How AI Is Changing SEO (and What to Do About It)

I was at a conference last week and , after listening to a speaker talk about SEO , someone in the audience said you know , there's now AI SEO too , right ? And I thought , oh my gosh , of course there is . Why wasn't I thinking about this ? So I thought I needed to do a deep dive on this topic and share what I found out .

So welcome back to My Weekly Marketing . I'm your host , Janice Hostager , and today we're diving into a topic that is kind of like shifting sand . How artificial intelligence is changing search engine optimization and what that means for your business . Now , if you're thinking SEO already confused me and now AI is getting involved , I get it . Take a deep breath .

In this episode , I'll share down-to-earth information about what's changing , what matters more than ever , and how you can adapt your marketing strategy without a tech degree or like a 10-person team . So , of course , AI is changing the way people search and , as a result , people need to change the way we as businesses rank in the search engines .

So today we're going to talk about first what AI SEO really is , how people's search has changed , how search engines are adapting with AI , how to write with AI so that you rank higher , and a few common pitfalls with AI and SEO .

So let's get into it . Okay , first , what is AI SEO really ? SEO , of course , is search engine optimization , and it's for helping search engines understand your content so it shows up on the search engine results page , like Google or Bing , when someone is looking for what you offer .

AI , artificial intelligence , is a machine's ability to learn from data and make decisions or generate content that feels human . Put them together you get two big changes . AI is changing how people search , such as ChatGPT or voice assistants . AI is also changing how Google ranks and displays content .

Google now uses AI-driven models and algorithms to prioritize content that's not just keyword stuffed but actually useful to real people . That means keyword strategy is still relevant , but context , clarity and helpfulness have taken the front seat .

For those of us running a business , that means using the right keywords on your website still matter , but it's no longer enough just to sprinkle in a few popular search terms onto a page . Now Google and AI-driven search tools are much more focused on context , so what the content truly is related to and what that person is searching for .

Clarity, is it written in the way that's easy to understand ? And helpfulness . Does it actually answer the question or solve the problem that the researcher has ? So , in simple terms , think of your website like a helpful conversation with a customer , instead of trying to guess the magic words they might type into Google . Focus on being clear , useful and on topic .

AI looks for content that feels like it's written for humans , not just for search engines . So , yes , include keywords , but focus even more on creating content that's genuinely helpful and clearly explain what your business does and how it helps .

Number two , how people search has changed . Before , people search for phrases like Life Coach , Dallas pricing or best CRM for small business . Now they ask full questions like how much should I expect to pay for a life coach in Dallas or what CRM works best for solopreneurs who hate tech ? They're also using voice search more often with Alexa and Siri .

They're expecting instant conversational results and getting answers directly in Google . Have you noticed that AI is on top of Google search results ? Sometimes people are skipping Google entirely and going straight to ChatGPT or even TikTok or YouTube , or doing searches directly in Amazon or Pinterest , especially for products .

That means being searchable doesn't just mean being on Google anymore . It means showing up wherever your customer is asking questions .

Next , you might be wondering how search engines are adapting with AI . Let's zoom in on what's happening under the hood . Google's Search Generative Experience , or SGE , is in testing . It answers questions at the top of every page in paragraphs , and only sometimes shows links below . Google doesn't just match keywords , it looks at meaning .

So if your post is titled what eat when you're sick , it might also rank for comfort foods with a cold , even if you've never used that exact phrase in your article . It also looks for helpful content updates . It prioritizes content that's written for people , not just search engines .

If your blog is generic or AI written with no personal voice , it probably won't rank well . So the takeaway: Google wants clear , original insights , organized content with headings and bullets and regular types of structure and trust signals about the page , the author's bio and links to real businesses . Next , how to rank with AI so that you

rank higher . Google can detect patterns in AI-written content . If it's bland or regurgitated , it won't rank and it won't convert . So you want to start with human strategy . AI can't replace your beautiful creative brain , so define this first . Who are you writing to ? What do they care about ? What questions do they have ? What actions do you want them to take ?

If you have an ideal customer avatar , this all should be really easy . Don't let AI guess your goals . Tell them exactly what you want clearly . Then use AI as a smart drafting assistant . Ask AI to help you organize your thoughts , generate an outline draft sections of your homepage or your service pages and rewrite something to be clearer or more engaging .

You can use prompts like write a friendly , helpful paragraph explaining how a life coach helps a mom of three who's overwhelmed with life and kids . Next , humanize it and personalize it . Ai is great at structure , but your voice and stories will make it real . Add your tone , humor and real-life examples .

Edit anything that sounds robotic , vague or repetitive , and include customer stories , testimonials or metaphors to make it sound real . Finally , focus on Google's quality signals , also called EATT , spelled E-A-T-T . Google's looking for Experience , so show you've done the thing you're talking about . Expertise , so share insights that you have that would benefit your visitors .

Authoritativeness , so link to trustworthy sources or include credentials that give you authority and Trustworthiness . Be honest , transparent and accurate . In other words , be a real person . AI can also help you enhance SEO .

It can help you brainstorm long-tail keywords , blog post titles , faqs and even meta descriptions , but always pair this with your own understanding about what your audience is actually searching for . Next , we can't talk about AI and SEO without touching on a few common pitfalls

. We'll call them sinkholes , as I like to call them . These are places where people get stuck . First , letting AI generate all your content without oversight . As I pointed out earlier , Google can detect patterns in AI written content , so use it as a tool , not as a replacement .

Next , it's better to rank for a helpful , specific post , like how midwives support dads during birth , than to stuff birth coach 20 times into a post . You want to focus on the topic instead of obsessing over keywords . Finally , ignoring your unique expertise . Remember , the most helpful content is the stuff only you can say . Think about your client conversation .

That's the content everyone finds golden . So let's do a big recap . First of all , seo is not dead . It's evolving and fast . AI is both the challenge and the tool that can help you adapt , and Google rewards real , helpful , human-first content . So this week , here's

your challenge . Pick one question your ideal customer asks . Write a blog post , faq or a social post that answers it in your voice , clearly , simply and helpfully . Then use ChatGPT to outline it . But make it yours , then track it , post it , share it , optimize it . That's SEO in 2025 .

So if you found this content helpful , would you do me a favor and leave a review ? Or share this episode with somebody else trying to navigate the AI and SEO maze ? And if you'd love a simple AI SEO starter kit , you can grab one . You can go to janicehostagercom forward slash 115 . That's 115 . And I'll leave a link where you can download that .

I'll walk you through everything we talked about today in a downloadable format . So thanks so much for joining me today . See you next time . Bye , for now .