Marketers need major SEO rethink as GenAI takes over

mobile (2)Generative AI might have become an essential weapon in the marketer’s arsenal but it is also likely to force them to rethink their customer strategies with a sharp fall looming in SEO marketing.

According to Gartner, by 2026, traditional search engine volume will drop 25%, losing market share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.

The consultancy says that, with GenAI driving down the cost of producing content, there is an impact around activities including keyword strategy and website domain authority scoring.

Search engine algorithms will further value the quality of content to offset the sheer amount of AI-generated content, as content utility and quality still reigns supreme for success in organic search results.

There will also be a greater emphasis placed on watermarking and other means to authenticate high-value content. Regulations across the globe are already holding companies accountable as they begin to require the identification of marketing content assets that AI creates. This will likely play a role in how search engines will display such digital content, Gartner predicts.

Vice president analyst Alan Antin said: “Organic and paid search are vital channels for tech marketers seeking to reach awareness and demand generation goals.

“GenAI solutions are becoming substitute answer engines, replacing user queries that previously may have been executed in traditional search engines. This will force companies to rethink their marketing channel strategy as GenAI becomes more embedded across all aspects of the business.

“Companies will need to focus on producing unique content that is useful to customers and prospective customers. Content should continue to demonstrate search quality-rater elements such as expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.”

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