I wonder how ChatGPT and other chatbot programs are going to affect the SEO and Digital Marketing industries?

Submitted by addictedposter t3_zsgvc3 in singularity

I've been in the SEO and content strategy game for a while now. Recently, I've been messing around with ChatGPT and at first, I was convinced AI could never replace what most freelancers do. But after trying it out with tasks like writing title tags and meta descriptions, then having it write page copy, and even explain SEO strategy to me, I started to worry.

Then I read this article saying SEO is Dead. It's got me questioning my job security.

On another thought, I realized ChatGPT's easiest use case is probably churning out clickbait and SEO articles. AI can't do everything, someone still has to give it prompts and tidy up the copy. It still needs a little help with structure.

I also feel that with the existence of ChatGPT, The internet is going to be filled with ChatGPT-related content. My guess is that SEO is gonna change big time soon. How we search for info is gonna be totally different in the near future.

I think I need to focus on delivering a solid SEO strategy. I need to get up to speed with ChatGPT and learn how to use it like a pro. This way I can level up my role and not get behind with technology.

So far, what do you all think? Do you think this could hurt other people’s careers or will it help them out instead and make content faster and better?

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pisspoorplanning t1_j184qfh wrote

Hopefully it kills SEO the same way SEO killed the internet.

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addictedposter OP t1_j187213 wrote

More like “changed” the internet.

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ChocolatesaurusRex t1_j18f39j wrote

No, they used the correct word. The internet we had is essentially dead the way the phone is dead. You can assume almost any unsolicited piece of content is an ad the way you can assume every unsolicited phone call is an ad.

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paroya t1_j18gkf8 wrote

if "changed" you mean how we're all dependent on reddit searches for quality information now; and that too is disappearing because facebook groups are taking over the discussion forum and you can't properly search facebook groups nor effectively compile information.

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sickvisionz t1_j18lk5o wrote

I agree more with "changed" than "killed" as well. Maybe 80s internet was different but I've been online since the mid 1990s and that internet definitely wasn't killed.

Forums are still around (we're talking on one). Chat turned into social media. You can still learn things via websites. Search is infinitely better. I'm still able to post music online and get feedback from others. I'm not really sure what got killed. All the stuff I ever used the internet for is still around at either the same quality level or undeniably improved.

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Tip_Odde t1_j18rvk0 wrote

Oh, you're way way way wrong. Search is NOT infinitely better, its objectively worse. Its flooded with ads.

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sickvisionz t1_j1br8ue wrote

The ads are labeled as ads and there is ad-blocker. When I search something, I usually get what I want in the first five results. Compare that to the 90s where I'd go pages deep or have to be like "I must be using the wrong terms"

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Tip_Odde t1_j1bui02 wrote

The top three ads are and you are a liar or you were 7.

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sickvisionz t1_j1bvl2t wrote

The internet works for me. Maybe you don't know how to use it.

I bought a game called Octophath Traveler. I faced a tough enemy named Omar and died. I wanted to know how to beat him. I went to google and typed "Octopath Traveler Omar". The first result was was a wiki page about the character and the second result was a page with all of his weaknesses.

The internet works for me. I don't know what you all are doing to where you can never find anything that you search for but I can. You're probably an idiot or something.

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Tip_Odde t1_j1bxu5i wrote

lol oh you sweet sweet summer child, you dont even know what youre missing.

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Ok-Brilliant-1737 t1_j1agqh9 wrote

The problem of the 1990 is that all 13500 articles on a certain topic all originated in one or two often laughably wrong academic papers. That problem is still around.

But now, you have to wade through 50 ad sites before even getting to the first real article. And the ads hound you for weeks. This is not an improvement

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IonizingKoala t1_j1b6nf1 wrote

I keep hearing the concern of ads getting brought up. Am I the only one who feels it's way down the list of concern?

I can find any academic article without encountering a single ad. Ads are annoying, sure, and the whole tracking thing is unsettling, but it doesn't significantly destroy my ability to use the internet the same way the proliferation of deep web (reddit, twitter, facebook, tiktok etc.) does.

