Every few months someone asks if AI will make SEO obsolete. The truth? Not yet—and maybe not ever. AI can crank out research, outlines, and even some content faster than we ever could, but it still hallucinates, makes bad calls, and can’t run a strategy by itself. The real win is using AI as an accelerator: it speeds up the grunt work so we can focus on strategy, buyer targeting, and campaigns that actually drive revenue. In this post, we’ll break down where AI fits, where it fails, and how to use it to level up beyond rankings.
Table of Contents
Can AI Replace SEO? Impact on Search Strategies
AI can automate research, outlines, and parts of content creation. It can even help with basic keyword work. But it also hallucinates. It makes up facts. It can promise things it cannot deliver. That is why we still need a human in the loop. We must guide the AI, check what it writes, and make sure it does not go off the rails.
“AI can automate a lot—research, content outlines, even some link analysis. But if you let it run without human strategy, it goes off the rails.”
So we treat AI as an accelerator. It speeds up tasks. It frees time. But we do not hand over the whole job to it. We keep control of strategy, message, and conversion work.
From Local SEO to Local Marketing Professionals
SEO used to be about ranking a page for a keyword. Now the field is broader. We believe SEO should be part of a larger marketing role. We should think like local marketing professionals who know copywriting, sales, and direct response tactics.
Ranking is one thing. Turning a visitor into a buyer is another. That means we need to know our buyers. We need buyer personas and content that speaks to each persona at each stage of the buying cycle.
Buyer Personas and Buying Stages
- Top of funnel: people looking for information. They might not even know they have a problem yet.
- Middle of funnel: people know they have a problem and are looking at options.
- Bottom of funnel: people know the solution and are choosing a provider.
- Post-sale: retention, repeat sales, and turning customers into advocates.
Each persona and each stage needs different language and different calls to action. AI can help create the content fast, but we must design the strategy and pick the right offers and tests.
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How a New Tool Uses 63 Language Models
We are testing a new tool that queries 63 different language models. The tool starts with a seed term, like “tree service,” and then finds related terms. It sorts them into tier one (closely related) and tier two (one step further away).
The tool shows how many of the 63 models returned each related term. If a related term shows up in 55 out of 63 models, we know it is strongly connected to the seed term. The tool then suggests a content structure using those tiered terms.
This gives us a new type of keyword research. It is not just raw search volume. It is about semantic closeness across many language models. That helps us create content that matches how different AI systems understand the topic.
How We Use AI to Build Buyer Personas and Targeted Campaigns
Here is a simple workflow we use:
- Pick a seed topic or industry term.
- Run it through the tool to get tier one and tier two terms and the frequency matrix.
- Identify buyer segments that appear in the outputs. For example: homeowners, HOAs, property managers, or golf course managers for a tree service business.
- Create tailored content for each buyer persona, and for each funnel stage.
- Use that content in cold email, social outreach, ads, or direct mail.
- Measure conversions and tweak messaging based on results.
This process lets us build direct response campaigns. These campaigns ask for a specific action and are designed to convert, not just to rank.
Examples: Tree Service, HOAs, and Golf Courses
We tested tree service as an example. The tool uncovered buyer segments that we did not think much about before:
- Homeowners and neighborhood HOAs
- Property management companies for large residential or commercial properties
- Golf courses and country clubs that manage large grounds
Each of these groups has different needs and buying habits. A golf course manager cares about how trees affect play and safety. An HOA cares about tree trimming schedules, liability, and cost. We can write content and outreach that speak to each group's concerns.
That kind of targeted messaging converts better than a generic “best tree service” page.
Publishing Branded Content on External Platforms
We recommend publishing supporting content across many platforms. Different language models and chat systems pull data from different places. The more places we are in, the better our chances of being surfaced by the AI the user is using.
Examples of platforms to use:
- Google Sites
- Medium
- Blogger, Tumblr, Weebly
- Extra branded blogs and social platforms
Do not publish the same money page over and over. Instead, create supporting posts tied to a campaign, a location, or a buyer persona. These posts can link back to the main site and help build topical authority for that topic and place.
Publishing a lot of targeted content also gives AI chat systems better data to answer queries. If only one contractor has detailed content about “golf course tree maintenance” in an area, AI systems are more likely to recommend that contractor when asked.
Why Direct Mail and Offline Channels Still Matter
AI does not mean everything must be digital. Sometimes physical mail or in-person outreach converts better because it is less common now. Use AI to find the right targets and build the copy, then send physical mail or run local ads. This mix often beats pure SEO tactics.
SEO Is Becoming Search Everywhere Optimization
Search is no longer only Google. People use chat apps, social platforms, and many different AI interfaces. Each system has its own data sources. We should think of SEO as optimizing for search everywhere.
That means publishing widely, using persona-based copy, and making sure our brand shows up in multiple places. The goal is to be the obvious choice no matter which platform a person uses.
Practical Tips to Stay Relevant
- Keep a human in control. Use AI, but review and steer its output.
- Focus on buyer personas and funnel stages, not just rankings.
- Use tools that query multiple language models to find related terms.
- Create content for specific buyers like HOAs or golf course managers.
- Publish across many platforms to give AI systems multiple signals.
- Test direct response campaigns: cold email, social outreach, ads, and direct mail.
- Measure conversions, not just traffic. Track how many visitors become leads or customers.
FAQ
Can AI replace SEO completely?
No. AI can do much of the work, but it still needs human strategy. AI may replace some tasks, but the job of planning, testing, and converting customers is still human work.
How do we avoid AI hallucinations?
Always check facts and sources. Use multiple models and cross-check outputs. Keep humans reviewing copy before publishing or using it in ads.
Should we stop trying to rank in Google?
No. Ranking still matters for many queries. But we should not only focus on Google. We need to publish across other platforms and build content for chat apps and social systems too.
How do we publish without hurting our main site with duplicate content?
Use external branded blogs for supporting content. Keep the main site focused on your primary money pages. Use supporting posts to build topical authority and to point back to the main site.
What metrics should we track now?
Track conversions: leads, calls, form fills, bookings. Track campaign response rates for outreach. Track referral mentions across platforms and the number of branded pages you have on other sites.
Conclusion
AI is changing SEO, but it is not a replacement yet. We must shift from being only rank-chasers to being full marketing professionals. That means learning buyer personas, crafting direct response campaigns, and publishing widely across platforms. AI helps us do this faster, but we must provide the strategy and quality control.
We recommend using AI tools that query many language models, building persona-based content for every stage of the funnel, and publishing supporting content across multiple sites. If we do this, we will stay relevant and get better results than only chasing rankings.
We encourage you to try these steps and keep testing. The future will reward teams that combine human strategy with AI speed.