and structure, and creating inbound links. Top placement generates valuable web traffic.
How do search engines work with AI?
Instead of displaying pages with blue link results, AI search engines directly provide text answers to users’ questions. For example, ask “Create a three-day itinerary in Miami” and the AI will generate a custom three-day itinerary for Miami.
By offering immediate responses, users have less need to sift through multiple pages of search results. This reduces the value of ranking high in the results.
Big impact on revenue
In 2022, the SEO industry generated $68 billion globally. Pre-AI projections estimated it would grow to $129 billion by 2030. But generative AI could crush those projections.
Search engines are also at risk of decreased revenue. Google earned 58% of its 2022 revenue, about $162 billion, from ads through Google Ads. As AI responses avoid sponsored results, advertising revenue could fall.
Small businesses and SEO consultants that rely on search engines face existential risks. Google and Microsoft can offset losses by monetizing AI.
Overcome the first challenges
AI search remains experimental and limited for now. Most models still produce some inaccurate or meaningless results. Establishing user trust and loyalty will take time.
So while SEO retains value in the short term, its days appear numbered as the quality of AI search improves. The rise of conversational AI marks the beginning of the end of search optimization.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn