SEO in the AI Era: Why You Can No Longer Rely Only on Traffic and Rankings

A lot of the talk about the future of SEO in the AI context seems to stay at a surface level—CTR, rankings, impressions. But after watching the interview between Dawn Anderson (Bertey) and Search Engine Land at SMX Advanced, it’s clear to me that the real discussion goes much deeper: we’re witnessing a paradigm shift, probably the biggest in the history of information retrieval. It’s not just about algorithms, but about how and why people still search, consume, and trust brands.

Classic SEO Doesn’t Work Anymore

Dawn speaks very clearly about the fact that our obsession with traffic and rankings has blinded us for too long. Even though we keep hearing about “omnichannel” and the “user journey,” the reality is that too many specialists have seen SEO as a single line—you get the ranking, you wait for traffic, you report the result. What makes the difference now? The ability to understand that organic is just one touchpoint in a much bigger network. The modern user researches across many channels, uses chatbots, explores different sources. If you don’t map this journey, you simply can’t stay relevant.

AI Overviews Are Changing the Rules

Recent statistics (also mentioned in the original interview) are brutal: wherever an AI Overview shows up, the organic CTR drops dramatically, and for positions below the top 3, the decline is even steeper. Dawn makes a strong point: if creators don’t get traffic, the whole ecosystem risks collapsing. But here’s where it gets interesting—the focus shifts from “being first on Google” to building a brand and authority that matter in any context, no matter where you show up.

Brand Becomes Essential

We’re no longer talking about simply optimized pages, but about a consistent, multi-channel presence: answering real audience questions authentically, being visible visually, locally, in AI summaries, or in video. SEO is becoming part of a mix, not a goal in itself. Personally, I find this more interesting and challenging than ever.

Impressions Go Up, Clicks Go Down

I’ve noticed it too, in recent projects: Search Console impressions are exploding, but clicks don’t rise proportionally. The explanation is simple—classic visibility is diluted, but new opportunities open up: awareness, brand, engagement, assisted conversions. If you stay stuck in the old traffic-first logic, you risk missing the bigger picture.

Continuous Adaptation, Not Panic

It’s easy to be skeptical or panic when you see rapid changes, but Dawn brings a lucid optimism: SEO has survived many waves, and every major change has led to reinvention, not extinction. The key is understanding how “answer engines” work, avoiding misinformation, and investing seriously in education and testing. We can’t afford to write just for algorithms anymore—AI will filter, but people decide.

What’s Next

From my perspective, this is exactly the beauty of this moment: the SEO universe isn’t dying—it’s becoming much more diverse and creative. We’re talking about integrated strategies, digital agents mediating real human needs, and increasing pressure on usefulness and authenticity. I don’t know if “position 1” as we know it will still exist a few years from now, but I’m sure it will matter more than ever to be relevant, memorable, and to genuinely deliver value.

I highly recommend reading the full interview with Dawn Anderson on Search Engine Land if you want to go deeper into these ideas. The future isn’t for those who optimize for robots, but for those who understand people.