Ahref's Patrick Stox joins the SEO Rant podcast to share his take on how AI and SGE will impact SEO tools and the industry overall.
How SEO tools will need to adjust to an SGE world
Can SEO tools effectively integrate AI in a meaningful way?
Does AI mean the return of Google's walled garden?
How Will AI Reshape SEO Tools
One of the implications of an SGE world on the SERP is how SEO tools adapt. It's much harder to scrape results when you have to trigger an action to occur, wait for it to populate, etc. It's also a lot more expensive for the tools than what goes into things like traditional rank tracking.
What also makes the AI-first SERP difficult for SEO tools and SEOs themselves (perhaps) is that it can potentially lead to a walled garden scenario. I personally don't think we will end up where Google only offers AI output. However, the results it does show could end up being far more targeted and therefore less voluminous.
I see this happening on the eCommerce SERP which is already predisposed to push down traditional organic results in favor of Merchant Center. I don't think it's a stretch to think Google will use SGE as a personal shopping assistant right on the SERP... which could be complicated for both SEO tools and practitioners.
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For more of the SEO Rant Podcast check out our previous episode on: Is the Helpful Content Update Broken?