{"id":195700,"date":"2026-03-03T09:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T14:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=195700"},"modified":"2026-03-03T10:29:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T15:29:29","slug":"seo-5-stages-of-grief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\/","title":{"rendered":"SEO\u2019s 5 Stages of Grief (And How to Adapt to AI&nbsp;SEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intro-txt\"> AI broke SEO. For better or&nbsp;worse.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div class=\"intro-txt\"> For two decades, Google and SEOs worked under a silent agreement: we structure the web, while you send us users. But AI and answer engines breached it, inviting a clickless business model that plunged the whole industry into&nbsp;panic.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p>Much like anyone facing a sudden loss, SEOs and marketers are currently cycling through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.<\/p>\n<p>Our goal here is to help you process the change and unemotionally come to terms with the parts of SEO that have changed (and the parts that haven\u2019t), so you can focus your energy on the strategies and tactics that still work in&nbsp;2026.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Denial: \u201cAIOs are just a test, they\u2019ll go away\u201d\" data-section=\"one\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-195700-_2lezewe0qla9\"><\/a>Denial: \u201cAIOs are just a test, they\u2019ll go&nbsp;away\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Google\u2019s AI Overviews, initially introduced in May 2024, were a laughingstock at&nbsp;first.<\/p>\n<p>The AI-generated text summaries recommended <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-ai-overview-fails-442575\">glue as a pizza topping<\/a>, among other wild hallucinations. The consensus was clear: the US rollout would be a massive flop, users would hate it, and Google would quickly roll back its \u201cfeatured snippet on steroids\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"929\" height=\"857\" class=\"wp-image-195701\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-1.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-1.jpg 929w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-1-461x425.jpg 461w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-1-768x708.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px\"><\/p>\n<p>This denial was also rooted in a common belief that Google would never cannibalize its own traffic. That it would never be able to monetize AIOs. That everyday searchers would miss the 10 blue links too&nbsp;much.<\/p>\n<p>But while SEOs were busy laughing at the pizza glue, they were ignoring the writing on the wall. Just a year earlier, ChatGPT became the first app in the world to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/chatgpt-sets-record-fastest-growing-user-base-analyst-note-2023-02-01\/\">acquire 100 monthly active users<\/a>, proving that people do, in fact, prefer instant answers over clicking a bunch of websites.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Anger: Crocodile charts and plagiarism lawsuits\" data-section=\"two\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-195700-_47omf59bjpss\"><\/a>Anger: Crocodile charts and plagiarism lawsuits<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The anger started to build when SEOs realized that AI Overviews weren\u2019t just temporary volatility tests. They were infrastructure replacements here to stay once <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-ai-overviews\/\">Google rolled out the feature globally<\/a> and used Gemini 2.0 as the under-the-hood engine.<\/p>\n<p>But the anger finally burst with the arrival of the dreaded \u201ccrocodile charts\u201d in Google Search Console.<\/p>\n<p>SEOs and marketers alike watched their dashboards in horror as the lines diverged like an open-mouthed crocodile: with impressions soaring and clicks plummeting.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1720\" height=\"532\" class=\"wp-image-195702\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-2.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-2.png 1720w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-2-680x210.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-2-768x238.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-2-1536x475.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1720px) 100vw, 1720px\"><\/p>\n<p>The \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/the-great-decoupling\/\">great decoupling<\/a>\u201d directly coincided with the massive rollout of AI Overviews following Google\u2019s March 2025 Core Update, which saw the presence of AIOs almost double overnight.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprisingly, <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks\/\">AIOs reduced clicks to top-ranking pages by 34.5%<\/a> in the following month, with informational keywords taking the heaviest hit.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1239\" class=\"wp-image-195703\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-3.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-3.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-3-549x425.png 549w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-3-768x595.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-3-1536x1189.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks-update\/\">AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by&nbsp;58%<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The March Core Update introduced another twist: automatic translations.<\/p>\n<p>Google began to systematically siphon international search traffic. It did so by translating pages for queries that lacked sufficient native-language content and hosting them on its own subfolder (rather than sending the translated traffic to your own website).