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anaIconda69 t1_j17yljb wrote

Existing companies for SEO-writing and checking bots will soon upgrade to new models and offer an even better product. These bots will write 95% solid articles/product descriptions, and a human will at most check for false claims, just a quick pass, then write a catchy headline that doesn't sound like something written by an AI. Job done.

SEO as a thing will be dead soon though.

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Swiper_aplha t1_j1820b2 wrote

>SEO as a thing will be dead soon though.

It's business related but, how will a GPT type AI-based SE generate revenue for the company that made it as the current gen SEs mainly rely on sponsored links and Ads? Also, these new ai based tools are currently many times more expensive than a regular SE when it comes to executing a search request

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anaIconda69 t1_j183iro wrote

This is a matter of adoption and scaling. I don't know when it will happen, but as more people begin to use AI assistants, websites will have to adapt to new ways of searching for information online.

I'm sure Google will find a new (perhaps better) way to monetize, if I had to guess it would be by having a Google search assistant serve you a short answer to whatever query you enter, then a selection of websites with more information. Those websites would pay to be included in the selection, or otherwise optimize for being naturally selected by AI assistants.

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Swiper_aplha t1_j189caz wrote

Yes you're right and Google is already taking the same path from what I see. For some search queries like for a place or a personality it shows info in a modular format like a collection of popular and most searched about them with an android 13 theme.

If this pay-to-be-shown model is adopted by Google then from where will the websites make money? Currently, they make most of it by serving ads the web page. Hope most of the info on the internet doesn't get paywalled

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anaIconda69 t1_j18l8s3 wrote

Maybe the AI would give just a little info and offer to send you to those websites, and once there you'd get ads. Unless that model changes as well.

I've left the mass advertising industry a few years ago so I'm not sure how PPC ad campaigns are performing these days. Heard the banner blindness effect is progressing and advertising increasingly relies on trust and image.

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addictedposter OP t1_j187pow wrote

Maybe Google will even make their own bot? Or could be that every tech company will join in on the chatbot bandwagon like it usually does. Then educators will even add how to use chatbots for “optimizing their websites lol. Instead of “how to SEO” type of content.

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Swiper_aplha t1_j188pso wrote

Google assistant is halfway there I guess, they're testing out a lot of AI models from what I've read and have released a beta called imagen that can do text to image

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anaIconda69 t1_j18lfym wrote

You're spot on. Google has a reputation to uphold so I wouldn't expect a ChatGPT clone from them. But they will answer - time will show how.

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addictedposter OP t1_j186z8h wrote

Kinda sad that’s how people put it. Or will SEO evolve instead? Like I wonder what’s going to happen to all the optimization of metadescriptions, CTAs, headlines etc. Like if everyone can be a “copywriter” or “blog writer” thanks to AI, maybe there’s going to be a newer way of “optimizing” a website or social media platform.

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AdditionalPizza t1_j189eld wrote

There was a deleted tweet from a venture capitalist that was posted by someone (reddit post was removed by mods here). Some of the more advanced information seemed to be factually incorrect, but it also claimed Google's Sundar Pichai called "code red" over chatGPt and most likely the future with GPT4. The New York Times (archive link for paywall), among others, published an article like the next day about the code red.

What it appears to mean is Google is in a somewhat critical situation of do-or-die when it comes to search. Monetizing an AI will be difficult, and search ads are the core of their revenue. They are all hands on deck now, channeling brain power to this situation.

Now back to that tweet, within the same point it also said Microsoft will incorporate gpt into Bing by next year. If that's true, then yes not only is SEO going to non-exist or be vastly different, but it is also happening extremely soon. However keep in mind, while that tweet had the code red call correct, it also claimed GPT4 will be AGI and Turing complete. So it could have just been someone that heard about the code red a day earlier than it was announced, and then fabricated the tweet to extend legitimacy to the rest of the points in it.

