Does It Still Make Sense to Invest in SEO If AI Reduces Organic CTR?
Date
9 June 2025
In recent months, the digital landscape has undergone a deep and accelerated transformation. The rise of generative engines and artificial intelligence applied to search is rewriting the rules on which search marketing has been based for years. With the introduction of tools such as Google AI Overview, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, ChatGPT Search, and other conversational assistants, user behavior is rapidly evolving: more and more searches are resolved without a click on an organic result.
In this new scenario, dominated by synthetic and conversational responses, a strategic question arises for digital professionals: does it still make sense to invest in SEO if organic traffic tends to decrease?
What we will cover in this article:
SEO and Generative AI: a clash or an opportunity for redefinition?
Let’s start with an increasingly evident fact: search engines are no longer simple lists of links, but intelligent systems of real-time answers. Information is analyzed, synthesized, and delivered directly in the SERP, often without the user needing to visit the website that provided the original source.
This transformation has given rise to the so-called “solved query spaces”: thematic areas in which artificial intelligence already possesses sufficient knowledge to provide an exhaustive and autonomous response, without the need to direct the user to further external insights. Recipes, definitions, essential tutorials, standardized product comparisons: in these contexts, competition is no longer about traditional ranking, but about the ability to contribute with structured, clear, and semantically rich content that can effectively train and feed generative models.
In light of this scenario, one might ask: does it really still make sense to produce content? The answer is yes, but only if we stop creating superficial materials designed only for indexing and start building authentically useful contributions with high informational value, designed to be recognized—and selected—by the new intelligences mediating search.
SEO is no longer just traffic: it is presence, influence, and trust
Reducing the value of SEO to the mere click-through rate (CTR) now represents a limited and outdated vision. In today’s landscape, the goal is no longer simply to get a click, but to secure a presence at the key moments when the user expresses an intention to search—even when that search ends without direct interactions.
Being cited in an AI Overview, appearing among authoritative sources within a generated response, or being selected as a reference in conversational snippets are the new signals of visibility and authority. These emerging forms of exposure significantly contribute to building trust, recognition, and preference toward the brand.
In this context, SEO is no longer just a tactical lever aimed at performance but becomes a strategic guardrail of digital identity. It is no longer about chasing every keyword but producing consistent, relevant, and well-structured content capable of feeding the semantic understanding of AI models and strengthening the reputational positioning of the company within the new informational ecosystem.
Google AI Mode: search becomes conversation
A concrete example of this transformation is represented by Google AI Mode, launched in the United States and destined to redefine the search experience in Europe as well. It is a new conversational mode that transforms Google from a search engine into a true personal assistant. The user no longer simply types queries: they converse, articulate needs, and ask complex questions.
The AI interprets, initiates hundreds of simultaneous searches (Deep Search), and provides a synthetic response enriched with sources and context. But that’s not all: AI Mode also integrates elements of personalization, using data from Gmail, Calendar, and other Google services to provide tailored suggestions.
For SEO professionals, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Visibility no longer depends only on ranking but on the content’s ability to be understood, selected, and valued by artificial intelligence. In this new scenario, being useful, clear, structured, and reliable becomes the key to entering the informational flow generated by AI Mode.
Going beyond filler content: it’s time for a paradigm shift
A significant portion of current online content has marginal, if not zero, value. These are texts created exclusively to satisfy the requirements of automated SEO tools, not to provide real usefulness to users. Generic guides, articles lacking originality, standardized comparisons: an enormous amount of undifferentiated material that, in addition to generating no value, contributes to polluting the informational system fed by artificial intelligences, reducing its effectiveness and overall quality.
Continuing to produce such content is not only ineffective: it risks damaging the brand’s credibility and compromising the quality of the dataset on which AIs are trained.
The solution, however, is not to abandon SEO but to radically rethink its approach, putting quality, intent, and user relevance at the center. How to do this concretely?
1. Respond to real needs, not just fill gaps
It’s time to abandon the “content at all costs” mindset. Every editorial asset should be created to intercept a real need, answer genuine questions, and offer a distinctive point of view. The goal is no longer to produce texts that solely aim for search engine ranking but to create recognizable value capable of emerging even in AI-generated conversations. A well-conceived piece of content must be useful in itself, regardless of SEO, and able to earn a role in the new information ecosystem based on relevance, not just visibility.
2. Become the “first mental click”
Traditionally, digital marketing strategies have emphasized becoming the “last click,” the final point of conversion. Today, however, in a context where search paths are increasingly fragmented and non-linear, it is even more valuable to be the “first mental click”: the piece of content that first builds trust, sparks curiosity, and creates brand familiarity. Even without an immediate conversion, leaving a positive and memorable impression represents a strategic investment in the long-term relationship with the user.
3. Adopt an editorial mindset, not just a marketing one
To stand out in a landscape dominated by automatically generated content, it is essential to think and act like publishers. This means treating production not as a mere promotional lever but as an activity guided by solid editorial criteria. In practice, this means:
- involving internal experts, leveraging company know-how;
- producing original content based on real research and insights;
- curating tone, structure, and readability while maintaining stylistic consistency and clarity;
- verifying and validating sources to reinforce credibility;
- expressing opinions and interpretations rather than limiting content to neutral information.
The goal is to create content that only a human organization can produce: materials rich in context, experience, and sensitivity that artificial intelligence is not yet able to replicate with the same level of depth and authenticity.
4. Secure all discovery points beyond Google
Today, access to information no longer passes exclusively through traditional search engines. Platforms such as Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, Amazon, LinkedIn, and even generative AI tools themselves have established themselves as true discovery and decision-making environments. Users search, inform themselves, and make choices within an increasingly fragmented and multimodal ecosystem.
In this scenario, limiting oneself to Google alone means giving up a large portion of visibility potential. Contemporary SEO must evolve into an extended presence strategy, capable of adapting content to the languages, formats, and dynamics of each channel. Only in this way is it possible to intercept the user at the right moment, in the right place, and with the most relevant content for the context.
Conclusion: does it still make sense to invest in SEO? Absolutely yes, if you are ready to evolve
The real obstacle today is not artificial intelligence, but the habit of practicing SEO anchored to outdated logics, born of a context that no longer exists. Continuing to optimize only for traffic or keyword positioning means remaining tied to models from 2015, inadequate to respond to today’s challenges.
On the contrary, those who choose to elevate quality and focus on content that is truly informative, authoritative, and memorable have the real opportunity to become a point of reference not only for users but also for the AI systems that mediate access to information.
The SEO of the future will not be measured only in clicks but in its ability to generate trust, semantic visibility, and lasting relevance. It is SEO that begins before explicit search, working on intent, influence, and presence in the new information spaces.
Because today, being present even when the user doesn’t click is already a great result.
And tomorrow, it might be the only way to remain visible.
