Why SEO isn’t dead, but it is different

For the last two decades, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has been the backbone of digital marketing. Nail your keywords, optimise your landing pages, earn a few backlinks and you’d likely find yourself climbing the Google ranks. Life was good.

But the internet isn’t what it used to be.

We’re entering a dramatically different era that’s less about search and more about discovery. Now, answers aren’t found in a list of blue links but from conversational AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and others that are changing how people find and interact with information.

So, what does that mean for us as marketers, strategists, and brand builders? Quite a lot, actually.

AI is quickly changing the game

When ChatGPT exploded onto the scene in late 2022, it felt more like a novelty than a game-changer. Fast forward a year or two, and it’s not just a sidekick. It’s the front door to the internet for millions, a figure that’s growing rapidly every day.

People are now using AI to make decisions, learn about products, get business ideas, compare software and so much more, all without ever Googling or clicking on a website.

Google clearly saw this coming; their rollout of AI Overviews shows they’re betting on conversational discovery too. Bing’s already doing it. So are smaller engines and apps like Perplexity, You.com, and even Amazon’s Alexa.

The bottom line? The way people search has changed, and with it, the rules for how brands stay visible.

Ranking and relevance – what’s really changed?

SEO used to be about ranking for specific keywords. And sure, keywords still matter, but Large Language Models (LLMs) aren’t scanning Google’s index. They’re generating answers based on everything they’ve read and learned from across the web.

So instead of asking “How do I rank #1 for this term?”, we now need to ask:

“How do I make sure AI knows who we are and chooses to mention us?”

That’s a massive shift. Here’s what it looks like in practice:

1. From keyword targeting to topical authority
   You can’t rely on writing blogs and hoping to rank. AI models favour brands that show deep, consistent expertise on a subject, across blog content, videos, third-party websites, and more.
2. From content volume to originality
   We can’t hammer this home enough. Parroting a topic you’ve read about online isn’t going to deliver results.LLMs are trained to filter out fluff and repetition. So, if your content is a rehash of what’s already out there, you’ll get buried. What stands out now? Unique perspectives. Proprietary data. Original research. Real insight.You won’t get that without a human touch.
3. From on-page SEO to AI training visibility
   The biggest mindset change: You’re not just optimising for search engines. You’re shaping what AI learns. If your brand isn’t mentioned in reputable sources (media, expert forums, academic journals, etc.), it might not even exist in the model’s “memory”.

New rules for staying visible

This all might sound a bit intimidating, but it’s also a huge opportunity for brands that are paying attention to these changes and proactively adapting their marketing strategies.

Here’s how to stay visible when discovery happens through AI:

Be source worthy, not just searchable

Google’s crawler might index your page. But ChatGPT? It remembers information from places like Reddit, Quora, news outlets, product review sites, and expert-written blogs. If your brand is cited there, you’re more likely to appear in AI-generated responses.

And remember, one blog post doesn’t make you an expert. Google and LLMs alike have access to historical information. You won’t be considered a thought leader or expert if you don’t have a proven track record of speaking with authority on a subject.

Structure content for machines, write for humans

This is Team Bamboo’s bread and butter.

Even in the AI era, clean structure still helps. Think semantic HTML, schema markup, good internal linking.

But the content itself? It needs to be helpful, engaging, relevant, and trustworthy. The kind of thing people (and algorithms) want to quote.

Treat your brand like a keyword

People ask AI tools things like “Is Monday.com good for small teams?” or “Which tools are better than ChatGPT?” Your brand is now a query. Reputation management, reviews, and third-party mentions are your new ranking factors.

Educate yourself on how people prompt

Prompts are the new search queries – and they’re changing fast. And unlike Google, LLMs don’t return 10 options. They give 2 or 3 recommendations max. That’s a much smaller window of visibility. To make the cut, your brand needs a broad digital presence and a strong association with your niche.

Track AI mentions like you track backlinks

We’re entering an age where it’s not just about who links to you. It’s about who the bots mention.

New tools are emerging that help track how LLMs reference your brand. These will become just as important as traditional SEO metrics.

Content that gets remembered

Here’s a simple rule: In the LLM era, write to be remembered.

That doesn’t just mean good copy. It means content that lives in people’s heads (and AI models’ training data). To do that, brands should:

1. Build trust in trustworthy sources – trade media, business outlets, mainstream media
2. Publish original insights (and not behind paywalls) – studies, surveys, proprietary data
3. Invest in thought leadership – podcasts, LinkedIn commentary, interviews
4. Show up in expert communities – Reddit, industry forums, webinars (again, not behind a paywall)
5. Create in multiple formats – video, audio, text, long-form and short-form

Visibility today is less about volume, more about influence. Your ideas need to travel.

What digital teams need to do now

So, how do we bring all this together? As digital leaders, we need to help our teams and clients reframe their thinking about SEO.

It’s not simply a technical game. It’s about building brand presence across the ecosystem that trains the next generation of AI.

That means:

1. Updating content strategies around topic clusters and AI-friendly formats
2. Working with PR teams to get credible media coverage
3. Tapping into community engagement where your audience (and LLMs) hang out
4. Learning to monitor AI visibility alongside traditional rankings
5. Training teams to treat LLMs as discovery channels, not just novelties

It also means helping impatient stakeholders better understand the marketing landscape and preparing them for changes to common metrics like website traffic, time on site and other traditional measurements of marketing success.

Discovery is the new destination

Once users click your ad, they should land on a page designed to The truth is, SEO isn’t dying. It’s evolving. And the brands that win will be the ones who adapt to this new reality: where visibility is about being surfaced by AI, not just found in search.

We’re not just optimising for Google anymore. We’re shaping how knowledge is remembered, recalled, and recommended by the most powerful tools of our time.

It’s more than just exciting. It’s the next big frontier in digital marketing. Hell, all marketing.

Team Bamboo helps brands build the digital presence that LLMs don’t just see; they remember. From strategic content and digital PR to AI-era SEO thinking, we’re here to ensure your brand shows up where it matters most, whether in a search bar, in an email inbox or via a chatbot.

Want to talk about how your brand can stay visible in the age of AI? Let’s chat.