Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 26.08.2025 
Author Viktor Bartak
First of all, let me introduce myself and thank the Search Awards team for the honor of receiving what must now be my tenth nomination (across different companies I’ve worked for as well as personally) in various categories and countries over the last 5 years. I even had the privilege of winning first place in B2B once. This recognition means a lot to me, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity.
Quick Intro
My name is Viktor Bartak. I’ve been working in SEO since 2008, and the key thing I’d like to share about my approach is this – I grew up in the family of a physicist, I hold a Master’s degree in nuclear physics, and I’ve spent much of my life in academic and research environments. I’ve applied the same scientific methodologies and research-driven thinking to SEO throughout my career.
Will AI replace websites?
Now, let’s talk about the question that concerns many of us – the idea that users might no longer visit our websites because they can get all the answers directly from AI.
To me, that’s actually a positive development. If technology exists that allows people to find answers more quickly and conveniently, that’s a wonderful thing. We should support progress, not resist it.
And in truth, this isn’t new at all. Since I started in SEO back in 2008, search engines have always been working to provide more direct answers to simple questions on the results page. Years ago, websites could get traffic from queries like “how many centimeters in 20 inches” or “how many USD in 10 EUR.” It’s far better that search engines provide these answers instantly instead of sending users to a site for such basic information. It improves user experience globally, and website owners need to adapt by creating value that cannot simply be displayed in search results.
Content shift with AI
With AI, creating that kind of value has actually become easier than ever. At the very least because the focus in content has shifted – what really matters now is substance, meaning, and expertise. Perfect grammar is just one click away for everyone. This shift opens the door for more experts in niche fields to share their knowledge, without being excluded just because they aren’t native speakers.
Think about it – not long ago, many content writers were hired primarily because they were native speakers of the target language, not because they were true specialists in the subject. Just a couple of years later, this already feels absurd. And as a result, the quality bar for content has risen significantly.
Of course, some niches will disappear completely. Informational sites, for example, were already in decline and now will vanish altogether. And let’s be honest, few people will miss them. Nobody enjoyed landing on a site created purely for monetization, packed with endless ads and long, shallow articles written word-by-word for pay. Users wanted one clear answer, and instead got buried under banners and filler text. No wonder people now simply turn to ChatGPT instead.
Real business = real value
But if you are a real business offering real value – whether that’s a SaaS, a product, a service, or consulting – and you want to leverage SEO as one of the best organic channels in marketing, then how does AI change things for you?
The truth is – not much.
If people need what you’re offering, whether they come through Google Search or through an email link generated by ChatGPT doesn’t matter. What matters is getting the lead, the conversion, the customer, the sale. The channel is secondary.
And for those who manage to rank well in AI answers, this opens up a massive opportunity to win clients “through the back door” – bypassing the hyper-competitive world of traditional search results and attracting customers directly from LLMs. Right now, AI ranking is still in its “medieval age.” People are experimenting with visibility tactics in AI the way healers once experimented with herbs before modern medicine existed. And if you look at most advice online, 99% of it focuses on factors that have little to no real impact.
Meanwhile, in some of my projects, the number of leads from LLMs has already matched the number coming from classic search – even though, according to Ahrefs, the industry average is only about 0.5% of site traffic from LLMs today.
How exactly to achieve this is, of course, a story for another post.