I'm my opinion, judging by the fact the VC mentioned earlier did in fact tweet this and delete it, I'm inclined to partially believe some of the more general information in it. But it sounds like a CEO hyping their own chat bot (Sam Altman) but I think Microsoft will probably incorporate GPT4 into Bing somehow, and Google will be forced to do the same to stay relevant.

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raubhill t1_j1cfjib wrote

assess the search results in an chatbot generated article rather than a list of links.

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genshiryoku t1_j185rdk wrote

I think Search Engines themselves are most likely going to implode or disrupted.

A lot of people have switched to ChatGPT for explanations and questions that normally would have been the area of Search Engines.

So instead of thinking about ChatGPT populating search engines with SEO techniques and clickbait. I think they'll cut out the middle-man and internet searches will primarily be done through AI conversations.

I say this as a very senior person working in IT. You are right about questioning your job security. Think about how SEO would work in an AI search world. The only viable technique I can think of right now is to populate the training set (The internet) with terms to such a degree that the trained AI model makes correlation between certain terms and whatever you want to optimize for for marketing reasoning. Although that would be considered a bug by the AI designers and thus not a long term strategy.

I will give you the same advice I'm currently giving to junior software developers: Try to switch careers away from digital manipulation of data and add a physical dimension to your job if you still want to have a career in 5-10 years time.

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addictedposter OP t1_j188q03 wrote

Ah… such is the world of freelance and the tech world. What do you mean by physical dimension though? Like physical jobs? I used to be an all around handyman before I was doing PPC, SEO and SMM. If worse comes to worse, that might be where it’s at… or just keep upskilling like how every freelancer is doing.

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genshiryoku t1_j189nmi wrote

Something related to your area of expertise that has a physical dimension to it. Like actually having to physically be doing something for SMM.

If you're upskilling be sure to think about this physical factor. For example in the IT sector embedded software engineers have a leg up on general software engineers because there is a physical component to it which is hard(er) to automate away.

If you're thinking about continuing the SMM way then be sure to specialize in more abstract/unconventional ways that add a physical dimension to it. So not just merely thinking about typed text through social media or written strategies.

I'm not an expert on marketing though so you yourself will have to think and find out on your how own how to navigate this disruption.

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stupefyme t1_j1873zq wrote

You and everyone you know will be out of job sooner or later. What you do with this fact, is your choice now

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addictedposter OP t1_j18908v wrote

Right. So maybe the right thing to do is evolve and upskill like most freelancers do? Have multiple remote skills? Or heck, go back to being a handyman again. I wouldn’t like it but if worse comes to worse, then that’s the direction it’s headed.

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noellarkin t1_j187uxt wrote

The thing with marketing is it's a red queen race against banner blindness. Take the popularity of VSLs, for example, a decade ago the black-text-on-white-background + narration VSL was a go-to marketing tactic for landing pages. It fell out of favour after Youtube became popular and made hosting videos online a one-click affair. People developed banner-blindness for VSLs because they just weren't that special anymore.

What tools like ChatGPT do in the marketing context is they make 'authority content' easy enough to produce at scale that it would inevitably get devalued, similar to what happened to VSLs ten years ago. ChatGPT will do it for textual content, and models like StableDiffusion (as well as their inevitable video derivates) will do the same for video and images. In a situation where people are confronted with an excess of media, they just 'tune it out' over time. So one possible answer is marketing tactics will become more aggressive, perhaps using more extreme variations of shock marketing, or more invasive methods like DM spamming etc.

IMO the other factor influencing the future of SEO is search engines will have to adapt ASAP - - hard to do, since over the past 10 years they've been putting a lot of effort at making relevant content an important SEO signal (as opposed to blindly ranking websites that have been blasted with automated links) - - now with ChatGPT, it seems relevant content will be just as poor an authority indicator as thousands of spammy links. How Search engines deal with this issue will determine what happens to SEOs - - they may go down the 'curation' route ie only promote websites that have been cited in authority publications like famous news sites, they may heavily promote sites that have social signals, they may choose to do nothing at all.

