Google AI-Powered Overviews Really the End of SEO?

There’s a lot of pessimism surrounding the new AI-Powered Overviews and the SEO industry. The main takeaway seems to be that SEO is dead, and we should all start pivoting to new facets of work. However, I have a different perspective. I see this as more of an adaptation, where we will find new ways of measuring success, new metrics to analyze, and a new approach to attracting users to sites.

I’ve always approached my SEO career as a marketer who knows a lot about this one thing: SEO. After working with many companies, I see firsthand that most of them do not know how to market themselves in relation to SEO and website presentation. I don’t see this ever really going away, hence the need for some sort of SEO specialist to guide and help implement these strategies.

Another aspect is that search is Google’s greatest asset when it comes to its business model. I like to believe that SEOs add more value to that, and Google wouldn’t want to harm this community. There will always be a need to adapt results for products, services, and industry information that will provide continual value to users. Having an understanding of how that content is crawled and ranked, especially in the age of AI, will be a huge asset for companies.

In the short term, it will be rocky because it’s a new technology and will take some time to figure out. But in the long run, I see a continued need for SEO professionals to provide analysis, strategy, and consultation.

Thoughts?

If AI overviews take over search, then SEO will evolve to optimizing for the AI overview.

Hugh said:
If AI overviews take over search, then SEO will evolve to optimizing for the AI overview.

Thank you for optimizing for AI overview. Your content has been processed and presented with a paid ad link underneath. Please continue providing optimized AI overview pages.

@Magdalina
It’ll be about getting your brand mentioned for commercial queries and cited for informational ones. Strategies will evolve. Producing original insights will be key, as AI can’t generate those.

It’s not the end of SEO, but it could be the end of bloggers who relied on informational search traffic.

EmmanuelBrown said:
It’s not the end of SEO, but it could be the end of bloggers who relied on informational search traffic.

Agreed. Any site that only provides data or answers is on borrowed time. Google has been moving in this direction for years.

SEO won’t die, but publishing economics will be hit hard. Google’s claim that more links will be clicked is misleading. People will get their answers in AI snippets without needing to visit sites.

AI provides information, not products. If you sell something, people will still need to visit your site.

Jarrod said:
AI provides information, not products. If you sell something, people will still need to visit your site.

If you pay… there won’t be free traffic anymore.

SEO is shifting. Many of us are being asked to handle more than just SEO—offline marketing too. It’s becoming a broader role.

Google says AI snippets prioritize ‘expert’ content. How does one establish expertise? More backlinks? Higher authority?

SEO will not die.

SEO will survive, but it may be less effective. Fewer people will make a living off it.

Would AI-powered overviews satisfy you when searching for a new home to buy or rent?

It’s the end of information blogs.

It’s not the end of SEO, just a dark age for informational queries. Google broke search, possibly without realizing it.

I don’t trust AI overviews. I’ll keep looking for real answers.

For simple Q&A searches like ‘who was the first president,’ AI overviews will dominate. But for complex topics, people will still seek multiple perspectives.