HubSpot’s CEO declared SEO dead due to declining organic traffic influenced by AI tools like ChatGPT, but this decline mainly affects enterprise B2B and informational content, while local businesses continue to see stable or growing search volumes. Marketers should adapt by embracing Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), ensuring AI crawler access, optimizing content for AI-driven answers, and maintaining strong local SEO practices to thrive in the evolving search landscape.
The founder and CEO of HubSpot recently declared on a major startup podcast that SEO is dead, citing a 20 to 40% decline in organic traffic across various industries. This statement has caused widespread panic among marketers and clients questioning the value of continuing SEO investments. However, upon analyzing the data, it appears that this decline is only true for about half of the internet, particularly affecting enterprise B2B and informational content. In contrast, other sectors, especially local businesses, are not experiencing the same drop and continue to see stable or even increasing search volumes.
The shift is largely attributed to the rise of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, which now serve as an alternative to traditional Google searches. Instead of users clicking through multiple blue links, they often receive direct answers from AI, reducing click-through rates to websites. This new behavior has led to the emergence of a new discipline called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), which focuses on optimizing content to be featured as direct answers in AI responses. Despite this shift, AEO shares many similarities with traditional SEO, such as the need for structured, trustworthy content that algorithms can easily understand.
For businesses aiming to succeed in this new landscape, several practical steps are recommended. First, ensure that AI crawlers like GPTBot and OI Searchbot can access your website by not blocking them, as visibility is crucial. Second, use analytics tools to track AI-driven traffic sources to measure and optimize performance. Third, adapt content to a clear question-and-answer format that AI systems can easily parse and cite, similar to how featured snippets were optimized in the past. Maintaining strong page authority and high-quality backlinks remains essential, as AI often relies on traditional search engines like Bing to source information.
Local SEO, in particular, remains robust despite the AI disruption. Local businesses benefit from their Google Business Profiles (GBP), which serve as a central hub of structured data that AI and search engines use to understand and recommend services. Optimizing GBP attributes, reviews, and service descriptions is critical, as AI-driven local packs are condensing traditional search results into fewer top spots, making ranking in the top three more valuable than ever. Additionally, maintaining a Bing for Business profile is important since Bing powers many AI search results, including those used by ChatGPT.
In conclusion, while traditional SEO as we knew it is evolving due to AI and changing user behaviors, it is far from dead. The core principles of SEO still apply, but marketers must adapt to new formats and technologies like AEO. Local businesses are structurally protected from some of the declines seen in broader informational search traffic, but success requires diligent optimization and embracing AI-friendly practices. The internet and search landscape are shifting, but those who evolve with these changes will continue to thrive.