The news: Marketing teams are rapidly integrating AI tools into search engine optimization (SEO) workflows.

A vast majority (86%) of US SEO professionals and digital marketers use ChatGPT alongside traditional platforms like Ahrefs (64%) and Semrush (56%), per a Databox survey to understand how generative AI (genAI) is changing their work in 2025. 

What this means: The data shows that genAI is taking attention away from search. Traditional SEO drives 84% of website visits and 86% of conversions—far outpacing AI-generated traffic, for now. As AI continues to be incorporated into search tools and becomes smarter at scouring the internet for answers, it could catch up to SEO.

And marketers are on board: 85% believe AI will have a positive impact on SEO this year, per Conductor.

3 primary motivations for AI adoption: Respondents cite improving content quality (33%), gaining data-driven insights (30%), and scaling content production (29%) as reasons to implement AI workflows. 

Half of marketing teams take a “moderately proactive” approach to AI implementation, meaning they use AI tools but remain cautious about investing heavily on the technology. 

• 75% of marketing professionals use large language models (LLMs) for content brainstorming.
• 67% said they use AI for automated content creation.

Optimization challenges: The biggest hurdle in adopting AI? Accuracy. More than half of respondents report struggles with factual errors in AI-generated materials. At the same time, AI-powered chat tools are pulling traffic away from websites, changing how users seek information while upending content monetization.

To stay visible, companies are:

• Implementing schema markup (64%)
• Creating Q&A-style content (59%)
• Optimizing for conversational queries (51%)

Our take: As shifts from traditional search to AI chatbots continue to alter the marketing landscape, CMOs need to maintain a balanced approach to AI integration while preserving traditional SEO foundations.

Investing in quality content over quantity, doubling down on fact-checking and accuracy, and developing modern measurement tools built around AI visibility and organic traffic can better inform content strategies. 

Combining AI’s efficiency with human oversight is key to ensure brand control while exploring emerging search and SEO opportunities.