<\/p>\n<p>In short: if your site wasn\u2019t fully localized, you were<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-is-stealing-your-international-search-traffic-with-automated-translations\/#translate-proxy\"> handing your international traffic over to Google<\/a> on a silver platter.<\/p>\n<p>Publishers realized they were trapped. If they <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-bot-block-rates\/#key-takeaways\">blocked AI crawlers<\/a> from scraping and *cough* plagiarising their content, they risked disappearing from search results altogether.<\/p>\n<p>So they fought back with lawsuits and lobbying. Not just against Google, but against all AI chatbots that were gaining popularity:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>OpenAI <\/strong>was sued by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/27\/business\/media\/new-york-times-open-ai-microsoft-lawsuit.html\">The New York Times<\/a> for having ChatGPT scrap millions of their articles<\/li>\n<li><strong>Anthropic<\/strong> faced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/09\/05\/nx-s1-5529404\/anthropic-settlement-authors-copyright-ai\">$1.5 billion lawsuit<\/a> for allegedly training Claude on millions of books pirated from pirated libraries like LibGen<\/li>\n<li><strong>Google<\/strong> got hit with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefashionlaw.com\/wwd-rolling-stone-owner-sues-google-in-antitrust-test-for-ai-summaries\/\">major antitrust lawsuit<\/a> for using their monopoly to force publishers into handing over their content to AI Overviews<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Despite this, conversational chatbots continued to rack up more&nbsp;users.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Bargaining: Listicles, chunking, and other fallacies\" data-section=\"three\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-195700-_lp9rxcf1x0hu\"><\/a>Bargaining: Listicles, chunking, and other fallacies<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>With the knife at their throat, SEOs did what they know best: <s>game<\/s> over-optimize the system.<\/p>\n<p>After clicks plummeted, brand mentions became the new visibility metric. Because the more brand mentions you have, the more touchpoints LLMs have to cite your brand as the answer.<\/p>\n<p>The desperation dragged the whole industry into a new <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/black-hat-llmo\/\">black-hat era<\/a>, this time manipulating any online asset that could potentially influence a brand\u2019s AI visibility. I\u2019m talking about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/best-lists-research\/\"><strong>Self-promotional \u201dbest\u201d listicles<\/strong><\/a>: featuring your brand at the top (duh!)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sandbox websites and fake authority<\/strong>: launching microsites that review your brand versus competitors, declaring your brand as the obvious winner<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-chunk-optimization\/\"><strong>Chunk optimization<\/strong><\/a>: turning complex content into brainless, bulleted lists just to make it easier for machines to read&nbsp;it<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/what-is-llms-txt\/\"><strong>Llms.txt placebo<\/strong><\/a>: adding llms.txt files to sitemaps to spoon-feed instructions to AI crawlers (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seroundtable.com\/google-dont-use-llms-for-seo-advice-37781.html\">they\u2019re ignored according to Google\u2019s John Mueller<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To many experienced SEOs, these tactics felt less like optimization, and more like capitulation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Depression: Is SEO <em>finally<\/em> dead?\" data-section=\"four\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-195700-_3otk9i4bn6mv\"><\/a>Depression: Is SEO <em>finally<\/em> dead?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWelcome to the zero-click search era, please leave your traffic at the door,\u201d as <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/zero-click-search\/\">Ahrefs\u2019 Louise Linehan<\/a> brilliantly put&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n<p>Google\u2019s clickless model wasn\u2019t a novelty. SparkToro found out in 2024 that roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/2024-zero-click-search-study-for-every-1000-us-google-searches-only-374-clicks-go-to-the-open-web-in-the-eu-its-360\/\">60% of all searches ended in no clicks<\/a> (both across the US and Europe).<\/p>\n<p>Again, the real blow came when AI Overviews almost doubled overnight. According to a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-overview-change\/\">Ahrefs\u2019 study<\/a>, these now change every two days in terms of the text generated, URLs cited, and brands mentioned. So expect your brand mentions and AI citations to be volatile.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1314\" class=\"wp-image-195704\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-4.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-4.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-4-518x425.jpg 518w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-4-768x631.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-4-1536x1261.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of metrics, SEOs are also stuck with the good old attribution dilemma. Apart from <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bing.com\/webmaster\/February-2026\/Introducing-AI-Performance-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Public-Preview\">Bing introducing an AI performance report<\/a> for Microsoft Copilot, none of the AI platforms are disclosing their prompts and search volume. Unlike traditional search engines, answer engines are non-deterministic: no two questions, nor two results, are the&nbsp;same.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, search volume is less relevant for AI search. Any search volume provided by the new AI visibility tools is, at best, directionally accurate \u2013 including Ahrefs\u2019 (although we ground our prompts in real keywords from real&nbsp;users).