Having said that, I do feel that ChatGPT has it's limitations. It's very good at content creation on general topics, but if you try prompting it with niche-specific questions that require some amount of technical expertise, its often less than satisfactory. If you decide to do SEO/marketing only for a specific niche and become a domain expert in that niche, ChatGPT, or any other 'general purpose' AI that has been trained on a public dataset may not be as much of a threat.

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genshiryoku t1_j18aj4q wrote

I really like your comment.

The curated website list you describe is how things used to work with places like Jeeves.com before google took off. I work in the industry long enough to have worked with that.

I don't think we'll return to curated lists on search engines. Instead I think the Search Engine itself will be disrupted and slowly go away. Most junior software engineers working under me seem to be using ChatGPT as a google. Both asking for information, solutions and explanations to bugs in their code, highly preferring it over something like google+stackoverflow.

I think this is a sign towards where things are headed. Search Engines are probably going to get replaced with "AI-search" that probably will get a better name. Essentially like how elderly people already use google right now. Just ask the AI something in human language and the AI will give all relevant information. It's likely that visiting websites directly won't be done by humans at all and instead the AI is going to go and extract all relevant information, make screenshots and videos of whatever you want to find/read/consume.

This is probably going to be web 3.0. A human interfacing with the AI and themselves never actually using the internet and instead all internet traffic goes through this AI middleman. I could see this happening over the next 5-10 years time.

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noellarkin t1_j18cib0 wrote

It's interesting you say that devs have switched over to using ChatGPT instead of Google + StackOverflow - - one of the things I like about StackOverflow is it gives me multiple answers, as well as a conversation between users debating the merits/demerits of an approach. I tried implementing ChatGPT in my own coding workflow, but my own processes and libraries are already in place, so ChatGPT didn't have the necessary 'context' available to give me code that worked for me.

I'm also wondering about niche specific disruptions. For example, as ChatGPT improves, keywords and search phrases related to coding for beginners may shift over from Google Search to ChatGPT, since the output required for many of these queries is a code snippet with minimal context. That definitely eats into Google's ad revenue for ads related to "Learn Python" etc courses that may have been in the search results for those keywords and phrases.

Many searches related to academia/liberal arts may also shift from Google to ChatGPT, for example, any "wiki"esque informational search terms.

I don't see many transactional searches being done with ChatGPT, because searching for something to buy usually includes a step where alternatives are vetted and compared, reviews are consulted, their legitimacy assessed etc - - if I need a new coffee machine, I don't see myself asking ChatGPT for it, although I may ask ChatGPT for "what are some essential features in a good coffee maker" - - this means that the abundance of affiliate sites that used to mass-generate informational articles as a prelude to an affiliate CTA may have something to worry about.

You're right in that search engines may incorporate elements of the ChatGPT UI, and IMO they've already started doing this, with things like knowledge panels and Q&A snippets - - they may decide to refine things further and make the search results more 'conversational', different UI, same backend.

Of course, just like social media and search engines became intermediates over the past decade, becoming middlemen instead of people visiting websites directly, AI interfaces can add a second layer of intermediation of online information, that would be the worst possible outcome.

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FilthyCommieAccount t1_j1atz8s wrote

Imagine multiple versions of chatgpt finetuned for different things. You ask the bot for a product recommendation and invisibly behind the scenes your prompt is switched over from the general question answering bot to one specifically trained on product recommendation. It scours through mountains of product reviews and spits out a top 5 for you. Then you tell it those products don't have x feature that you are looking for and it uses that info to update your results.

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Baron_Samedi_ t1_j185ju8 wrote

The future of the internet without some sort of deliberate intervention:

A gray goo of AI generated pseudo-content, where original texts, artworks, and other human made cultural artifacts are only displayed in pay-walled gardens.

Tough luck.

