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Specifically CMOs and those accountable for a business's marketing success. AI-generated responses appear like a direct hazard to the standard natural traffic websites utilized to obtain from search engines. Before, you needed to click a website to see the results. Today, LLMs simply rip the material on sites and individuals no longer need to check out a website anymore.
While I personally think this risk is blown entirely out of proportion (based on data from websites I've personally seen), I don't believe it's an excuse to disregard it entirely. From my own experience growing both blog sites and YouTube channels, specifically to sell something, I can tell you that video converts way more than written material.
It's a lot simpler to inform if someone is lying or full of it if you can see their facial expressions and their tone of voice. YouTube must definitely be in your SEO and content method.
And because you have constructed the trust with video, your traditional SEO efforts will convert better. There's even more to it. Earlier this year, I had an inkling that if I turned some of my finest ranking article into YouTube videos, and embedded them into my existing post, my article would rank even much better.
The Evolution of Semantic Search Shapes Modern MarketingI made a YouTube video about the topic, embedded it into that blog site post, and I have actually been ranking # 1 because.
Keep concentrating on Google, which still owns 90% of search market share. Buy AI search experiments if you have budget, however don't abandon what's actually driving traffic and conversions today. In 2025, we saw everyone talking about how AI search was going to take over Google. Beyond just SEO, the marketing neighborhood as an entire begun to get bombarded with influencers attempting to ride the AI buzz train.
It became hard to find trusted sources that weren't biased or had a prejudice to sell us something. While I do believe there are advantages to utilizing LLMs in our workflows, I do believe it has actually been overhyped. And in 2026, I forecast numerous online marketers will recognize that ChatGPT and Perplexity are just a small part of the SEO market.
Google still dominates 90% market share and with its AI Mode and AI Overviews, it's in the best position to win the AI online search engine race. Browse behavior hasn't fundamentally moved far from Google. Beyond simply that, there are a few things that have actually rubbed me the incorrect way about the AI SEO pattern.
Some claim ChatGPT has a 16% discussion rate and is better by more than 2X compared to Google. But what these online marketers do not understand is that Things like homepages, pricing pages, or bottom of funnel material, tends to be displayed in ChatGPT. The informational top of funnel content is "consumed up" by LLMs and revealed to users without anywhere to click.
Google's conversion rates show less since the traffic is higher due to it being watered down by all the top of funnel material that is in the equation. Other things like how ChatGPT can make stuff up, it never completely follows prompts correctly (i.e.
I do still believe that larger companies bigger business aside an experimental budget speculative test things evaluate ChatGPT apps and other AI SEO tools.
Do not do it. These strategies may work now in ChatGPT and other LLMs, however they're short-term plays that will eventually get penalized. Focus on white hat techniques that build genuine authority and trust over time instead of chasing after quick wins that won't last. The 2000s are back. Scammy keyword packing methods, paying for low-grade backlinks, shipping countless useless articles all in the name of ranking high.
ChatGPT and other LLM algorithms are not as fully grown. I can't name this person, but I satisfied an SEO director at a huge banking company.
And from there, they are using their main business domain, that has a very strong brand authority, and sending out backlinks to the microsite. And this has actually led to greater rankings for their brand in LLMs like ChatGPT.It blew my mind that substantial, reliable business are doing this. And I realized just how much black hat (or grey hat) tactics are going on behind the scenes.
In 2026, I forecast these tactics will continue to take place. Till ChatGPT's algorithm gets as wise as Google's search algorithm.
Share genuine insights, utilize your own images and videos, and build topical authority in your niche. This is how solo creators and little teams can beat huge brand names in 2026. This is one of the most significant SEO patterns for content marketing I'm seeing right now.
You need a genuine company, be it a newsletter service, a service-based organization, SaaS business, or ecommerce store. And after that you add on this human-centered specific niche blogging to the site to naturally grow your core product/service offering. In 2026, I forecast that Google's algorithm will continue to get smarter about which web pages include AI content and which don't.
In reality, I understand lots of individuals quietly crushing it with AI generated material (even going after top of funnel keywords). However what I am stating is that engaging, human content will outrank AI produced content with no original insights. There are two routes I see with SEO's today: Produce countless AI-generated post and get them to rank in the middle/bottom of page 1.
Produce a hundred human blog site posts and get them to rank at the top of the first page. Quality over amount. The very first path is based on large volume, and can cause traffic development. You do run the risk of a possible algorithm update harming your rankings. And anybody who composes better human content will rank higher in positions 1-3. The 2nd route is slower, however can yield higher ranking positions and more trust with readers.
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