DSTW

Nothing you have described is new. The search engines have been doing this for years. Those who have done their research stopped focusing on keywords and now consider search intent. It's not even SEO, it's basic marketing.

You really stuck your neck out with this one. 
Feels like early 2000s internet, in the best way.
Loses a mark because I was very much hoping to learn more giraffe facts, but the link goes to a 404.

A lot of interesting stuff in there, some of it definitely hits home too!
I find the AI points fascinating, I think "entry level" design services could definitely be in a lot of trouble, I regularly hear small business owners talk about how they've been quoted X thousand pounds for a project, and then they've gone and created an indistinguishable replica for a fraction of the cost.
Beyond that though I am convinced there will always be a market for real, properly strategised, human creativity - in fact it may even become more premium if people begin to crave authenticity.
The stat about the number of lead referrals coming from AI really surprised me, I've always been quite sceptical of how much of a lead pipeline it would become, but it seems like it's growing.
Looking at GA4 I've actually had a handful myself of enquiries from ChatGPT myself recently. Best crack on with that GEO strategy after all! 😅 

On the other hand, there is still a lot of work for developers.
Web design has always been a bit of a weird one. As an example, you get people calling themselves web designers when all they ever do is use Canva or Figma or whatever. And then another whole bunch whose skill stops at configuring Elementor with Wordpress.
But if you understand how to exploit a niche and are really good at marketing there is still loads of works to be found.
AI is not a threat if you already have the talents.
Also worth noting that the survey appears to be US only which may skew the results.

A lot of interesting stuff in there, some of it definitely hits home too!
I find the AI points fascinating, I think "entry level" design services could definitely be in a lot of trouble, I regularly hear small business owners talk about how they've been quoted X thousand pounds for a project, and then they've gone and created an indistinguishable replica for a fraction of the cost.
Beyond that though I am convinced there will always be a market for real, properly strategised, human creativity - in fact it may even become more premium if people begin to crave authenticity.
The stat about the number of lead referrals coming from AI really surprised me, I've always been quite sceptical of how much of a lead pipeline it would become, but it seems like it's growing.
Looking at GA4 I've actually had a handful myself of enquiries from ChatGPT myself recently. Best crack on with that GEO strategy after all! 😅 

Useful list, few on there I'd never heard of but will definitely look into further!
Love a Brighton conference, been to quite a few there, fun city and a fun crowd of web folks - definitely want to try and get to UX this year.

Congratulations to Lando Norris.

I think there’s a fine line between holding a moral standard and sitting on a high horse.
I saw this with a small charity I worked with - genuine people doing great work. When some 'dirt' surfaced regarding a third party they’d associated with, the social media pile-on started. The team behind the charity eventually gave up because they couldn't deal with it.
So the world lost a net positive, due to 1 small negative aspect that people didn't like.
Nobody's perfect, and it's important to not make snap decisions based on 1 piece of a larger jigsaw.
With that said, similar to @Jogeta316 I definitely have some "red lines" that I won't cross. If my gut instinct is that I find something truly immoral, I'll 100% walk away.

I think there’s a fine line between holding a moral standard and sitting on a high horse.
I saw this with a small charity I worked with - genuine people doing great work. When some 'dirt' surfaced regarding a third party they’d associated with, the social media pile-on started. The team behind the charity eventually gave up because they couldn't deal with it.
So the world lost a net positive, due to 1 small negative aspect that people didn't like.
Nobody's perfect, and it's important to not make snap decisions based on 1 piece of a larger jigsaw.
With that said, similar to @Jogeta316 I definitely have some "red lines" that I won't cross. If my gut instinct is that I find something truly immoral, I'll 100% walk away.

Great question!
My answer is "to a degree". I'll work with folks who hold opposing views, but won't touch projects I fundamentally believe are evil/harmful (which thankfully don't come around too often).
I don't find it difficult to politely explain myself, set boundaries or walk away.

AEO (or GEO, or LLMSEO, or AISEO) are not going to replace SEO, they're just a bit of an evolution of it.
AI chat bots are just another way that people search, and earning citations in them will just become a standard part of an SEO's job going forwards.
Not to mention that, generally speaking, good SEO will lead to good AI placement anyway.

I use AI to waste time.
What I want to use it for is important tasks - but it almost always gets it wrong, no matter how detailed the prompt or brief.
The "slop" descriptor is apt. Almost all output shows me our jobs are safe as it comes off as cheap counterfeits.

And that is the big strength of AI.

I have found quite a bit of use in AI for learning about basic concepts and new topics. EG: I've recently started learning music production, and it's been useful being able to bounce really specific questions about gear or theory off of Gemini - a lot quicker and easier than going back and forth to Google and requiring multiple individual searches.
In terms of work, my best use case has been using AI as an "advanced filter" almost. If i have a big sheet with lots of data, and I want to pick out patterns or really specific results which fit criteria W, X, Y and Z, it's really helpful to just feed the info in and ask questions in natural language, rather than needing layer upon layer of regex or formulae.
Wouldn't ever trust it with original copy or YMYL topics though!