You might as well thank corporations in advance for their hostile takeover of our cultural heritage. We dressed our data up real nice before taking it for a stroll in the digital commons, and the insatiable bastards kidnapped it and are having their way with it.

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addictedposter OP t1_j1884fm wrote

It’s like in the AI generated art scene. A lot of artists don’t want to submit their art for AI. It’s like handing over their piece of work to “upgrade” the AI that corporations are making.

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Baron_Samedi_ t1_j188lwz wrote

"Upload your art to our platform", they said. "You will reach new audiences and increase your sales."

Later that day: "If you didn't want us to sell your labor to AI factory owners, you shouldn't have uploaded your work to our platform. This is on you."

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noellarkin t1_j1898fg wrote

Yeah, this comment really nailed it. The first few decades of the internet were amazing for the amount of free expression and communication that was encouraged, up until the point that corporations realized they could not only scrape and monetize all that data through targeted advertising, but also create ML algorithms that could utilize those datasets to generate limitless content.

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____cire4____ t1_j18ru2s wrote

If you've worked in SEO for a long time, you know that you shouldn't put much stock in those "SEO is dead" articles that come out literally each and every year (I've been in SEO for 15 years, so I've seen them often).

That being said, I also really hate SEO, and I hope/believe that AI generated content will indeed change the way we do SEO. But in my opinion even as an "SEO" I think most of the tactics are b.s. nowadays already. Keywords and properly formatted content snippets are the very basic, least important (again, IMO) factors I am seeing these days.

You need solid user experience, simple paths for both search engines and users to navigate, and a site that doesn't take more than 2-3 seconds to load. The rest of it is just old school tactics that probably do not handle the weight they used to. Let ChatGPT take over for writing my "SEO content" so I can get back to helping with real content strategy and creative.

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Tip_Odde t1_j18ryqw wrote

I dont want to alarm you but your job is toast. 100% toast. So is mine though, I work in TV. Change fields baby.

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Pro_RazE t1_j18d2i7 wrote

I am actually graduating next year and thought I'd go into Digital Marketing field, SEO being my first option. Now seeing all this I think my job might not last for 5 years even if I do something other than SEO.

I feel Google will take action soon enough to stay relevant and that might put millions of people out of their jobs all over the world.

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MindstoneHQ t1_j180qkz wrote

It's no secret that ChatGPT and other chatbots are changing the game for SEO and digital marketing professionals.

With the ability to automate certain tasks and provide real-time customer support, chatbots can free up time for the human experts to focus on higher-level strategy and analysis. Just be sure to strike the right balance between automation and the personal touch - after all, humans are still the ultimate marketing machines. For now.

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Baron_Samedi_ t1_j185ym6 wrote

This way of thinking is amusing.

"Cheer up, mate! Joining the new mass unemployed is going to give you a great opportunity to focus on higher level strategy and analysis."

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addictedposter OP t1_j187eou wrote

Yeah. It’s still going to be awhile before AI will truly capture people’s voices or mimic them. Too much automation (ranging from email automations, scheduling tools, now this time even copywriting and blogging) and still things need to be audited by humans. Even production factories where most of the work is being handled by robots are still being maintained. Only difference is there’s fewer workers. Same thing is probably going to happen to the content writers… massive layoffs. I’ll just need to be ready.

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pm_me_your_kindwords t1_j189aod wrote

I’m pretty sure the comment you were responding to was, in fact, written by chatbot. I could be wrong, but it does tend to have a certain voice to it.

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addictedposter OP t1_j189lra wrote

Oh right it might have. Damn We just don't know who's chatbot and who's not anymore lol.

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Infamous_Alpaca t1_j19dual wrote

Me: Can you write me 800 blog posts of what kind of human foods can dogs eat?

ChatGPT: Sure! Here is 800 blog posts of what kind of human foods can dogs eat...

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[deleted] t1_j19ng4m wrote

I like the idea of an AI that can compose recipes, but with the option of omitting the comprehensive autobiography of the author.

