Introduction
The digital world is on the cusp of a revolutionary shift in how information is searched and processed. With the advent of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems like ChatGPT and Google’s AI-driven Bard, the traditional search engine model, which has long relied on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, is undergoing a transformative change. This article explores the implications of this shift, particularly focusing on how businesses must adapt to a landscape where AI becomes the primary medium of query processing, and the emerging trend of privatizing business data.
The Decline of Traditional SEO
For years, SEO has been the linchpin of digital marketing strategies, with businesses meticulously crafting their online content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Keywords, backlinks, and meta-tags have been the tools of the trade in a system largely dictated by algorithms of search engines like Google and Bing. However, as AI-driven search interfaces like ChatGPT gain prominence, these techniques are becoming less effective. AI systems process queries in a more conversational, contextual manner, focusing less on keywords and more on the intent and complexity of the query.
Another important aspect of optimizing for search engines is, writing high quality content using data, only to let AI quote the information for free, due to public nature of SEO content creation. It’s a chicken and an egg situation, and it may lead to more closed off and siloed systems being created in the near future.
Google’s New AI-Driven SERPs
Google’s announcement of incorporating its AI technology, Bard, into its search engine marks a significant shift in the search engine landscape. This integration signifies a move towards more intuitive, AI-driven search responses. Unlike traditional search algorithms, Bard aims to provide more comprehensive, conversational, and contextually relevant answers by understanding the nuances of user queries. This shift challenges the traditional SEO strategies that websites have relied on for visibility. Advertisements followed by optimized organic content search engine results pages (SERPs) showing up in the most important real estate of Google search results will get replaced by Bard’s curated content more and more.
This will turn Google into yet another “queried AI system” rather than its traditional placement as “internet’s entry point”. This would perhaps change how advertisement works dramatically, slowly erasing any form of advertisement that isn’t organic and out of place.
Impact on Business Data and Online Content
As AI becomes the primary medium for querying, the way businesses manage and present their online content is set to change drastically. One emerging trend is the inclination of companies to privatize their business data and content.
In an AI-dominated search landscape, the direct accessibility of information takes precedence. Therefore, businesses may now begin contemplating strategies to monetize their currently public data, potentially leading to a scenario where information is shared within closed systems or through direct partnerships with AI platforms.
The New Strategy: Adapting to AI Querying Behavior
To stay relevant in this changing landscape, businesses need to adapt their digital strategies to align with the new AI querying behavior. This involves:
- Building Moats Around Content: Writing publicly makes your content train AIs to give better responses, but may no longer necessarily convert to traffic like SEO days. Building clever moats around your content is more important than ever
- Building Moats Around Data: The same goes for your individual and business data. Monopolies that form big tech was created out of your data, and now it is helping creating AI monopolies. Profits from data usage has never been shared with the truthful owners of data, however new developments, such as Elon Musk’s X announcing ad revenue sharing can help individuals and companies earn what they deserve from their data.
To safeguard their valuable data, individuals and businesses must take proactive steps. This might involve championing the cause of decentralization, which offers a robust shield against data breaches and misuse.
Additionally, it’s crucial to actively engage in conversations with government bodies, advocating for stronger, more effective legislation. Such initiatives are essential in creating a safer digital environment, ensuring that both people and companies are adequately protected in this rapidly evolving digital age. - Creating Rich, Contextual Content: AI systems prioritize content that offers depth, context, and value to the user. Individuals and businesses should focus on producing comprehensive and informative content that goes beyond keyword optimization, where content is optimized to be picked up and referenced by AI, if it is at all possible.
- Leveraging Structured Data: Structured data, which helps AI understand the context and content of a webpage, will become more important. Individuals and businesses should ensure their websites use structured data effectively, perhaps in ways to keep its identity of origin intact, so that when AI quotes the data, the author is also mentioned.
- Engaging with AI Platforms: As AI systems become gatekeepers of information, forming partnerships or finding ways to directly feed information into these systems and finding ways to share revenue could be a matter of life and death. The opposite would be forming partnerships with other businesses, adopting usage of AI themselves to stay relevant and profitable, as opposed to new monopolies forming around using public content and data.
- Focusing on User Intent: Understanding and addressing the user’s intent in AI queries will be crucial. Content should be tailored to answer questions and provide solutions that users are actually seeking, again bearing in mind the limited author quotation AIs tend to suffer from.
- Exploring New Monetization Models: With the potential privatization of data, businesses should explore new models for monetizing their content and data, such as subscription-based access or exclusive partnerships with AI platforms. Competing with AI monopolies in new ways that enable self preservation for individuals and companies.
It May Be Mankind’s Last Stand
The integration of AI into the search engine model heralds a new era in the digital information landscape.
As AI systems like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard reshape how queries are processed and answered, businesses must rethink their digital strategies. Moving away from traditional SEO and adapting to a more content-focused, AI-friendly approach will be key to staying visible and relevant in this evolving digital ecosystem.
This shift offers both challenges and opportunities, but one thing is clear: the future of search is AI-driven, and individuals and businesses must adapt to thrive in this new reality.
If you have any ideas how individuals or companies can find creative ways to promote their content and data, please let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!
TLDR: Public content & data will keep feeding AIs for no returned reciprocity, therefore AI could be the end of open content and open data.
