The “SEO is dead” myth: How search is changing and what it means for brands

“SEO is dead,” we hear it every time search changes. And we don’t bury it just yet.

A major Google update lands, and the industry announces the end of the channel. It happened after Florida in 2003, when obvious over-optimisation started getting punished. It happened after Penguin in 2012, when Google went after unnatural link building. It happened again in the Mobile-first era, when mobile versions became the baseline.

Each time search engines reshape the market, the panic turns out to be unjustified. Instead of killing SEO, these changes push us to develop new approaches, new ideas, and new opportunities for growth. Each release is a chance to improve the practice and find more precise solutions.

The same thing is happening now. The “SEO is dead” story is back, yet the real shift is different. Search is evolving, and SEO evolves with it.

This article was prepared by Ilya Leonov, an SEO specialist at Why SEO Serious. He focuses on technical SEO, structured data, and SEO tactics shaped by AI-driven discovery. In this piece, he looks at whether it’s time to say goodbye to the SEO we’re used to, or whether we should wait a little longer.

Why do people keep saying SEO is dying again

There are worrying signals, and one of the most visible is fragmentation in search behaviour. More and more users start looking for information outside traditional search engines, especially on social platforms. At the same time, UGC (reviews, roundups, comments) has become an important source of information. Discovery channels are growing too (TikTok, Instagram), along with forums and Q&A platforms like Reddit and Quora.

According to a Higher Visibility study, nearly 35% of users have noticed changes in how they search. These trends clearly affect traditional search.

AI search is the biggest challenge for SEO

The biggest threat to traditional SEO is the spread of LLMs and AI-driven search. Since the launch of ChatGPT Search, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode, AI tools have been significantly increasing their share across search channels. Their main advantage is the ability to provide a ready-made answer, one that would have required several queries in traditional search.

People turn to AI most often when a query needs a complex explanation, a personalised angle, or a better grasp of nuance. In many cases, the answer they get fully satisfies the intent, which means they don’t click through to the source. This creates a new problem: clicks no longer match impressions.Changes in how search works with AI have introduced a new content quality parameter — extractability. This is the ability of an AI system to find information, interpret it, and use it to generate an answer. It affects how a text is structured, how clear the wording is, and whether there are conclusions and supporting reasoning.

Why SEO is still alive

Search engines are still a core channel for driving traffic. According to an SEO Inc. study, around 53% of traffic in 2025 comes from organic search. DemandSage also states that nearly 70% of users start online sessions with a search.

Search also remains a key source of commercial traffic. Think with Google data confirms that about 51% of buyers worldwide use search to research a product. Around 70% of consumer journeys start with an interaction with Google.

Many modern AI models operate on top of search engines, integrating with them and using their data. This means that websites that ranked well before can remain relevant, even under the new conditions.

How SEO is evolving in today’s reality
SEO is becoming more complex, but it isn’t dying. Instead of a single channel run by a few major search engines, it’s turning into a multi-layer system. It now includes not only the traditional SERP, but also AI Mode, AI Overviews, social platforms, video, and forums. SEO specialists now need to support brand presence across the entire user journey.

GEO and AIO: SEO built for AI-driven search

Content optimisation for AI search has evolved into two main tracks: GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) and AIO (AI Optimisation).

GEO is about getting your content included in AI answers. It determines which platforms you should publish on so your material can be used in generated responses.

AIO is broader site optimisation for AI as a whole: content, technical foundations, reputation, and links. These are the signals language models use to decide whether a source is trustworthy.

Here’s what to optimise if you want to show up in AI answers.

On-page optimisation

• Build pages into topic clusters to strengthen topical authority.
• State definitions and takeaways clearly so they can be easily extracted and used in AI answers.
• Use an AI-friendly structure: headings, lists, tables, and FAQ blocks.
• Update content regularly, especially the pieces that already appear in AI answers.

Off-page optimisation

• Focus on sources AI search tends to cite: Wikipedia, Reddit, YouTube, Quora, and other well-known communities and reference sites in your niche.
• Invest in digital PR to get mentioned in authoritative industry media, forums, and reviews.

Technical optimisation

• Implement Schema.org markup for products, articles, FAQs, and authors.
• Track Core Web Vitals and mobile performance.
• Make sure your content is accessible to search crawlers and AI bots.

So, is SEO dying or not?

SEO isn’t dying. It’s becoming more complex and more multi-layered. SEO specialists need to think beyond a page’s position in classic search and also consider visibility in AI answers, social platforms, video content, and external sites.

User needs stay the same: people want answers, and businesses need attention and trust. In this new reality, skilled SEO work remains critical. The job is to build, strengthen, and grow the connection between customers, search engines, and AI systems.