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nikelz t1_j19ihte wrote

I'm not sure if you read that article, but it is just saying that instead of SEO it will be LLMO which is just replacing Search Engines with AI (LLMs). Frankly this change is already underway with Google's algorithms focusing more and more on ML in the past 2 years.

There will never be a shortage of companies trying to maximize their visibility from a digital aspect. That part will not change. People will still need services, products, and many things that you are not thinking of. SEOs will change to LLMOs and just optimize for LLMs instead of current search algorithms.

The part that may change is the role of search engines in our day to day. We don't know how it will change or what the future looks like, but marketing will always be a thing.

Be proactive and adapt as things change. The fear mongering isn't going to help anyone.

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TamasSimon t1_j1aku4r wrote

SEO was bullshit to begin with. If you have quality original content then search engines will find it. They're actually really good at that. I am concerned that AIs will create and consume more of the content online than humans

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jason_bman t1_j1aenlq wrote

This is a question I just asked in the "Google Code Red" thread, but what is the incentive for you to continue creating websites if a tool like ChatGPT is just going to scrape your info and present it in a cleaner/shorter answer to the end user? The user would never even need to visit your site.

I've worked in SEO quite a bit, too. So this thought came to mind since the whole point of SEO is to get people to visit your site. Every question that ChatGPT answers for a user is a potential user visit to your site taken away.

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jsseven777 t1_j1ar41r wrote

Anybody who is rushing into AI articles has forgotten about Panda and Penguin updates. Everybody who pumps out SEO articles with this strategy is going to get purged - but only after the strategy works for 1-2 years until Google’s SERPS get overrun by this content, and they are forced to take action because of low quality SERPS.

In a year or two every one of us will be able to tell the difference between ChatGPT articles and human written ones. ChatGPT has some pretty obvious tendencies in its writing. Those may get worked out overtime nullifying what I just said, but I think people will evolve to be able to tell the difference once they stat flooding the market like other SEO content strategies have in the past (ie article farms).

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Secure_Way_1726 t1_j1asqli wrote

As of now just find business models like that of lensa ai and capitalize on the ai wave.

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FrostingNo2221 t1_j1b5upy wrote

Thanks for sharing this article, apart from the ChatGPT and search engine itself, it's quite interesting that this article with such thought was coming from someone who's not doing ChatGPT and predicting the future of search engines, very interesting angle tho. Since the launch of the LLMs, the threat to quite a lot of basic content-generating work is quite obvious and terrifying from what I observe.

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SEOProdigy t1_j1kli6l wrote

It sounds like you have some mixed feelings about the potential impact of ChatGPT on the SEO industry. It's understandable to have concerns about the potential for AI to replace certain tasks that are currently done by freelancers, but it's important to keep in mind that AI is not capable of replacing the strategic thinking and decision-making skills of a human SEO professional. While ChatGPT may be able to assist with certain tasks, such as writing title tags and meta descriptions, it still requires human input and oversight to function effectively.
Don't believe the hype, man – SEO is far from dead. It's an ever-evolving field and sure, the way we search for stuff online might change, but the principles of SEO will always be relevant. As long as you've got a solid SEO strategy in place – one that's based on a deep understanding of user behavior and search engine algorithms – you'll always be in a good position for a successful online presence.
While it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and tools, it is equally important to continue developing your skills and expertise as an SEO professional. If you want to succeed in the fast-moving world of digital marketing, you gotta make sure you've got a solid SEO strategy in place and know how to use tools like ChatGPT like a boss. That way, you'll be set up for success no matter what changes come your way.

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Next-Barnacle7823 t1_j2871ye wrote

Chat GPT can help you write the metas and content. But it's totally depended on how you provide input to it, If you are smart in asking things then it will be smart and accurate to provide you the answer.

In short words, it will not replace, it will help if you ask right.

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faizajamil t1_j28izjc wrote

SEO is on ICU [10 years]

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rasikasampath t1_j18hynp wrote

most helpful and most tricks.

thank you so much sir. grate technology.

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