Reasons Traditional Keyword SEO is No Longer Relevant

There's a quiet revolution happening in the world of content and discovery, and we're barely talking about it. 🚨 SEO as we've known it is quickly becoming obsolete. AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Claude are reshaping how buyers research, especially in high-involvement e-commerce sectors like consumer tech. Andrej Karpathy recently highlighted this perfectly: "It’s 2025 and most content is still written for humans instead of LLMs. 99.9% of attention is about to be LLM attention, not human attention." Imagine a buyer exploring a high-value product—say a premium smartwatch or a flagship smartphone. Rather than sifting through dozens of links, they're now simply asking: "Which smartwatch is better for health tracking: Fitbit Sense or Apple Watch Ultra?" This isn't hypothetical; it's happening right now. AI assistants are increasingly trusted as expert advisors that simplify complex product comparisons. For brands, this changes everything: ✅ Traditional SEO and "ranking #1 on Google" is no longer enough. ✅ AI agents handle the discovery process, dramatically shortening the consumer journey. ✅ Businesses must now optimize their content not only for human eyes but also for AI interpretation. (As Erik Wikander put it beautifully) A few eye-opening shifts already happening: 📉 Review platforms like G2 and StackOverflow have lost significant traffic post-ChatGPT. (Elena Verna) 📉 Big players like HubSpot, Figma, and Canva are seeing declining organic traffic as AI directly answers user queries. (Oliver Molander) 📉StackAI now receives more inbound from ChatGPT & Perplexity than from Google (Antoni Rosinol) The implications for Ecommerce and consumer tech brands are massive: Your product content must become "AI-native," meaning it's structured clearly enough for AI tools to pull and recommend. Content needs precise differentiation and expert-level detail because the AI gatekeepers are getting smarter at recognizing genuine value vs. fluff. As Tomasz Tunguz has highlighted, expect the emergence of AIO (AI Optimization)—the next evolution of content strategy where you're optimizing not just for search engines but for a multitude of personalized AI assistants serving diverse ICPs. In short, the future belongs to those who understand how to capture the attention of AI agents first, and users second. Traditional SEO is fading. We're entering a world where personal AI agents will act as gatekeepers, curating hyper-relevant content tailored exactly to individual needs and preferences. This demands a radical reimagining of CX tech stacks, particularly around product discovery, comparison, and commerce journeys. At Swirl®, we're addressing precisely this challenge by building specialized AI Agents—transforming customer experience into dynamic, personalized, and AI-optimized experiences. If your brand is navigating this shift and looking for ways to stay ahead, let's talk. #artificialintelligence #Ecommerce #AIO #SEO

If you’ve been in SEO or marketing over the past decade, you’ve probably noticed the game has changed dramatically. From 2013 to 2021, SaaS companies followed the HubSpot playbook: target high-traffic, top-of-funnel keywords like “What is CRM?” or “How to do X.” It worked on paper, delivering traffic gains that looked great in reports. But those numbers didn't translate to pipeline .Most of that traffic was from readers with no commercial intent. That was the traffic trap—chasing irrelevant traffic for the sake of a vanity metric. Then getting stuck trying to maintain low quality traffic instead of spending time on activities that generated business value. Now SEO strategies are shifting. AI tools are reshaping search behavior and Google updates have deprioritized generic TOFU content. Broad, catch-all articles are losing relevance. Decision-makers don’t want generic SEO content—they need specific, actionable content that addresses their challenges. Looking ahead, SEO success will require solving customer pain points. That means creating content for decision-makers and addressing their challenges rather than another surface level 101 guide. Letting go of TOFU traffic can be scary but also freeing. It allows marketers to focus on the work that drives business outcomes, like pipeline growth and lead quality. The days of chasing vanity metrics are over, and that’s a win for anyone who values results over noise. TOFU is suffering? Let it die.

I saw a really great example on Twitter the other day, where Will, founder of IQBAR, shared the specific query a customer used to find them on ChatGPT. I love this example because it shows really well the behavioral shift we are seeing where users are shifting from keywords to questions, even in categories like consumer goods. Keywords → Questions Before: You’d search “keto-friendly bars,” scroll through results, compare sources, run another query to refine your search, and piece together information before deciding. Now: Searches are longer, more specific, and structured to capture the entire decision-making process in one step. AI answer engines (such as Perplexity and ChatGPT with Browse mode) handle this in a single step. Instead of returning a list of links, they retrieve, analyze, and synthesize information behind the scenes. This was confirmed by the folks at Perplexity who said that the average query length on their platform was now reaches 11 words, which means searches are a lot longer and often encapsulate an entire decision-making journey in one prompt. What’s happening here is that the traditional search funnel is compressing. Instead of multiple steps across different sites, users move through the funnel in a single interaction. What does this mean for search optimization? 1/ The shift from keywords → questions means traditional keyword optimization isn’t enough. We need to understand how people phrase queries in AI-driven searches. Question variants are much more complex than keyword variants. 2/ AI search prioritizes responses that fully address user intent, including likely follow-ups. Structuring content to anticipate these matters more than ever. 3/ AI-driven search (like Perplexity) uses RAG+LLM. That means it runs multiple searches, synthesizes results, and cites sources. So the goal here isn’t just ranking high but being referenced as a trusted source (and, if possible, appearing in multiple sites). This is a big shift in SEO. Our content now needs to be optimized for question-based searches, directly answer real user intent, and be credible enough to be cited in AI-generated responses.

