Is AI Search SEO Leaving Greater Opportunities Behind?
AI search is reshaping SEO, but are marketers leaving greater opportunities behind? Explore what’s changing and how to stay ahead.
A recent Ahrefs podcast highlighted a critical discussion about the current focus of search engine optimization (SEO) efforts tailored for AI search platforms. The hosts raised concerns that businesses putting most of their energy into AI-driven SEO might inadvertently miss out on more lucrative opportunities elsewhere.
This conversation shines a light on a gap between what many expect AI search trends to deliver, and the tangible benefits companies could gain from other, sometimes neglected, channels.
YouTube’s Role as a Prime Search Engine
One eye-opening fact from the podcast is that YouTube holds the position of the world’s second-largest search engine by query volume, surpassed only by Google.
The sheer volume of searches typed into YouTube underscores why companies should prioritize video content strategies to drive traffic and build brand recognition.
Interestingly, despite YouTube’s immense user base, many businesses are instead rushing to optimize for AI answer engines such as Perplexity and ChatGPT. These platforms generate significantly less traffic compared to YouTube.
As Patrick Stox noted:
“YouTube is the second largest search engine. There’s a lot of focus on all these AI assistants. They’re in total driving less than 1% of your traffic. YouTube might be a lot more. I don’t know how much it’s going to drive traffic to the website, but there’s a lot of eyes on it. I know for us, like we see it in our signups, …they sign up for Ahrefs.
It’s an incredible channel that I think as people need to diversify, to kind of hedge their bets on where their traffic is coming from, this would be my first choice. Like go and do more video. There’s your action item. If you’re not doing it, go do more video right now.”
Tim Soulo, Ahrefs CMO, shared his perspective on the tendency to look years ahead for AI search dominance:
“I feel that a lot of people get fixated on AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity and optimizing for AI search because they are kind of looking three, five years ahead and they are kind of projecting that in three, five years, that might be the dominant thing, how people search.
…But again, if we focus on today, YouTube is much more popular than ChatGPT and YouTube has a lot more business potential than ChatGPT. So yeah, definitely you have to invest in AI search. You have to do the groundwork that would help you rank in Google, rank in ChatGPT and everything. …I don’t see YouTube losing its relevance five years from now. I can only see it getting bigger and bigger because the new generation of people that is growing up right now, they are very video oriented. Short form video, long form video. So yeah, definitely. If you’re putting all your eggs in the basket of ChatGPT, but not putting anything in YouTube, that’s a big mistake.”
Both experts agree that short-form video platforms like Instagram and TikTok also hold massive appeal, urging marketers to integrate video into their overall growth plans.
Importantly, SEOs should broaden their scope to include YouTube because it serves as a key source for reviews, tutorials, and product research activities pivotal to consumer decision-making.
Limitations of SEO, AEO, and GEO in Addressing Brand Challenges
The panel then tackled the misconception that SEO alone can resolve all visibility or reputation challenges. Both Patrick Stox and Tim Soulo emphasized that effective marketing outcomes start with quality products and services.
When a product causes dissatisfaction, negative sentiment spreads on social media platforms something that no SEO tactic can fully counterbalance.
Stox explained:
“We only have a certain amount of control, though. We can go and create a bunch of pages, a bunch of content. But if you have real issues, like if everyone suddenly is like Nvidia’s graphics cards suck and they’re saying that on social media and Reddit and everything, YouTube, there’s only so much you can do to combat that.
…And there might be tens of thousands of them and there’s one of me. So what am I gonna do? I’m gonna be a drop in the bucket. It’s gonna be noise in the void. The internet is still the one controlling the narrative. So there’s only so much that SEOs are gonna be able to do in a situation like that.
…So this is going to get contentious in a lot of organizations where you’re going to have to do something that the execs are going to be yelling, can’t you just change that, make it go away?”
He acknowledged the friction that arises within organizations when leadership expects SEO to “make it go away,” highlighting that some issues require fundamental changes beyond marketing fixes.
As an example, Ahrefs faced backlash over a pricing change despite transparent communication efforts. Ultimately, they acknowledged customer preferences by reverting changes, demonstrating that authentic product adjustments trump attempts to spin or optimize brand perception through SEO alone.
Key Insights for Businesses Navigating AI SEO and Beyond
- Striking a balance is essential: While investing in AI search optimization is important, companies should not neglect video and visual search channels that drive significant traffic today.
- Leverage YouTube’s immense marketing potential: As the second-largest search engine, YouTube offers unmatched visibility and engagement opportunities.
- Set practical expectations for SEO’s impact: SEO, AEO, and GEO play a role in boosting brand presence but cannot resolve product or service deficiencies that generate negative word-of-mouth.
- Sustainable AI search success: It depends on maintaining a strong, quality-driven brand reputation alongside technical optimization.
Bottom Line
By broadening focus beyond AI search hype and embracing proven platforms like YouTube alongside product excellence, businesses can position themselves for lasting growth in an evolving digital landscape.
You can watch the video at about the 36-minute mark here:
