Over the past few months, I’ve seen countless headlines wondering, “Is SEO Dead with ChatGPT?” Why? The anticipated cataclysmic effect of ChatGPT on SEO. With LLMs at their fingertips, the prophecies go, companies will no longer need to hire or outsource SEOs. They can now write fully-fledged articles about any topic. They can optimize all of their metadata. They can do keyword research on their own without dealing with endless Google Sheets full of keyword recommendations from their SEOs. It’s time for all of us SEOs to pack it in and find a new job. Let’s answer the question, Is SEO Dead with ChatGPT?
Are LLMs Like Chat GPT, Bing Chat, and Bard the end of Us SEOs?
NO, OF COURSE NOT!
Us SEOs, I strongly believe, are still very much in need. Why? While LLMs can make many of the things we do seemingly attainable to non-SEOs, it takes a human with years of SEO experience to parse through all of the information and make sense of it. For content, it takes humans to share personal experiences and elicit trust from others. LLMs cannot speak from experience and, as we’ve seen with their hallucinations, they are not inherently trustworthy.
LLMs are Just Another Tool in Our Toolbox
As SEOs, I feel that we need to embrace the new technology in order to stay ahead of the game. LLMs provide a much-needed resource for us to fine-tune our craft.
LLMs can help us be more efficient. First, if you’re anything like me, starting from a blank page is quite difficult. I can go to any of the LLMs and create an introductory sentence, an outline, or even a whole article. Just getting something on the page will help get the ball rolling quicker and help us finish the task quicker.
Another way LLMs help is with composing emails to clients. If you are concerned about your grammar or tone, you can have your favorite LLM review it. You can even have it change the tone. If you’re frustrated with a client’s lack of implementing your optimizations and it’s obvious in your words, having ChatGPT rewrite it to be more congenial can help, not only save you time but also that client relationship.
Additionally, LLMs provide a great source of information and learning. I don’t always have a lot of time to digest long articles or training. Copying and pasting the article into ChatGPT and asking for a summary helps streamline the learning process. I am a huge fan of bullets and making the point in as few words as possible. ChatGPT helps do that quite quickly.
I’ve written a bunch of articles already showing how I leverage LLMs. Check them out! See how I use them for data analysis, content optimization, content creation, and keyword research.
What I’m saying is that LLMs are going to be one of the most important tools in our toolbox, right next to Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, SEMrush, Ahrefs, GT Metrix, and more. I’d venture to say that, for many of us, LLMs already are that important.
Visibility in LLMs and Generative AI
While we’ve been focusing on the use of large language models like ChatGPT as tools to complete SEO-related tasks, it’s important to also understand how AI will affect search engine visibility. To learn how to improve visibility in generative AI search, check out my article Generative Engine Optimization: Maximizing Visibility in AI.
Don’t Get Left Behind the LLM Revolution
While LLMs aren’t necessarily going to take your job, not embracing them will likely put you at a disadvantage. With LLMs, SEOs are going to figure out how to do their jobs at a high level more efficiently. That’s going to give them a sizable advantage over SEOs refusing to engage with them. I have no doubt that within a year or two, you will see LLM fluency as a requirement on job listings.
To answer the question, Is SEO dead with ChatGPT? Nope, it’s just getting better!
Read how AI is going to majorly transform search in the next 2 years.
For a comprehensive guide on integrating AI in your SEO strategy, explore our in-depth pillar page: AI and SEO Guide: Leveraging ChatGPT and LLMs.
