How to Make SEO Work When Everyone’s Using AI in 2025

If you’re serious about search engine optimization (or just want to sound clever at your next strategy meeting), this is the paper you should’ve read yesterday.

Search has changed. Again. And this time, it’s not a minor algorithm tweak or a new batch of best practices. It’s a fundamental shift in how people look for information and how platforms serve it to them.

We’re no longer optimising for search engines. We’re optimising for answer engines.

Google may still be king, but it’s now sharing the throne with ChatGPT, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and whatever tool your customers happen to trust today. In this new landscape, there’s a chance that a lot of your content can technically be written by AI. But if you want it to work, it probably shouldn’t be.

01 / SEO Isn’t Dead. But It Has Evolved Out of Its Awkward Phase

There was a time when a half-decent blog post with a few backlinks could elbow its way onto page one. That time has passed.

With Google’s AI-powered Search Generative Experience now rolling out, users are getting answers before they even see your link. Impressions? Up. Clicks? Not so much. Welcome to the age of the zero-click search, where the real win isn’t visibility, it’s usability. If your content doesn’t convert or contribute, it might as well not exist.

02 / Long-Tail Keywords Still Matter, But Only If They’re Grown Up

Long-tail keywords have always been a quiet MVP of SEO, but now they’re essential. Not in the vague, “increase organic reach” sense more in the “cut through AI summary noise and be the answer someone actually needs” sense.

Think four words or more. Think specificity. Think intent. The kind of search phrases that suggest a human being is at the other end, ready to act. For example:

  • Best ergonomic office chair under $300

  • Quiet cafés with Wi-Fi in Sydney CBD

  • Dog trainers for anxious German Shepherds

These are search terms with a pulse. They indicate clarity, urgency, and crucially, a higher chance of conversion. These are the types of queries that AI tools love to pull into featured answers, too.

03 / Write for Humans Who Happen to Use Google

Gone are the days of stuffing a blog post with keywords and calling it strategy. Today’s SEO lives at the intersection of relevance and usefulness. Whether someone is on Reddit, reading a product review, or asking ChatGPT why their houseplants keep dying, they’re looking for real answers.

So give them one. Anticipate the question behind the query, and focus on delivering a solution that’s not just specific and helpful, but genuinely valuable and relevant to their real problem. If your content feels like it was written for a thinking person with a job to do, you’re on the right track.

04 / EEAT Is Not Optional

Google and increasingly, AI tools are looking for content that shows Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust. If you’ve done the thing you’re writing about, say so. If you have credentials, mention them. If your website still looks like it was built in 2011, fix that.

EEAT isn’t just an acronym to sprinkle into pitch decks. It’s the framework that separates credible content from generic noise. And in a world where AI can simulate tone and structure, what it can’t do is replicate lived experience.

This is where human-created content still outperforms AI copy by a wide margin. Not because it’s flashier, but because it’s anchored in reality. Tell stories. Share results. Be honest.

05/ Links Still Work Because Trust Still Matters

Backlinks never left. If anything, they’ve become more valuable.

When AI summarises a topic, it tends to pull from well-referenced pages. Pages that are linked to, cited, and considered trustworthy by other sources. Google does the same. So while link-building might not be trendy, it’s still strategic.

The checklist here is simple:

  • Link to high-authority sources.
  • Use citations where relevant.
  • Build solid internal links. (Automate it with tools like Genspark or Manus if needed.)

A well-linked site sends strong signals to algorithms and readers alike: “This content is connected. You can trust it.”

06/ Clean Architecture Is the Unsung Hero of Rankings

If you have six blog posts fighting over the same keyword, Google doesn’t see topical depth, it sees confusion. AI sees redundancy. Users see clutter.
Instead, go deep on one strong page per topic. Make it the authority. Use internal links to add context or expand on subtopics but avoid cannibalising your own traffic with duplicate intent. Clean architecture means clearer signals, and clearer signals mean higher rankings. Simple.

07/ Stop Thinking Google Is the Only Game in Town

Modern search happens everywhere. Someone might find your content through a Pinterest pin, a TikTok video, or an AI chatbot summarising expert opinions.

The best strategy is multi-platform. Repackage your ideas in formats that suit each channel. Think of it like syndication with strategy: the same core insights, adapted for where your audience actually lives. SEO is no longer about ranking on Google—it’s about being discovered anywhere.

08/ The Funnel Still Exists It Just Looks Different

Your SEO needs to cover both ends of the journey:

  • Top of Funnel: Educational blogs, how-tos, definitions, FAQs. Useful. Visible. Searchable.

  • Bottom of Funnel: Product comparisons, case studies, high-intent landing pages. These still drive revenue, even if the journey starts with an AI summary.

The trick is to build content that can survive and shine outside of your website. Will it make sense if quoted by ChatGPT? Will it hold up in a Reddit thread? If yes, you’re doing it right.

08/ The State of SEO: Still Alive, Just a Bit More Selective

Here’s where we land: SEO is not dead. But lazy SEO is.

Content that’s vague, generic, or uninspired is seeing a measurable decline: down 34.5%, by some accounts. That’s not bad news; it’s good news. It means the game is shifting in favour of real quality and genuine value, not cheap tricks or keyword stuffing.

If your content has real insight, strong structure, strategic keywords, and links that matter, it will still win. In fact, it’ll win more because the field has thinned. AI can replicate the basics. But originality? Context? Relevance? That’s where you come in.

If You Only Remember Five Things:


  • Prioritise long-tail keywords with real, actionable intent

  • Write with depth, experience, and personality EEAT is non-negotiable

  • Use internal and external links strategically (and smartly)

  • Embrace AI tools for automation, not authorship

  • Distribute your content across platforms not just Google

The best content today doesn’t just show up in search results it solves real problems. It earns attention by delivering maximum, genuine value to the reader. It’s not about hacking or finding the easiest way into the system anymore. It’s about serving the people who are searching.

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