SEO in the age of AI focuses on optimizing for intelligent algorithms that prioritize context, relevance, and user intent. Marketers must adapt with quality content, structured data, and AI-driven insights to stay visible in search results.

Search Engine Land has published a new guide, ‘SEO in the age of AI: Becoming the trusted answer’.

For years, I’ve updated my working definition of SEO to capture how the discipline has evolved.

Here’s how those definitions have changed over time:

  • 1998 to 2023
    • SEO is “the art and science of persuading search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo to recommend your content as the best solution to a user’s problem.”
  • By 2023
    • As the landscape expanded, SEO became “the art and science of persuading recommendation engines – including Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Siri, Alexa, and Copilot – to present your solution as the best in the market.”
  • In 2025
    • The definition has become simpler – and broader. Call it search engine optimization, generative engine optimization (GEO), answer engine optimization, or AI assistive engine optimization

SEO in the age of AI: Becoming the trusted answer

Search Engine Land

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