Is AI killing SEO? Semrush Spotlight with Andrew Warden
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
Andrew Warden, CMO of Semrush, joins Uncensored CMO to discuss how AI is fundamentally reshaping search marketing and brand visibility heading into 2026. The conversation explores whether SEO is truly "dead," reveals surprising insights from Semrush's new AI Visibility Index, and examines how different AI models surface and rank content across various industries. (05:30) Warden emphasizes that while 94.3% of searches still happen on Google, brands must adapt to AI-driven discovery or risk becoming invisible in the future.
- Main theme: AI is creating the most significant shift for marketers since Google's inception, requiring a fundamental rethinking of search strategy, brand visibility, and content creation approaches.
Speakers
Andrew Warden
Andrew Warden is the Chief Marketing Officer at Semrush, a leading digital marketing platform. He brings extensive experience in search marketing and has been instrumental in developing Semrush's AI visibility initiatives. Warden is known for his practical approach to marketing transformation and regularly advises Fortune 100 CMOs on digital brand visibility strategies in the AI era.
John Evans
John Evans is the host of Uncensored CMO podcast and works at System One, a company focused on instinct and emotion in marketing. He has been podcasting for six years and is known for his direct interviewing style and ability to extract actionable insights from marketing leaders.
Key Takeaways
SEO Isn't Dead - It's Evolving Into Digital Brand Visibility
Despite AI disruption, 94.3% of searches still occur on Google, making traditional SEO foundational rather than obsolete. (05:12) However, the game has fundamentally changed. Warden explains that customers coming through AI search engines are 4.4 times more likely to convert, meaning brands need to expand beyond traditional SEO to include YouTube, Reddit, Quora, and user-generated content. The key is combining traditional SEO with AI search optimization to achieve "digital brand visibility" - a holistic approach that encompasses how well your brand shows up across all touchpoints, not just driving traffic to your website.
Speed and Experimentation Beat Perfection in AI
The traditional marketing approach of lengthy approval processes and perfect execution is obsolete in the AI era. (18:46) Warden advocates for shipping at 80% completion and iterating rapidly, comparing the new environment to paid media where results are immediate rather than the traditional long-tail organic approach. His team has seen 3X improvement in AI overview mentions within six weeks by adopting this fail-fast mentality. The publishing schedule needs to accelerate 3-4X compared to traditional SEO timelines.
User-Generated Content Is the New SEO Gold
AI models heavily favor authentic user-generated content over brand-created content when making recommendations. (15:56) Brands like Patagonia dominate AI search results not by accident, but because years of consistent storytelling about outdoor lifestyle and sustainability created massive user advocacy and content creation. Even brands targeting older demographics can leverage UGC by incentivizing family members to create content on behalf of their target audience, as Warden illustrated with a healthcare brand example.
Brand Authority Trumps Content Volume in AI Rankings
The distinction between being mentioned versus being cited as a source in AI responses is crucial for brand visibility. (13:38) Sources receive the valuable blue links that can drive traffic, while mentions may not. Strong brands with authentic storytelling and user advocacy, like Patagonia and Gucci, consistently appear as trusted sources across AI models. This represents a fundamental shift from optimizing for keywords to building genuine brand authority and emotional connection with audiences.
AI Creates Channel Convergence Requiring Organizational Restructuring
AI search doesn't respect traditional marketing silos - it pulls content from SEO, PR, brand marketing, and social media simultaneously. (26:45) Warden advises CMOs to evaluate whether their current team leaders have the "elasticity" to adapt to this new reality or if organizational changes are needed. The most successful approaches combine SEO, brand, and product marketing as a center of gravity, with teams that can move quickly and experiment across multiple channels simultaneously.
Statistics & Facts
- 94.3% of searches still happen on Google as of October 2024, despite AI disruption in search. (05:12) This statistic challenges the narrative that AI search has completely displaced traditional search behavior.
- Customers coming through AI search engines are 4.4 times more likely to convert compared to traditional search traffic. (05:34) This demonstrates the quality and intent of AI-driven search results.
- AI overviews appear for 23% of searches on average, but this varies dramatically by industry - ranging from 80% in some verticals to just 3% in others. (12:42) E-commerce queries rarely trigger AI overviews, while informational research queries frequently do.