<\/p>\n<p>Yet, most CMOs will urge their SEO teams to buy an AI visibility tool so their brand magically shows up in ChatGPT or AI Overviews. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.productledseo.com\/p\/which-team-should-pay-for-llm-visibility\">Eli Schwartz<\/a> argued, this isn\u2019t a job for SEOs. It\u2019s a job for brand marketers and PR teams who\u2019re better suited to manufacture demand for a&nbsp;brand.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, expect SEO budgets to be cannibalized as AI continues to favor the most referenced brands on the web, even if they\u2019re fake ones. We ran our own <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-vs-made-up-brand-experiment\/\">AI misinformation experiment<\/a>\u2026and it worked.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/flowchart-showing-misinformation-pathways-startin.png\" alt=\"Flowchart showing misinformation pathways, starting with sources like Reddit AMA, moving through models like ChatGPT, to adopted beliefs.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Acceptance: Optimizing for AI search\" data-section=\"five\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-195700-_o3qxapylugk8\"><\/a>Acceptance: Optimizing for AI search<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>What might the final phase of SEO grief look&nbsp;like?<\/p>\n<p>Before showing you what matters in the new SEO era, it\u2019s worth summarizing (and accepting) what has permanently changed:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The 10 blue links are not coming back<\/strong>. And this is by design. With AI search engines, you don\u2019t need to click through multiple pages anymore, unless you specifically want to research a topic or product in more depth. Look no further than Google\u2019s AI Mode, which now delivers personalized, ChatGPT-like experiences right above the SERPs, and you get the&nbsp;point.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Traffic from informational keywords is diminishing.<\/strong> Who wants to read a 1,000-word definitional article about investing, when an AI can instantly summarize from multiple sources? In the old SEO world, top-of-the-funnel content existed to push users towards more qualified pages. With zero-click search and AI Overviews (now powered by <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/products-and-platforms\/products\/search\/ai-mode-ai-overviews-updates\/\">Gemini 3<\/a>) potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7430249837604012032\/?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_updateV2%3A%28urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7430249837604012032%2CFEED_DETAIL%2CEMPTY%2CDEFAULT%2Cfalse%29\">eroding traffic for both publishers and Google itself<\/a>, the traditional funnel is forever broken.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those changes are not all bad news, though.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the tactics that matter in the new AEO\/GEO\/AI SEO&nbsp;world:<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-195700-_t4cy4ubhi9m6\"><\/a>1. Fanout queries are the new keywords<\/h3>\n<p>When you ask a question in ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude, LLMs use a framework called Retrieval-Augmented-Generation (RAG).<\/p>\n<p>This process refers to AI systems drawing information from real-time searches on Google, Bing, and other traditional search engines.<\/p>\n<p>When they already \u201cknow\u201d an answer, they use their own training data. But when they encounter a new or nuanced question, they perform a live search looking for the freshest and most relevant information via emerging topics called <strong>fanout queries<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Think of those fanout queries as building blocks for your topical clusters. Understand how LLMs build these fanout queries, create content to cover crucial topics and sub-topics, and you\u2019ll boost your chances of showing up in AI search.<\/p>\n<p>To track them, go to <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/brand-radar\/\">Brand Radar<\/a>, search for <strong>AI responses<\/strong> for your brand, and check the <strong>Fanout queries<\/strong> column.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1013\" class=\"wp-image-195705\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-5.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-5.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-5-680x336.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-5-768x380.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-5-1536x760.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/query-fan-out\/\">What is Query Fan-Out? Understanding the Hidden Queries Driving AI Search<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3><a id=\"post-195700-_ud7hk9icdad0\"><\/a>2. Brand IS the new moat: go multi-platform<\/h3>\n<p>In AI search, most of your mentions and citations in AI conversations will come from third-party websites, and not your own content.<\/p>\n<p>For example, looking at the top sources for Ahrefs\u2019 brand mentions in AI responses, <a href=\"http:\/\/ahrefs.com\">ahrefs.com<\/a> wasn\u2019t cited as a primary source in ChatGPT.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1346\" class=\"wp-image-195706\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-6.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-6.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-6-647x425.jpg 647w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-6-768x505.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-6-1536x1010.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n<p>We fared much better in AI Overviews on position #7, yet we still weren\u2019t showing up in the top&nbsp;three.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1462\" class=\"wp-image-195707\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-7.