I have found quite a bit of use in AI for learning about basic concepts and new topics. EG: I've recently started learning music production, and it's been useful being able to bounce really specific questions about gear or theory off of Gemini - a lot quicker and easier than going back and forth to Google and requiring multiple individual searches.
In terms of work, my best use case has been using AI as an "advanced filter" almost. If i have a big sheet with lots of data, and I want to pick out patterns or really specific results which fit criteria W, X, Y and Z, it's really helpful to just feed the info in and ask questions in natural language, rather than needing layer upon layer of regex or formulae.
Wouldn't ever trust it with original copy or YMYL topics though!

Well, who would have thought we'd still have a title battle on our hands with 2 races to go - and that Max would be the one with all the momentum!
I still think Lando will take it, but I'd love to see Max get there now just for the pure drama.
Can't believe how badly Oscar has fallen off after looking to unbelievably cool in the first half of the season.

There's definitely a bit of "uncanny valley" discomfort when I look at the face of an AI generated human, but they are getting more and more realistic at a pretty rapid pace.
You know the world is changing when you have to count the number of fingers someone has to check if they're real!
I wonder how long it will be before the pendulum swings the other way, and people are getting accused of being AI when it's actually them in the video?

I think as much as people like to overcomplicate things with terms like AIOSEO, LLMSEO, GEO, or whatever the buzzword is this week, there's a significant overlap between good SEO and what will work with AI.
Creating well made, crawlable content that serves a clear purpose and that people actually want to share will always be the most important step.
That said, you're right, there are definitely some adaptations to be made, particularly around informational content. I agree with your point about using a blog to answer complex questions, but the truth is, a lot of traffic for those types of terms is going to be gobbled up by AI overviews and LLMs, as most of them are zero-click. Most sites are almost certainly going to see some initial traffic loss to their informational/blog pages.
However, that doesn't mean the traffic is all gone. I think we need to change our perspective and broaden our approach to what "traffic from SEO" even means. We need to be looking at things like changes in branded traffic, where someone may see our site in an AI result, not click then and there, but come back later with a direct search. Likewise, referral traffic from heavily referenced sites like YouTube, LinkedIn, or Substack will also factor into the overall picture.
Likewise anyone still "building links" in the traditional method, should be pivoting toward more of a digital PR approach and thinking about coverage rather than "link juice".
Then again with how fast AI and SEO is changing these days, this will probably all be different in about 3 days 😅

I think as much as people like to overcomplicate things with terms like AIOSEO, LLMSEO, GEO, or whatever the buzzword is this week, there's a significant overlap between good SEO and what will work with AI.
Creating well made, crawlable content that serves a clear purpose and that people actually want to share will always be the most important step.
That said, you're right, there are definitely some adaptations to be made, particularly around informational content. I agree with your point about using a blog to answer complex questions, but the truth is, a lot of traffic for those types of terms is going to be gobbled up by AI overviews and LLMs, as most of them are zero-click. Most sites are almost certainly going to see some initial traffic loss to their informational/blog pages.
However, that doesn't mean the traffic is all gone. I think we need to change our perspective and broaden our approach to what "traffic from SEO" even means. We need to be looking at things like changes in branded traffic, where someone may see our site in an AI result, not click then and there, but come back later with a direct search. Likewise, referral traffic from heavily referenced sites like YouTube, LinkedIn, or Substack will also factor into the overall picture.
Likewise anyone still "building links" in the traditional method, should be pivoting toward more of a digital PR approach and thinking about coverage rather than "link juice".
Then again with how fast AI and SEO is changing these days, this will probably all be different in about 3 days 😅

Don't answer the phone to them. Or be firm and ask them to put it all down in writing. Then say goodbye and put the phone down. If they don't stop, tell them the time you spend on the phone will be added to the bill.
Maybe worth paying for a project management app where you can enter the tasks, the customer signs off on completion. EG: 'change header background to customer supplied image'. You then wait for them to supply the image, update the CSS and they then sign off. Easy to keep track of everything.

Unfortunately these type of people do exist and walk among us.
As others have said, I think a more thorough onboarding process is necessary. I used to be the sort of person to take on any job for any cost ('work is work') but then you come to realise you're probably losing money on the project with all of the back and forth - plus the stress just isn't worth it.
Also always keep an email/paper trail, and make sure any calls are quickly summarised in an email or with an AI note taking app straight after. As you mentioned, your client likes to deny conversations have happened, so make sure you keep the proof.
Good luck!

Unfortunately these type of people do exist and walk among us.
As others have said, I think a more thorough onboarding process is necessary. I used to be the sort of person to take on any job for any cost ('work is work') but then you come to realise you're probably losing money on the project with all of the back and forth - plus the stress just isn't worth it.
Also always keep an email/paper trail, and make sure any calls are quickly summarised in an email or with an AI note taking app straight after. As you mentioned, your client likes to deny conversations have happened, so make sure you keep the proof.
Good luck!

Great shout!! Will get it added now 😎

Good idea, a couple of bits on there I'd never heard of which I'll definitely be checking out.
If you're looking to grow the list any further, seoreviewtools.com is a great resource for SEO's, a whole bunch of free tools on there which have helped me out in a pinch many times!

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