Is SEO dead? In March, I argued it was dying. Now leading VC firms like a16z are making the same case.
The foundation of the $80 billion SEO market is cracking and something new is being born: LLM Optimization (LLMO). And the companies that understand this shift first will own a massive competitive advantage.
The Search Paradigm Has Already Changed
I’ve been watching this transformation accelerate over the past year, and the data is undeniable. Users aren’t clicking through search results anymore, they’re getting complete answers directly from AI.
Think about your own behavior. When was the last time you scrolled through multiple Google results for a simple question? Increasingly, we’re all turning to ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity and getting comprehensive answers in seconds.
The numbers tell the story: LLM search queries are now averaging 23 words instead of 4. Search sessions last 6 minutes instead of seconds. Users are having conversations with AI, not just typing keywords.
This is a fundamental rewiring of how information discovery works.
From Rankings to References
Traditional SEO was built on a simple premise: rank higher on the results page. But in an AI-first world, visibility means something entirely different. Success is no longer about where you appear, it’s about whether AI references you at all.
We’re moving from click-through rates to reference rates. The question isn’t “did they visit your page?” It’s “did the AI cite your content when answering the user’s question?”
I’ve been testing this personally. When I ask ChatGPT for marketing advice, which brands get mentioned? When I query Claude about content strategy, whose insights surface? The patterns are revealing and they have almost nothing to do with traditional SEO rankings.
The Platform Fragmentation Challenge
Here’s what makes this shift even more complex: search is fragmenting across platforms. Apple just announced that AI-native search engines like Perplexity and Claude will be built into Safari. Google’s distribution chokehold is breaking.
Users are searching on Instagram, asking Siri complex questions, querying AI assistants embedded in their work tools. Each platform has different models, different training data, different ways of surfacing information.
This fragmentation creates both challenge and opportunity. The old playbook of optimizing for one search engine is obsolete. But it also means early movers can establish presence across multiple AI platforms before the competition catches up.
Three Critical Shifts for Marketing Leaders
Structure Trumps Keywords
AI doesn’t care about keyword density or exact match phrases. It prioritizes content that’s well-organized, easy to parse, and dense with meaning.
The inverted pyramid style – leading with the answer, then supporting details – is becoming critical. I’ve seen our clients increase AI citations by 22x simply by restructuring existing content to be more AI-digestible.
Authority Signals Are Evolving
Traditional backlinks still matter, but AI is looking for different credibility signals. It favors content that cites reputable sources, includes author credentials, and demonstrates expertise through depth rather than keywords.
The old game of link building is being replaced by knowledge building. AI can detect thin, manipulative content instantly. Only genuinely valuable, well-researched content gets referenced.
Distribution Channels Multiplied
SEO focused on one channel: Google. LLMO requires presence across dozens of AI platforms, each with its own preferences and algorithms.
The brands winning are creating better content and ensuring that content is discoverable across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and the dozens of other AI interfaces emerging monthly.
We produced a detailed LLMO playbook that anyone can follow to improve their LLM brand visibility.
The Window Is Closing
Every day you delay adapting to this shift, competitors could be claiming your space in the AI layer. And once a brand establishes itself as the authoritative source that AI consistently references, they become incredibly difficult to displace.
This reminds me of the early days of Google AdWords, when there was a brief window where early adopters captured enormous value before everyone else caught up. We’re in that window now with LLMO.
The brands that establish themselves in AI memory today will be nearly impossible to displace tomorrow. Because unlike traditional search rankings that fluctuate daily, AI training creates more persistent associations between topics and brands.
You Need the Complete Loop
Most companies are approaching this backwards. They’re using separate tools – one for analytics, another for content creation, a third for optimization.
But winning requires owning the complete loop.
See the gaps. You need to know how AI currently references your brand. When someone asks ChatGPT about your industry, do you get mentioned? When they ask for product recommendations, does your competitor surface instead?
Most brands are flying blind here.
Fill the gaps. Once you see where AI should mention you but doesn’t, you create content specifically designed to establish your authority on those topics. Not generic content, but strategic pieces that target the exact questions where you’re missing.
Measure and iterate. AI changes constantly. New models, updated training data, evolving algorithms. You need continuous measurement to stay ahead.
At Contently, we’ve built exactly this. Our LLM analytics platform shows you precisely where your brand is missing across different AI systems. Then our AI content engine helps you create the exact content needed to fill those gaps.
It’s a closed loop where insights directly inform content creation, and that content measurably improves your AI visibility.
One client increased their AI citations by 22x this way. Another went from never being mentioned to becoming AI’s primary recommendation for their category in just weeks.
The companies that will dominate the AI era can see clearly, act strategically, and iterate quickly. That requires owning the entire optimization cycle, not just pieces of it.
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