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-7.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-7-595x425.png 595w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-7-768x548.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-7-1536x1097.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n<p>What does this&nbsp;mean?<\/p>\n<p>SEOs and marketers have a new job overnight: to proactively monitor mentions of your brand on other websites that can potentially influence a brand\u2019s AI visibility.<\/p>\n<p>AI doesn\u2019t just favor the company with the biggest SEO budget anymore. It favors the brand with the strongest narrative across a wide range of off-site touchpoints: videos, podcasts, PR, community forums, and even OOH advertising.<\/p>\n<p>These touchpoints were always essential to a brand\u2019s health. But AI has elevated them to a first-rate brand signal\u2014a thesis confirmed by most CMOs on the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/podcast\">Ahrefs podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" class=\"wp-image-195708\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-8.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-8.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-8-340x425.jpg 340w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-8-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\"><\/p>\n<p>In fact, YouTube and Reddit are the second and third most cited sources in AI search, according to this <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/top-10-most-cited-domains-ai-assistants\/\">Ahrefs study.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This means that SEO now needs to work much closer with brand and PR teams to secure brand mentions by pitching journalists, influencers, podcasters, advertisers, and community moderators.<\/p>\n<p>You can already start monitoring multi-platform brand mentions in Ahrefs\u2019 Brand Radar, which aggregates indexes from YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1264\" height=\"1024\" class=\"wp-image-195709\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-9.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-9.png 1264w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-9-525x425.png 525w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-9-768x622.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1264px) 100vw, 1264px\"><\/p>\n<p>For example, the YouTube report highlights brand mentions across video titles, descriptions, and even timestamped transcripts. Just jump straight to the minute when your brand was mentioned in case you\u2019re looking for warm partnerships.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1194\" class=\"wp-image-195710\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-10.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-10.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-10-680x396.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-10-768x448.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-10-1536x896.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/monitor-youtube-video-mentions\/\">How To Monitor Your YouTube Video Mentions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3><a id=\"post-195700-_fhwk2kgrunm3\"><\/a>3. Track fluid AI metrics<\/h3>\n<p>AEO fundamentally breaks static SEO&nbsp;KPIs.<\/p>\n<p>Answer engines are probabilistic by nature, meaning the exact same question can return different results. Ranking positions are not fixed either, and they also operate in a black box system that won\u2019t show prompt search volume.<\/p>\n<p>While fanout queries are incredibly helpful, they are also long-tail, low-volume questions that might often be totally unique, even never searched before. Don\u2019t fall into the hyper long-tail trap of chasing every single prompt.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, do&nbsp;this:<\/p>\n<p><strong>(a) Go for aggregate prompt tracking<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This evens out the data and gives you a clear picture of how much market your own. Tags are available in Ahrefs\u2019 Brand Radar for saved reports, making it easy to track AI visibility across broad topics and themes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1070\" class=\"wp-image-195711\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-11.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-11.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-11-680x355.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-11-768x401.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-11-1536x803.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>(b) Track your AI Share of Voice (SOV)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Non-deterministic AI answers shouldn\u2019t stop you from tracking your AI market share.<\/p>\n<p>The secret is to track your relative market share across a set of thousands of prompts, against the same competitors, on a consistent basis.<\/p>\n<p>This ties back to the previous point. Don\u2019t ask: \u201cDid my brand appear for this exact&nbsp;query?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A better question is: \u201cAcross thousands of prompts, how often does AI connect my brand with this topic or category?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To do so, enter your brand in Brand Radar, add competitors, and check your <strong>AI Share of Voice percentage <\/strong>across Ahrefs\u2019 250+ million search-backed prompts. Then save the report for later monitoring.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1096\" height=\"1452\" class=\"wp-image-195712\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-12.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-12.png 1096w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-12-321x425.png 321w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-12-768x1017.