Is traditional SEO still working with artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence is changing Google.

AI Overviews, AI Mode, multimodal searches and the new generative experiences are changing the way users search for information.

And this has generated a very common question among SEO professionals: is traditional SEO still working with artificial intelligence?

Google’s answer is quite clear: yes.

Google officially explains that SEO best practices remain relevant for Search’s AI features because these experiences rely on Google’s core ranking and quality systems.

But there’s an important nuance.

The fact that SEO basics keep working doesn’t mean search isn’t changing. Technology evolves. Queries change. The way people consume results changes too.

That’s why SEO doesn’t need to disappear: it needs to evolve.

1. Google says SEO is still relevant

Let’s start with the most important source: Google Search Central.

In its official guide on optimising for generative AI features, Google answers directly whether SEO is still relevant. The answer is yes.

Google explains that Search’s generative features are based on its core ranking and quality systems. They also use information retrieved from its index to generate answers.

This means fundamental SEO elements still matter:

• Google can crawl your website.
• Your pages can be indexed.
• The content is accessible.
• The website has a clear technical structure.
• There is useful and relevant content.
• Page experience is adequate.
• Internal links help discover and connect content.

Artificial intelligence hasn’t removed these foundations. In fact, Google still includes them in its official recommendations. If you’re starting from scratch, begin with what SEO is and why it remains the foundation of everything.

2. So what’s changing?

If traditional SEO is still relevant, why is there so much talk of an SEO transformation?

Because we need to distinguish two things: how ranking works and how users use Google.

Technical and quality foundations remain important. But search behaviour is changing.

Google explains that AI Mode is making people ask longer and more complex questions. In an analysis published in May 2026, Google indicated that the average AI Mode query was approximately three times the length of a traditional search.

It also noted that planning-related queries were growing 80% faster than general AI Mode queries during the six months analysed.

So the change isn’t that Google has stopped using SEO. The change is also in the type of problems users pose to the search engine.

3. Technical SEO is still important

One of the most common mistakes is thinking that the arrival of AI makes technical SEO less important. Google’s official documentation says precisely the opposite.

For a page to appear in Search’s generative features, it must first be able to participate in Google Search results and meet the relevant technical requirements.

This means aspects like these remain important:

• Crawling.
• Indexing.
• Site architecture.
• Internal links.
• Rendering.
• Mobile experience.
• Speed and performance (Core Web Vitals).
• Content accessible to Google.

It’s also worth reviewing the HTTP 404, 301 and other web errors that block Google that can block Google’s access to important pages, and making sure you have correctly configured robots.txt and sitemap XML correctly.

Google also recommends following JavaScript SEO best practices when a website uses this type of technology.

AI doesn’t remove the need for Google to find, process and understand a page.

4. Content remains a fundamental piece

There’s also another misconception:

«If Google generates the answer, then I don’t need to create content.»

That’s not what Google says.

Its generative systems use information from pages that are part of its index to help build answers. Google describes this process through techniques like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which uses Search systems to retrieve relevant and up-to-date information.

This means having useful and accessible content remains relevant. If you want to dig deeper, here’s a guide on SEO and GEO content that ranks and converts.

The difference is that a page can be used within a search experience in a different way to the traditional one. Before, the user might see:

Query → result → click → page.

Now something like this can happen:

Query → generative answer → links and sources → click → page.

Content remains part of the process.

5. Google doesn’t recommend a new magic formula for AI Mode

This point is especially important for anyone working in SEO.

With every new technology come tools promising a secret technique to rank.

Google indicates that no special optimisation is needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.

The official documentation states that fundamental SEO practices remain the foundation for visibility in these experiences.

So there’s no official list of:

• «10 tricks to rank in AI Mode».
• A secret HTML tag.
• A specific mandatory file for AI.
• A special keyword density for AI Mode.
• A content formula that guarantees appearing in generative answers.

Google, in fact, recommends focusing on effective SEO strategies instead of chasing supposed «AEO/GEO hacks». If you want to understand the differences between disciplines well, review SEO vs GEO vs AEO: real differences in 2026 and the complete AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) guide for 2026.

6. So do you not need to do anything different?

Not exactly.

