If anything, SEO is becoming more important. Why you might ask? Because how do you think AI tools find the answers to your questions? Also, the volume still isn’t there to back up this statement.
Google still processes more than five trillion searches every year, equivalent to around 13.7 billion searches a day. Google also reported in 2026 that overall Search queries had reached an all-time high.
So despite the rapid growth of AI, people haven’t suddenly stopped using Google. What has changed is how people search.
AI search is still SEO
One of the biggest misconceptions is that businesses now need to choose between traditional SEO and appearing within AI search. In reality, the two are increasingly connected. Google says its AI Overviews and AI Mode are built using its core Search ranking and quality systems. Its own guidance makes it clear that many of the same SEO fundamentals still apply.
ChatGPT Search also relies on information it can discover across the web. That means your website still needs to be crawlable, useful, authoritative and easy for search technology to understand. Technical SEO, good website structure, relevant content, internal linking, authority and clear information about your products or services haven’t disappeared.
They now help your visibility across more search experiences.
Search is fragmenting, not disappearing
A few years ago, a customer journey might have looked like:
Google search → website → enquiry.
Today, someone could search Google, read an AI Overview, ask ChatGPT for recommendations, use Gemini to compare companies or continue their research through Google’s AI Mode.
The customer hasn’t stopped searching. They simply have more ways to do it. That means SEO strategies need to evolve beyond chasing individual keyword rankings. Businesses need content that answers genuine customer questions, demonstrates expertise and gives search engines and AI systems enough information to understand why their business is relevant.
Should businesses stop investing in SEO?
Stopping SEO now creates two problems.
You become less visible on Google, where billions of searches are still happening every day, while also weakening many of the signals that can help your business appear within emerging AI-powered search experiences. The businesses in the strongest position aren’t choosing between SEO and AI visibility. They’re building a digital presence that supports both.
At FUZE, that means focusing on technically strong websites, useful search-led content, clear authority and SEO strategies built around how people actually search.
AI isn’t replacing SEO. It’s changing where good SEO can get your business seen.
