Is SEO Dead? How to Adapt to the Shift to AI

Questions like “is SEO dead?” can distract marketers from what really matters: building a strong brand and making content relevant, discoverable, and accessible.

SEO is changing. How people search is changing. But users are still looking for information, answers, and solutions to their problems.

TransPerfect Digital’s Global Director of Digital Strategy Julie Franck shares her perspective on where brands should invest and what success in search looks like today.

SEO Isn’t Dead, It’s Evolving

Danny Sullivan, Google’s Public Liaison for Search, has summed it up well: SEO is about understanding how your target audience engages with information. Whether people seek answers via traditional search engines like Google or Bing, or through AI platforms such as Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT, your foundational strategy should always focus on the user.

Rather than being replaced, SEO is transforming. AI isn’t the end—it’s an additional step in the user journey and another important data point to consider when shaping your marketing and optimization strategy.

The Key to Search Success: Keep the User in Focus

To succeed across both traditional and AI-driven search landscapes, you must start with the user:

• Who is your target audience?
• What journey do you want to guide them through?
• How do they interact with content across different channels?

A successful strategy must account for traditional organic performance, brand sentiment, and now visibility within AI tools and large language models (LLMs). True success comes from understanding how your audience accesses information and delivering content that aligns with their intent, whether they find you through Google or a conversational AI assistant.

Which SEO Metrics Matter?

The reality is that most major websites still receive the bulk of their traffic from traditional search. Keywords, organic traffic, and conversions remain essential indicators of site health and business performance.

That said, the rise of AI requires marketers to expand how they measure success. Consider additional signals such as:

• Mentions and citations in AI or LLM results
• Visibility in generative answers
• Performance tied to specific prompts or queries

The goal is to combine classic KPIs with emerging AI-driven data points to create a more complete view of performance and guide ongoing optimization.

Don’t Fall for the AI Hype—Understand the Foundations

Many organizations rush to “optimize for AI” without fully understanding how LLMs actually work. One common misconception is treating AI optimization as a separate, siloed effort. In reality, success requires a 360-degree approach that considers the full user journey—everywhere your audience may interact with your brand.

If your website isn’t performing well in traditional search, it’s unlikely to surface consistently in AI-generated responses. Strong organic visibility, technical quality, brand trust, and relevant, high-quality content remain foundational, and they matter just as much in the AI era.

AI and Personalization: Going Beyond Visibility

Think about how you use AI tools yourself—for research, answering questions, or even shopping and booking. Increasingly, AI isn’t just helping users find information; it’s influencing decisions.

For businesses, this means success isn’t just about being seen. It’s about being chosen. As users narrow their choices—say, to a specific pair of jeans—AI assistants recommend options based on brand reputation, technical excellence, and personalization. Every layer matters, with the user firmly at the center.

How to Win in AI Search: Test, Measure, Adapt

AI isn’t a separate channel; it’s part of the broader continuum of search and discovery. As we enter a more AI-assisted and hyper-personalized landscape, the most effective approach is to keep measuring, keep testing, and keep refining.

Digital marketing’s strength lies in its measurability. With AI, things get trickier, but it’s still possible to adapt. Track everything, build strong personas, experiment thoughtfully, and continually adjust based on what you learn.

It’s still early days for AI in search. The future isn’t fully clear, but one thing is certain: high-quality content and a deep understanding of your audience will always win.

Measure what matters, embrace change, and stay focused on the user. That’s how brands succeed in the age of AI—where SEO isn’t dead, it’s expanded.

Ready to future-proof your digital strategy? Chat with our team to learn how our SEO and AIO experts can help.