Today's AI Moment Pod Answers: Is SEO Dying or Just Evolving In The AI World?

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In this episode of AI Moment, hosts Jonathan Wagstaffe and Danny Denhard tackle the burning question for marketers everywhere: Is AI killing SEO? 🧐

Our consensus is clear:

SEO isn't dead, but it is undergoing a radical transformation. The game has changed from optimising for "search engines" to strategizing for "answer engines."

The core user need to find information remains, but AI has fundamentally altered the journey. Jonathan highlights a critical shift, citing SparkToro data that shows nearly 60% of searches are now "zero-click," with users getting answers directly from AI summaries on the results page.

Jonathan warns, "The days when you could decide on a keyword, write a blog post around that keyword, SEO the life out of it, and then drive a load of traffic to your website have also gone."

Danny introduces a new way to think about this landscape, differentiating between traditional search engines that provide options and new "answer engines" that deliver direct outputs. "You've now got what, a new breed of engine, which is an answer engine, which is like perplexity, which gives you very succinct answers very quickly," he notes.

Understanding user intent is now paramount.

Danny (Denhard) break down the customer journey into four states: Educate, Want, Need, and Action.

While traditional SEO focused on the first three, AI accelerates the entire process. "With AI, you can be very quickly escalated from the education all the way through to purchase really quickly," Danny explains.

Despite the hype, AI search adoption is still only 1-2%, offering a crucial window for businesses to adapt. The episode concludes by looking ahead to the next big shift: the rise of "Agentic AI" within the next 18 months. Now is the time to reassess your strategy for the next evolution of search. 🚀

Tools Mentioned:

Google, SparkToro, Perplexity, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Co-pilot, and Llama.

🎙️ The AI Moment Podcast - Is AI Going to Take Your Job? - Show Notes

Exec Summary:

Jonathan and I dove into the pervasive question: "Is AI going to take your job?" We explored the common, yet simplistic, phrase, "AI won't take your job, but somebody using AI will take your job," and why we both believe it misses the larger picture.

Historically, technological shifts have always led to job displacement and creation, and AI is no different.

While there will be some short-term turbulence as companies adjust, we firmly believe that AI will create significantly more jobs than it destroys in the long run.

My (Danny's) perspective is that we'll experience a "rollercoaster" in the short to mid-term as businesses figure out the ROI of AI and some might use it to cut headcount. However, the long-term outlook is overwhelmingly positive, with increased investment in AI leading to a greater demand for skilled individuals. We're still in the "crawl" phase of AI, and the opportunities for those who upskill are immense.

The Tools & Resources Mentioned:

• AI skills: The general concept of acquiring skills related to artificial intelligence.
• World Economic Forum Jobs report: A specific report providing data on global job market trends influenced by AI. Jonathan mentioned it's free to download from their website, and we'll link it in the show notes.
• Spotify, Shopify, Zapier, Coinbase: Companies mentioned as adopting AI-first strategies and requiring employees to engage with AI.

The Key Takeaway:

The overarching message from this episode is clear: AI is an evolutionary force that will ultimately create more jobs than it displaces. While we might see a "rollercoaster" in the short term as industries adapt and some roles shift, the long-term outlook for the global job market due to AI is positive. The most crucial action individuals can take is to proactively acquire AI skills. As Jonathan put it, the opportunities are "huge," and those who embrace learning will secure and enhance their career prospects. As I emphasized, 2026 might be the year where AI's ROI truly solidifies, leading smart firms to accelerate investment and hiring, further driving job growth.

Connect with Us:
Have more questions about AI and leadership? Reach out to us directly by emailing ai@dannydenhard.com or hit message below

On LinkedIn

• Danny on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannydenhard/
• Jonathan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wagstaffe/
  

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Thanks for listening today

Danny Denhard & Jonathan Wagstaffe