Part 3: How ChatGPT and Google’s Bard Are Impacting the Search Engine Landscape

In Part One and Part Two of our artificial intelligence (AI) blog series, we discussed how AI is influencing the digital marketing industry and changing content production due to generative AI. Together, these advancing AI tools that are learning to optimize and understand content are also affecting the search engine landscape. In Part Three of our series, we’re focused on how generative AI can influence and enhance your search marketing tactics and provide perspective on opportunities for testing and gathering data for future optimization. 

Chatbots like ChatGPT, and Google’s Bard are designed to understand natural language and provide accurate responses to users’ queries. As such, these AI-powered tools have the potential to revolutionize the way people search for information and interact with businesses online. Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns have been the go-to methods for businesses to increase their visibility online and reach their target audience. However, with the advance of artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, the landscape of SEO and PPC is set to change dramatically in the coming years. At Location3 we are leaning in to understanding these changes as AI continues to advance so we can further optimize our partner’s SEO and PPC campaigns. 

Search Engine Optimization: 

One significant way in which ChatGPT and Bard will affect SEO is through the way in which search engines rank websites. Traditional SEO techniques, such as keyword optimization and link building, will become less important as AI chatbots become more sophisticated in understanding the context and intent behind search queries. Search engines will prioritize websites that provide the most relevant and accurate information to users, as determined by AI-powered chatbots. 

Businesses will need to focus more on creating high-quality, informative content that satisfies users’ needs and provides value to their audience. With the increasing sophistication of AI-powered chatbots, search engines are moving towards more complex algorithms that can understand the context and intent behind search queries. Rather than simply relying on the presence of certain keywords on a webpage, search engines now aim to provide the most accurate and relevant information to users based on their search query. 

This means that the easy way-out SEO tactic of simply stuffing keywords into a webpage will be penalized further than before. This spammy and manipulative technique of keyword stuffing and other “black hat” SEO techniques will become increasingly ineffective as AI-powered chatbots become more prevalent. According to Google, “you’ll see AI-powered features in Search that distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web” (Google). 

Additionally, as chatbots become more prevalent in customer service and support, businesses will need to ensure that their websites are optimized for conversational queries. This means creating content that is easily readable and understandable by chatbots and optimizing website structure to accommodate these conversational search queries. According to Microsoft, Bing will become your copilot for the web, “For more complex searches – such as for planning a detailed trip itinerary or researching what TV to buy – the new Bing offers new, interactive chat. The chat experience empowers you to refine your search until you get the complete answer you are looking for by asking for more details, clarity and ideas – with links available so you can immediately act on your decisions” (Microsoft). 

 Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaigns: 

Similarly, PPC campaigns will also be impacted by the rise of AI-powered chatbots. As chatbots become more advanced in understanding user intent, businesses will need to create more targeted and personalized PPC campaigns that cater to specific user needs. Generic, one-size-fits-all campaigns will become less effective as chatbots enable businesses to target their advertising efforts to specific user groups and demographics. 

Luckily, AI can help campaign managers in creating more options and keywords for personalized campaigns. With ChatGPT and Bard, also functioning in the generative AI space, they can be utilized to not only come up with additional keywords, but they can assist in keyword classification and optimization. Search Engine Journal put ChatGPT to the test and found that “While Google’s Keyword Planner is a great tool for finding new keywords, ChatGPT provides a good alternative. You can prompt it with the landing page you want keywords for and get a few suggestions” (Search Engine Journal).   

In Summary 

In summary, the rise of AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard will continue to have a significant impact on the SEO and PPC landscape as brands, marketers, Microsoft and Google continue to adapt to their increasing use and influence on search marketing. Businesses will need to adapt their strategies to cater to the evolving needs of chatbot-powered search and advertising. Turning a focus to creating high-quality, informative content and personalized campaigns that cater to specific user needs. As AI continues to evolve, businesses that can successfully leverage these technologies will be best positioned to succeed in the digital marketplace. At Location3, we’ll continue testing these tools and other AI-powered technology to improve our partners’ performance, in addition to gathering quality data and insights that inform future strategic plans and tactical execution. Stay tuned to our blog for more updates and use cases as we go forward.