Even though technical foundations remain important, the search context is changing. That’s why some aspects of the content strategy are worth reinforcing. For example:

• Better understanding search intent.
• Answering more complex questions.
• Creating original content.
• Bringing real experience.
• Including concrete examples.
• Solving complete problems.
• Using a clear topic architecture.
• Improving the connection between content through internal links.

This isn’t a «new SEO». It’s an evolution of best practices that were already important.

7. Keywords are still useful

The arrival of AI has also triggered another prediction: «keywords have died».

That’s too simplistic a claim.

The words users use still provide information about what they’re looking for. The difference is that queries can now be much more detailed. For example:

«running shoes»

is a relatively broad search. Whereas:

«What running shoes should I buy if I run 30 km a week on road and want to reduce weight?»

contains much more information.

Keywords still appear. But so do:

• Context.
• Objectives.
• Constraints.
• Preferences.
• Problems.

That’s why SEO work must go beyond finding a keyword and repeating it. It’s worth reviewing first what a keyword is and how to choose keywords with criteria. You need to understand the intent behind it.

8. Search intent gains importance

This is probably one of the most important changes.

For years, an SEO strategy could be organised around groups of keywords. Now it makes more sense to also think in groups of needs.

For example, someone searching for «local SEO» might want to:

• Understand what it is.
• Learn how to do it.
• Improve a business listing.
• Get more calls.
• Increase visits to a shop.
• Hire a professional.

The keyword is similar. The intent can be completely different.

AI Mode makes it easier for the user to explain that intent with much more detail. You can see how it’s changing in how search intent changes with AI Mode.

That’s why understanding the user can be more important than chasing small variations of the same keyword.

9. Generic content has a problem

Artificial intelligence allows producing large amounts of content. But producing content quickly doesn’t mean producing valuable content.

Google specifically recommends creating content that’s useful, reliable, unique and people-centred. It also encourages bringing information that goes beyond what’s already common and easily available. This principle connects directly with the criteria of E-E-A-T: experience, authority and trust in Google.

This is especially relevant in an environment where creating a generic article is increasingly easy. If a hundred websites explain exactly the same thing, adding explanation number 101 doesn’t necessarily add much value.

Content can differentiate itself through:

• Experience.
• Your own data.
• Real cases.
• Tests.
• Analysis.
• Examples.
• Clearly identified professional opinions.
• Original information.

AI can help produce content. But originality and value remain fundamental.

10. Google is also changing how visibility is measured

Another important change is coming to Search Console.

In June 2026, Google announced new performance reports for generative AI features. On 31 August 2026, Google confirmed that these reports were already available for websites worldwide.

The new reports let you analyse a site’s visibility within experiences such as:

• AI Overviews.
• AI Mode.
• Discover generative features.

Google indicates that the reports let you consult information such as impressions, pages, countries, devices and trends over time.

This is important because it shows Google is incorporating generative visibility into its own measurement ecosystem. It doesn’t replace the traditional Search Console report: it complements it.

If you want to learn more about this change, you can read my article Search Console and visibility in generative AI.

11. Traditional SEO and SEO for AI aren’t two separate worlds

It’s common to talk about SEO, AEO, GEO, AI optimisation, generative Search… But we shouldn’t turn these labels into completely independent strategies.

In the case of Google Search, the official documentation itself recommends continuing to prioritise SEO basics.

This makes a lot of sense:

• A page needs to be discovered.
• It needs to be crawlable.
• It needs to be indexable.
• It needs to offer useful content.
• And it needs to properly answer the user’s need.

AI can change how that content is presented. But it doesn’t remove those fundamental needs.

12. Technical SEO is still an investment

A fast and accessible website doesn’t stop being important because Google uses artificial intelligence. Neither does a clear architecture. Neither do internal links. Neither does indexing.

Google recommends following the usual crawling and technical SEO practices to maximise visibility in generative features.

That’s why, before looking for new techniques for AI, it’s worth checking that the basics work. You can start with a complete SEO audit in 7 steps.

13. Internal linking still makes sense

Another element that shouldn’t disappear from an SEO strategy is internal linking.

A specialised website usually has many related content pieces. For example, on this blog we can connect articles about:

• AI Mode.
• Search intent.
• Search Console.
• Multimodal search.
• Organic traffic.
• Traditional SEO.