I run an SEO company. And we just changed how we measure success for our clients. We stopped celebrating ranking improvements. Started tracking something else entirely. Traditional SEO is becoming table stakes. The real game is happening somewhere else. Last week, We audited where our clients' target customers are actually getting their answers. The results were eye-opening. → 67% of technical queries never make it to a Google search → They're being answered directly by ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity But here's what I noticed: The companies winning in this new landscape aren't the ones with the highest domain authority. They're the ones whose expertise gets synthesized into AI responses. Example: One of our B2B clients created a unique "Revenue Attribution Model" for their industry. Now when prospects ask AI about attribution, they get referenced as the source. Not because they rank #1, but because they created something worth citing. The shift I'm seeing: ▸ Instead of optimizing for crawlers → we're optimizing for comprehension ▸ Instead of chasing keywords → we're building knowledge assets ▸ Instead of link building → we're building authority that AI systems naturally want to reference This doesn't mean SEO is dead. It means it's evolving. The clients who get this are: →Creating frameworks → Coining terminology →Building thought leadership that transcends traditional search The ones still stuck in 2019 SEO tactics? They're wondering why their traffic is declining even with perfect technical optimization. As an SEO company founder, I had to make a choice: ❌ Keep selling the old playbook ✅ Help clients prepare for what's coming I chose the future. Because in 12 months, the companies dominating their categories won't just be the ones ranking well. They'll be the ones that AI systems consider the definitive authorities in their space. Are you positioning your company to be that authority? Tools mentioned: AI Answers Check: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini Question Discovery: AlsoAsked, WriterZen Citation Tracking: Twin, Glasp, app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart) Content Optimization: Clearscope, Surfer, app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart) Content Orchestration: app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart) #aiso #geo #seo

Last month, I had to ask the CEO of a 100+ year-old company to delete all of her personal Facebook photos. Not because of anything scandalous. Because we needed her actual account to answer gardening questions in community groups. That's what SEO looks like now. We're not chasing Google algorithm updates anymore. We're scraping Reddit threads to find the gardening questions people actually ask, then building content around those real problems for a seed company. We used to spend hours managing keyword bids down to the penny. Now that same budget goes toward getting our clients into the conversations where their customers already hang out. The foundation of SEO hasn't changed.  It’s still about being helpful where people are searching. But "where people search" isn't just Google anymore. Your customers are: - Asking questions on Reddit - Discovering solutions on YouTube - Finding recommendations through TikTok creators they trust Traditional keyword research has evolved to community research. Instead of targeting "organic pest control," we found 47 actual questions about hornworms in gardening groups last week. That's our content calendar now. Despite posts by hundreds of marketers claiming, “SEO is Dead!”... It’s not. It just moved out of the search bar and into every platform where your audience hangs out.

Search Isn’t Dying, but it’s Splintering. Neal 🎙 Schaffer outlined a reality that many B2B marketers are now facing: Traditional SEO no longer guarantees visibility or clicks. AI-generated summaries. Zero-click search. Social-as-search behavior. Everything is changing in how buyers discover, vet, and make decisions. In B2B, the implications run deeper. Buyers aren’t just skipping Google, they’re skipping entire funnel stages. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot are helping decision-makers self-educate faster, often without ever visiting your site or filling out a form. NetLine’s latest consumption data, which I posted about recentl,y reinforces this: • AI-related content consumption grew 186% year-over-year. • But the average delay between requesting and consuming content jumped 23%. • Attention spans aren’t shrinking, but prioritization windows are. So what’s the move? This isn’t just an SEO problem. Instead, it’s a distribution and trust problem. Influence, human or algorithmic, is now earned across a wider surface area. Three shifts to consider: 1: Shift from keywords to questions your buyers ask. Content that directly answers buyer needs (not just ranks) has a better chance of being surfaced, cited, or shared. 2: Design for redistribution. That ebook, podcast, or interview isn’t a campaign in and of itself; it’s a content engine. So, break it up. Multiply the touchpoints so your buyers can find it. 3: Build to be cited. LLMs reference high-quality, structured, insight-rich material. So do B2B buyers. The web hasn’t stopped searching. It’s just decentralized and split up. The goal isn’t traffic for traffic’s sake. It’s trusted presence—across more moments, more channels, more minds.

