SEO vs. AI: What

One of the biggest questions throughout 2024 was simple but powerful: Who wins the SEO vs. AI battle, and how do these two worlds actually work together?

Over the past year, ChatGPT by OpenAI created a global shift in how we think, work, and communicate. It raised important questions across industries:

• How deeply will AI enter different professions?

• What skills will people need to adapt?

• And will AI eventually replace parts of the SEO workflow?

Some SEO professionals believe AI will handle a portion of their tasks and help them work faster. Others see it as an assistant, not a replacement.
The truth, as always, sits somewhere in the middle.

In digital marketing, AI has a growing role, but it cannot replace a human specialist - not even close. Effective SEO requires skills far beyond generating text: researching data, analyzing performance, understanding trends, building link strategies, optimizing website structure, and making technical decisions that affect long-term growth.

For all these tasks and many more, businesses still need experienced SEO specialists and webmasters.

But the big question remains: Does SEO content still matter in the age of AI? The answer is yes - more than ever.

Google’s Criteria Are Clear

Domain strength and domain authority are not disappearing. They are built in a single way: with consistent, high-quality, user-focused SEO content that meets Google’s EEAT standards.

Even if - or when - Google integrates AI-driven features similar to ChatGPT into search, their systems will still rely on websites they trust. Meaning: websites that consistently help users and demonstrate expertise.

What Makes a Website “Useful” Today?

The short answer:
Websites built with original content, aligned with the brand, structured for real search intent, and supported by high-quality links.

AI cannot replace this foundation. It can support it, but it cannot build it.

AI Is Expanding, Not Replacing SEO

Tools like Perplexity.ai show us what the future of search might look like. Other AI platforms such as Copy.ai, Cohesive AI, and similar tools are already shaping new habits in content creation and research.

To use them well, we need to learn how they work. And we need to train them to support our workflows. For people who aim to grow every day, this is not a challenge - it’s the natural next step.

Interestingly, the way these tools present information resembles academic footnotes. These reference-style citations will become increasingly important in online content.
Your CTR (click-through rate) from AI-powered SERP experiences may even increase if your website is frequently cited. And because AI-generated answers pull from fewer sources, competition for visibility may actually decrease.

The conclusion is simple:
Links and domain authority are becoming even more important.
And with them, the need for new, high-quality content increases as well.

Content Comes First - Always

If you want to prepare your business for the future, start by strengthening your content strategy now. Build topical authority. Expand your domain strength. These are not short-term tasks - they are long-term foundations for better search performance and stronger customer trust.

And the fastest, most reliable way to move forward is to work with a partner who already understands this landscape.

At FCDigitall Lab, we continuously study the transforming power of AI. We learn, test, and refine our methods so we can apply AI where it makes sense - never as a shortcut, but as a strategic enhancement. Our goal is simple: to help brands achieve better, more sustainable results through an integrated and intelligent marketing approach.