It’s a question we never thought we’d have to ask. But with Google’s recent announcements about AI Mode, SEO experts around the world are wondering if it’s time to throw in the towel. Spoiler: it’s not. Sure, AI Mode is changing the way we approach SEO, but it’s not about to kill it entirely. Keep writing unique, valuable content. Just focus on passages instead of pages, and adopt a few new tricks. You’ve got this.
What do we mean? Keep reading.
What’s this about AI Mode?
If you’ve been living under a rock, you might have missed Google’s AI Mode announcement. We’ll sum it up for you.
Now, when you search for something on Google, you can talk to it like an AI chatbot. Toss in a prompt, and it’ll give you summarized results, maps, links to relevant locations, ads—you name it. What it won’t give you is search results as we know them. No more ten blue links on a page. We’re living in the future now.
So why does this matter?
Metrics and Trackability
For one thing, Google Search Console combines AI Mode results with normal search results, meaning you can’t break the data out to see how you’re performing. While original reports showed AI Mode was untrackable, Google’s since confirmed this is a bug they’re working on. So if you’re one of the nerds who was worried about getting no data at all, you can relax. We’ll get data. It just won’t be pretty.
On top of condensed metrics in Google Search Console, Google Ads will also be combining data. That means you won’t know if your ads did particularly well in AI Mode vs. traditional search. Oh joy.
Search and SEO
As far as search is concerned, this changes everything…but that shouldn’t be a problem. True, 45% of SEO professionals polled recently said they’re terrified of AI Mode, but we don’t see why. Around here, our motto is to “find comfort in the uncomfortable,” and that’s just what AI Mode is—time to excel.
Remember Ask Jeeves? For those younger than the home computer, let us explain. Ask Jeeves was a search engine before Google took over. You’d go to the site and quite literally ask the website (Jeeves, like a butler, get it?) to tell you something. Then it’d spit out information. Was it as comprehensive as Google? No. Did it have ten results neatly arranged on a page? No. Did we all still use the hell out of it? Yes.
Since Google became king, we’ve all fallen into the same routine. Gone are full-sentence queries. Instead, we lazily search “food near me” (Jeeves would be appalled) and wait to see the restaurants pop up. We’re comforted by the Google Business links, first few Google Search Ad results, and the familiar little map that pops up.
But in the age of AI, that’s not how our brains are learning to work. We type out prompts to LLMs and ask them to spit out information like they’re our personal butler. So we find ourselves back where we started—asking an entity to give us information. Of course, now the results are pretty and customized and way ahead of Ask Jeeves’ time, but you get the picture.
AI Mode just makes sense. User behavior is changing. Younger demographics are expansively using TikTok and ChatGPT as search engines instead of Google. To get on top of that, Google had to change the rules.
And Now We Pivot
Imagine taking twenty years of data and lighting it on fire. Now you’ve got a good idea of what the SEO industry feels like right now. Everything we thought we knew has been thrown out the window. Does domain authority matter anymore? What about backlinks? What about our long-tail keyword strategy? These are all questions floating around. Luckily, these things have answers.
Way back in 2022, we wrote a blog about the basics of SEO. Here’s what we said:
Now, however, Google’s looking for content that has a lot of information users will find genuinely helpful about whatever topic they’re searching for…Essentially, good content = more people want to read it = it’s served up higher by Google…In short, if you’re an expert on a subject and your website reflects that, Google’s gonna love ya.
Ready to get in on a secret? This hasn’t changed. Even with AI Mode, your content should be unique, clear, valuable, and showcase your expertise. Best practices follow the same structure they have for years:
- Use bullet points
- Include quotes
- Make sure it’s easily skimmable
- Add pros and cons
- Showcase FAQs
- Write around a topic cluster, not just a single keyword
- Make sure your site’s indexable by crawlers
- Use structured data
- etc. etc. etc.
We could keep going, but does this sound familiar? It should. They’re the same rules we’ve all been following for the last decade or more. There are only a few new tricks to keep in mind.
Focus on Passages
AI Mode pulls passages from pages and summarizes that text. If you rely on all of the page’s content to get your point across, it’s not going to rank as well. Look at your site in chunks. If you pulled a passage out, does it tell the reader everything they need to learn? Does it address the topic you’re trying to capture? If not, revisit it.
The Power of the First Paragraph
The first paragraph of your page is the best place to start with passage-level SEO focus. Ask yourself:
- Is it clear what the topic of this page is?
- Do I address common questions or concerns?
- Are my responses clear or am I just shoving keywords wherever they’ll fit?
If the answers to any of those questions are “no,” scrap it and try again.
Avoid AI-Generated Content
This isn’t new, but it’s worth repeating. AI can sniff out AI. LLM don’t make new ideas—they just rearrange them. Don’t rely on AI content or quick fixes to elevate your SEO. Take the time to write your content with your own human brain. Sure, lean on your AI tools for support, but if you’re copy/pasting from ChatGPT, Google will know. And it won’t be pretty.
Keep Building Authority
To answer the questions from earlier, yes. Domain authority and backlinks do still matter. Brush off your PR strategy and start generating links from high-quality domains. They’ll pay off, just like the old times.
AI Mode fully launched on May 20. Since then, there have been a bunch of updates, responses from Google, roundtable discussions—you name it. We’re all learning how to navigate this new tool together, so what’s the plan? Keep an ear out. Actively engage with SEO spaces to learn more about what’s going on. Read SEO blogs. Ask your local nerd. Whatever your source, be sure you’re engaging with them.
Things are changing, and they’re changing fast. Don’t get left in the dust.
