The short version

Lily Ray predicted on February 6, 2024: “AI search is absolutely disruptive, but it’s not the death of SEO. We’ve seen this story before with every major search update. SEOs will adapt to optimizing for AI‑generated answers and new SERP features instead of disappearing.” Verdict: Called it. SEO spending and hiring have remained robust; agencies and in‑house teams have shifted…

Prediction by

Lily Ray

On February 6, 2024

“AI search is absolutely disruptive, but it’s not the death of SEO. We’ve seen this story before with every major search update. SEOs will adapt to optimizing for AI‑generated answers and new SERP features instead of disappearing.”

Follow-up

SEO spending and hiring have remained robust; agencies and in‑house teams have shifted focus toward content quality, entity optimization, and visibility within AI‑generated answers. Early evidence (e.g., traffic volatility around Google’s AI Overviews) shows disruption and redistribution of traffic, but not a collapse of SEO as a practice, consistent with Ray’s prediction.

From the High Caliber AI network — see the AI for PR module in the course.