Why SEO Still Matters in the Age of AI-Generated Content

Let’s get this straight: yes, AI can write coherently. It can churn out blogs in minutes, churn out product copy on autopilot, and even write pitch emails that sound more than a little human. But while everyone scurries to feed the content machine with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or whatever bot is hot this month, a quiet question lurks in the shadows: With all this content being created, does SEO count anymore?

Short answer? More than you know.

Imagine the internet right now as a raucous party where everyone’s shouting to be heard. Sure, AI has made it easier to talk—but not necessarily to say something worth listening to. In this noise, SEO remains your microphone. It tells Google and your audience that you’re not just speaking—you deserve to be heard because you are speaking clearly, credibly, and to the right people.

Content created by AI is everywhere. It’s pervasive. But what is lacking? Authority. Relevance. Trust. These are the bastions that Google’s algorithms continue to reward. And SEO, when correctly executed, is how you establish and convey all three.

Suppose a Mumbai-based fintech startup releases a new credit platform for millennials. It employs AI to crank out 20 blogs in a week. Good start. But without SEO—without keyword planning, backlink strategy, meta optimisation, structured data, and crawlable site architecture—those blogs are like leaflets fluttering in the wind. They might look nice, but nobody’s going to find them.

Search engines are changing, sure. But they’re not forsaking relevance. Quite the contrary: they’re going all in on it. Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and other AI-powered search capabilities are created upon the foundation of trustworthy sources. That is: the content that appears is still the content that belongs there. AI or human—structure, intent signal, domain expertise, and user experience are what count. That’s SEO ground.

Now let’s discuss the human factor. AI can assist with the first draft, but not for experience, subtlety, or local awareness. This is important to Indian brands, in particular. Cultural significance, regional voice, idiomatic tone, linguistic variations—all of these shape the way content performs. SEO grounds AI content in actual-world relevance. It converts intent into action.

And let’s not overlook Google’s updates of late. Search engines are becoming smarter at identifying thin, copied, or lacklustre content. Originality is the new premium in the AI arms race. SEO makes you take a step back, consider user intent, plug content gaps, and provide authentic value. It’s not volume—it’s depth.

Here’s the business end: SEO is quantifiable. It provides you with information. You can monitor what’s doing well, where users fall off, how long they linger, and what they’re looking for. It transforms content from an imaginative experiment into a performance channel. That’s something even the best AI model can’t promise on its own.

For communications professionals, SEO connects perception and discovery. It makes sure media coverage, brand narratives, and thought leadership don’t only appear good—they also rank well. Otherwise, what’s the use of a powerful feature piece in a top-tier publication if it only shows up on the fifth page of a Google search? So no, SEO is not dead. It’s not even exhausted. But it’s changing—silently, steadily, and judiciously. In the age of AI, SEO is your guide. It assists in navigating a world overflowing with content, making sure that your voice continues to reach the people who count.