This helps the user continue researching. And it also makes it easier for Google’s systems to discover and connect the different pages of a site. A good SEO content plan in 5 steps helps structure these links coherently.

Google includes internal links among the SEO practices that remain relevant for its AI experiences.

14. Do you need to create content specifically for AI Mode?

There’s no need to create a special version of each page for AI Mode.

Google indicates that there are no additional specific optimisation requirements to appear in AI Mode.

The most reasonable strategy is to create content that’s useful regardless of how the result is presented. That is:

• Clear content.
• Accessible content.
• Original content.
• Reliable content.
• Well-structured content.
• Content that solves real problems.

If Google then uses that content within a generative experience, great. But the main goal should remain creating a good page for the user.

15. What Google doesn’t recommend

It’s also interesting to look at what Google says you don’t need to chase.

Its official guide recommends prioritising effective SEO strategies over supposed AEO or GEO tricks. Among other things, Google notes that it’s not necessary to create unnecessary AI text files like llms.txt (although if you want to understand what it is, here’s what llms.txt is and how to create it step by step), or try to manipulate mentions in generative answers.

This is important because the SEO ecosystem is full of new techniques that appear quickly. If you’re looking for reliable alternatives, review this selection of free SEO tools in 2026.

Some can be useful for certain workflows. But we shouldn’t confuse a third-party tool with an official Google recommendation. Google itself recommends checking third-party recommendations against its official guidelines.

16. Artificial intelligence doesn’t make experience less important

There’s another aspect that may gain importance: real experience.

If a person has experience working on a topic, they can bring information that doesn’t appear in hundreds of generic articles. For example:

• What mistakes actually appear.
• What solutions work in certain cases.
• What problems appear during implementation.
• What alternatives make sense.
• What results can be expected.

This type of information can turn a generic article into a much more useful resource. And it fits with Google’s recommendation to create unique, useful content based on experience or real knowledge.

17. What should an SEO do in 2026?

If I had to summarise Google’s official recommendations into a practical strategy, I’d start here:

• Keep doing technical SEO.
• Create useful and original content.
• Work on search intent.
• Answer complex questions when it makes sense.
• Bring your own information.
• Use internal links.
• Take care of page experience.
• Measure visibility in Search Console.
• Don’t chase specific AI tricks without official backing.

In other words, you don’t need to start from scratch. You need to build on a foundation we already know.

18. The change is in how we search, not in SEO’s disappearance

AI Mode is already changing search behaviour.

Google reported in May 2026 that AI Mode had surpassed 1 billion monthly active users globally and that query volume had more than doubled every quarter since launch. You can see more details in why AI Mode searches are three times longer.

What’s more, queries are longer and new behaviours are emerging related to planning, comparison and idea generation.

But Google still states that SEO basics are relevant for these experiences.

So the conclusion shouldn’t be: «SEO is dead».

Nor: «nothing has changed».

The reality is between both ideas. SEO basics remain important, but the search experience is evolving.

Conclusion: SEO doesn’t disappear, it evolves

Artificial intelligence is transforming Google.

Searches can be longer. Questions can be more complex. Users can use Google to research, compare, plan and make decisions.

AI Mode and AI Overviews are changing the way results are presented.

But Google still indicates that fundamental SEO practices are relevant for these new experiences.

This means we don’t need to abandon everything we know about SEO. We need to improve the way we apply it.

Technical SEO remains important. Indexing remains important. Internal links remain important. Page experience remains important. And useful content remains fundamental.

What changes is the context. Google is evolving from a search engine based mainly on queries and results into an experience capable of handling more complex questions and deeper conversations.

That’s why the future of SEO probably doesn’t consist of choosing between SEO and artificial intelligence. It consists of using SEO foundations to create content that works in an increasingly complex search.

If you want to keep digging into this topic, you can also read how to optimise your website for AI (GEO) and our complete on-page SEO guide.

Written by

Alex Figueiras

Freelance SEO consultant in Valencia · WordPress + Elementor + Rank Math

I help local businesses and SMEs rank on Google with technical audits, on-page SEO and content that converts. More than 40 projects audited and cases measured in sectors such as renovations, training and ecommerce.

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