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1096px) 100vw, 1096px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/you-cant-track-ai-like-traditional-search\/#section-three\">You Can\u2019t Track AI Like Traditional Search. Here\u2019s What to Do Instead.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/custom-prompt-tracking\/\">How to Choose the Best Prompts to Monitor Your AI Search Visibility<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3><a id=\"post-195700-_d39pqjnj00pd\"><\/a>4. SEO is no longer a zero-sum game<\/h3>\n<p>Before, going up in the rankings meant replacing someone else.<\/p>\n<p>But the introduction of AI has actually enlarged the search market because people are searching more across all platforms. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/express\/learn\/blog\/chatgpt-as-a-search-engine\">Adobe\u2019s 2025 study<\/a> backs this up: 3 in 10 U.S. respondents now trust ChatGPT more than traditional search engines, while 36% discovered a new product or brand through it.<\/p>\n<p>In short, the \u201csearch pie\u201d hasn\u2019t shrunk. On the contrary, it got bigger!<\/p>\n<p>The sooner you stop stressing about lost traditional rankings, the sooner you can start claiming your share of this new AI-driven demand.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation\"><div class=\"recommendation-title\">Recommendation<\/div><div class=\"recommendation-content\">\nIf you\u2019re curious about the global traffic shift, check out our <a href=\"http:\/\/chatgpt-vs-google.com\">chatgpt-vs-google.com<\/a> dashboard, which analyzes traffic from over 70,000 websites.\n<p>According to it, AI traffic hit an all-time high in July 2025, but is making a comeback as of January 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"951\" class=\"wp-image-195713\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-13.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-13.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-13-680x316.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-13-768x357.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-13-1536x713.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Final thoughts\" data-section=\"six\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-195700-_9un9y7br1epz\"><\/a>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Whether you call it <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/geo-is-just-seo\/\">AEO, GEO, or LLMO<\/a>, it ultimately boils down to the same reality: AI search is a layer on top of&nbsp;SEO.<\/p>\n<p>There is a <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-vs-geo\/\">massive overlap between the two disciplines<\/a>. Foundational SEO best practices\u2014like crawlability, site structure, and high-quality content\u2014still apply. After all, traditional web visibility heavily impacts the RAG process in AI search.<\/p>\n<p>However, the nuances of execution have shifted. You now have to play both games simultaneously: traditional SEO to ensure your content can actually be found and retrieved, <strong>and<\/strong> AEO to build the off-site brand authority required to be cited as the go-to answer in your&nbsp;niche.<\/p>\n<p>The grief of losing the old SEO world is real. But once you reach acceptance, you\u2019ll realize the new game isn\u2019t about fighting the answer engine.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s about becoming the brand they can\u2019t afford to ignore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much like anyone facing a sudden loss, SEOs and marketers are currently cycling through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Our goal here is to help you process the change and unemotionally come to terms<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[469,335],"tags":[],"coauthors":[456],"class_list":["post-195700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai-search","category-general-seo","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SEO\u2019s 5 Stages of Grief (And How to Adapt to AI SEO)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Welcome to the zero-click era. Move past the 5 stages of SEO grief and discover how to adapt to SEO for AI, track fanout queries, and boost your AEO.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SEO\u2019s 5 Stages of Grief (And How to Adapt to AI SEO)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome to the zero-click era. Move past the 5 stages of SEO grief and discover how to adapt to SEO for AI, track fanout queries, and boost your AEO.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-03T14:02:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-03T15:29:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/word-image-195700-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"929\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"857\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrei \u021ai\u021b\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AndrezMarcel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andrei \u021ai\u021b\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2eb59ad6d195fe216f0177f45a0564be\"},\"headline\":\"SEO\u2019s 5 Stages of Grief (And How to Adapt to AI&nbsp;SEO)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-03T14:02:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-03T15:29:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2329,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/seos-5-stages-of-grief-and-by-andrei-tit-ai-search.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"AI Search\",\"General SEO\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/\",\"name\":\"SEO\u2019s 5 Stages of Grief (And How to Adapt to AI SEO)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-5-stages-of-grief\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/word-image-195700-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-03T14:02:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-03T15:29:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"Welcome to the zero-click era. 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