Heard that before 🪦 Every few years, someone declares SEO dead. Again. 1997: Search algorithms arrive → "SEO is dead" 2000: PageRank launches → "SEO is dead" 2006: Social media rises → "SEO is… | Jean Bonnenfant | 93 comments

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“SEO is dead.”

You’ve probably heard that phrase a lot lately. With AI tools everywhere, some people think search engine optimization doesn’t matter anymore.

Here’s the truth: AI doesn’t create knowledge out of thin air. It pulls from trusted sources online. That means if your business isn’t showing up in those places, AI won’t see you, your customers won’t find you, and your competitors will take the lead.

Who Needs To Hear This
Business owners, marketers, and entrepreneurs who want to stay relevant in a world where AI is reshaping how people search and make decisions.

Why It Still Matters
Every time someone uses ChatGPT, Bard, or Bing Copilot, those tools scan the internet for answers. If your business hasn’t invested in SEO, you’re invisible. That invisibility can cost you: fewer leads, fewer sales, and a harder time catching up later.

Google’s SEO Starter Guide makes it clear: content that is helpful, reliable, and well-optimized is more likely to be seen as authoritative. And the Pew Research Center shows most consumers trust businesses they can easily find online. If you’re not there, you don’t exist.

How to Future-Proof
The good news: you can still get ahead. Here’s how:

Create evergreen content. Articles, guides, and FAQs AI tools will continue to reference.

Build trust signals. Reviews, backlinks, and updated listings tell both search engines and AI your business is reliable.

Stay consistent. SEO is not an overnight fix. It’s planting seeds that grow into long-term visibility.

The Bottom Line
AI hasn’t killed SEO. It’s made it essential. The businesses winning tomorrow are the ones building authority today.
Start now, and you’ll be years ahead instead of years behind.