Fragmented search ensures the future of SEO
SEO stopped being SEO many years ago, when Google became so dominant that no search program paid attention to search engines other than Google.
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I am excited about the future of search because, quite frankly, SEO stopped being SEO many years ago, when Google became so dominant that no search program paid attention to search engines other than Google. A few weeks ago, I wrote that there’s no such thing as GEO; it’s just SEO. But to be fair, GEO is what SEO evolved into: Google Engine Optimization.
The rise of AI search engines is driving a resurgence in the practice of SEO other than GEO!
For those who spend all their working hours dissecting the Google algorithm, this might not be a great thing, but overall, the idea of Google not being the only place users go to search for information is a good sign for SEO.
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It’s not just the platform
Search is splintering across various platforms and interfaces, think glasses, smartphones, smart home devices, and even cars. This multi-platform future is not a distant horizon; it’s already taking shape, driven by rapid technological advancements and changing user behaviors.
As search becomes more fragmented and diverse, one thing remains clear: SEO will survive and thrive, evolving into an even more valuable acquisition resource. The complexity of being visible across these varied platforms will demand expertise, strategy, and leadership far beyond what is required today.
The value of SEO in a more connected world
SEO’s future is secure as search expands beyond its traditional roots. Modern vehicles, primarily electric and luxury models, are increasingly equipped with sophisticated infotainment systems. Drivers can now ask their car to find the nearest gas station, recommend a restaurant, or pull up directions. As autonomous driving technology matures, this trend will accelerate, turning cars into rolling search hubs, which might be why Google started building Waymo many years ago.
Much of the antitrust suit against Google centered on Google as the default search engine on Apple devices, but that’s only because Apple devices were one of the only platforms not already dominated by Google, so Google had to buy distribution. More surface areas for searches means that every automaker or even car model could have a different search interface.
Then there are smart glasses, a category poised for explosive growth. Devices like Google Glass once seemed like a niche experiment, but the concept is gaining traction with Meta’s Ray-Ban and rumors of Apple’s glasses. Imagine walking down a street, glancing at a storefront through your glasses, and instantly seeing reviews, hours, or menu options overlaid. Many of those activities start with a search that can go in multiple directions.
It’s not just new technology changing, but also advancements in existing tools. Visual search tools like Google Lens already let users point their phones at objects and get instant results. As cameras become more intelligent and are on more devices like drones, home security, and even home appliances, searching with images rather than words will become second nature.
A tourist might snap a photo of a statue, and their device could deliver its history, nearby attractions, and ticket prices without a single keystroke. Google’s upcoming Project Astra, paired with AR devices, advances search into almost a dystopian future. I think we'll see a lot more of Project Astra at IO in a few weeks.
The value in the challenge
This multi-platform reality poses a monumental challenge for companies seeking organic acquisition. Visibility has always been about Google and its rankings. Visibility tasks become exponentially more complex when “getting found” means appearing on a car’s navigation screen, a pair of AR glasses, a voice assistant’s response list, a visual search result, and a traditional search engine.
Each platform has its algorithms, data inputs, and user expectations. A keyword strategy that works on Google might flop on Meta’s search. A website optimized for text search might be invisible to a camera scanning the physical world.
For a small business like a local coffee shop, it needs to be discoverable across all these channels. On a car screen, it must rank high when a driver searches for “coffee near me.” On smart glasses, it might need to pop up as an AR overlay when someone looks at its storefront. Its logo or signature latte art should trigger instant recognition for visual search. With voice, it has to compete in a concise, spoken list of options. On traditional searches, it still needs placement on Google My Business. Achieving this level of omnipresence is a logistical nightmare without a cohesive strategy.
Companies can’t afford to treat these platforms as silos, each with its own team or ad hoc approach. The resource drain would be immense; hiring specialists for car tech, AR, voice, visual recognition, and text SEO, all working in isolation, risks inconsistency and inefficiency. A coffee shop might nail its Google rankings but vanish from Claude’s radar or dominate visual search but miss drivers cruising by.
SEO to the rescue
This is where SEO steps in, not as a relic of the past, stuffing keywords and stuffing metatags, but as the linchpin of the multi-platform future. At its core, SEO is about understanding how systems connect users to information and optimizing for that connection. That principle doesn’t change whether the system is a web crawler, a voice assistant, or an AR lens. The tools and tactics may evolve, but the mindset remains the same across platforms.
SEO isn’t about tricking algorithms; it’s about feeding them what they need to prioritize you. As search platforms multiply, that task grows more intricate, not less. The smart SEO who can figure out how to make this all happen becomes infinitely more valuable than someone who can use a keyword research tool to find content gaps and copy backlinks.
In this multi-platform world, search isn’t dying, it’s morphing into something new. Users will search across cars, glasses, cameras, voices, and screens, and businesses will scramble to be equally visible everywhere. Winning on just one platform isn’t good enough. (Have you ever met anyone who only wins on Bing?)
SEO teams (in-house or agency) will be the ones responsible for creating this visibility. In this new world, SEO is a strategic necessity, led by experts who can navigate the maze of multiple algorithms and interfaces.
A fragmented and volatile search world makes SEO and those who can create effective SEO strategies more valuable than ever.
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