Recently, in a board meeting, one of our portfolio companies shared that they were seeing a 30% conversion rate from LLM traffic, compared to a previous 5% from traditional SEO. 🤯 This proves what I’ve been saying for a year - LLMs are changing buyer behavior. They’re skipping Google entirely. They're asking ChatGPT for product recommendations and using Perplexity to research competitors. And when they show up at your door, they're way further down the funnel. What started as paranoia (Are we losing traffic to ChatGPT?) has become a major growth channel. So how can founders influence how they show up on these LLMs? What does it mean for your overall SEO and content strategy? I spent some time digging into this with folks like Eric Hann at Order.co and Jonathan M K. at Momentum, plus growth experts like Chris Long at Go Fish Digital to get tactical answers. Here’s what I learned: The behavior shift is real. Buyers are skipping Google entirely. They're asking Claude for product recommendations, using Perplexity to research competitors, getting suggestions from AI Overviews. And when they show up at your door, they're further down the funnel. Start small, but start now. You don't need to overhaul everything. Pick 10-25 prompts your ICP actually asks ("best procurement tool for charter schools" not "what is procurement"). See where you rank. Build content around those specific questions. Not all AI platforms think alike. ChatGPT loves Wikipedia. Perplexity pulls a lot of it’s data from Reddit. Google AI Overviews leans more towards YouTube and community content. Your strategy needs to flex by platform. Mid-funnel, hyper-specific content wins. Generic "how-to" content is getting buried. "CRM for law firms" or "SMS for restaurants" – that's what's breaking through. The founders who are winning aren't abandoning SEO fundamentals. They're treating LLMs like a new distribution channel and testing their way in. Are you leveraging LLMs to drive your top of funnel? If not, check out our full how-to guide linked in the comments: Stage 2 Capital

Google's AI mode uses only 32% of traditional search results. Semrush analyzed 5,000 keywords and 150,000+ citations to reveal what this means for SEO. The study analyzed how AI Mode compares to traditional Google Search, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. They looked at 5,000 keywords, over 150,000 citations, and examined how each platform handled links, sources, and query intent. One of the biggest takeaways: AI Mode is building its own behavior. In 92% of queries, it displayed a sidebar of links, typically showing around seven unique domains. But only 32% of those URLs matched Google’s traditional top 10 results. When links appeared below the AI response, a much rarer occurrence, just 7% of the time, the overlap with Google’s top 10 jumped to 80%. This suggests that AI Mode still draws from trusted domains, but is far more flexible in what specific content it chooses to surface. The study also showed that intent heavily influenced the structure and depth of responses. Commercial and transactional queries triggered responses nearly twice as long as informational ones. Navigational queries, on the other hand, produced the highest overlap with traditional search results, reinforcing the idea that AI Mode is designed more for exploration and decision-making, while traditional search still dominates direct navigation. Another clear pattern: Reddit is dominating across the board. Along with YouTube and Facebook, Reddit appeared in over 68% of AI Mode results that included extra links. For brands, this means user-generated content is no longer optional, it’s becoming central to visibility in AI-driven search environments. So what should marketing and SEO teams be doing now? First, audit your presence in AI Overviews. Second, track how and where your brand is being cited across AI platforms, not just where it ranks. Third, rethink your content strategy for Reddit, YouTube, and other UGC-heavy platforms. Fourth, align content depth with query intent. And finally, don’t rely solely on homepage or pillar pages, LLMs often prefer citing subpages, blog posts, or help docs that speak directly to the nuance of a query. AI search isn’t replacing SEO, but it’s creating a parallel ecosystem with its own logic, signals, and behaviors. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is emerging as a critical new layer in search strategy. Ranking still matters. But being reference-worthy, trustworthy, and well-distributed across AI-friendly platforms is what will define visibility in the next phase of search. If your brand isn’t showing up in these AI results yet, now’s the time to get ahead of it.

The next $100M brand won’t be built on Google. It’ll be built with LLM SEO. For years, the SEO playbook was predictable: target keywords, optimize content, and rank on Google. But that model depends on users starting with a search engine. That’s no longer a guarantee. More people are now asking questions directly inside tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, and these tools don’t show 10 blue links. They return one synthesized answer. In this model, there’s no ranking. There’s only consideration. For example, when I search for something like "Best running shoes for men" does New Balance show? Nike? Your startup brand? You’re either cited or you’re not visible. And now, it's not just visibility to humans, but AI! I can run a deep search on ChatGPT and the AI will do the work for me. That shifts what it means to “optimize.” – Keyword targeting matters less. What matters is mapping to the exact questions your ICP is asking. – Content needs to be structured, specific, and retrieval-friendly. – Generic summaries won’t surface. LLMs cite original insights, benchmarks, and use-case-driven pages. This is the new EEAT for LLMs. – Traditional traffic metrics won’t show the impact. You’ll need to track brand lift, indirect referrals, and LLM citations. This isn’t just a content tweak, it’s a distribution shift. Brands that adapt early will compound visibility where competitors aren't even looking. Its not to say Google is dead - in fact, Google is 300X bigger than ChatGPT search, but ChatGPT is growing (and growing fast).