Podcast · ~1 hr 15 min

Rethinking SEO in the age of AI (Eli Schwartz)

Lenny Rachitsky with Eli Schwartz · Lenny's Podcast Free Intermediate

A calm, forward-looking conversation with an SEO advisor who has worked with Zapier, Tinder, and Coinbase, aimed squarely at product and startup people rather than agencies. Schwartz argues AI has changed where SEO matters (it now owns the top of the funnel while SEO still wins the mid-funnel where people compare options), which helps you judge how much this actually matters for your stage. Listen to it as a way to think, not a checklist to copy.

  • AI has reshaped SEO, not killed it: it dominates early informational search while mid-funnel comparison search still rewards good SEO
  • Before investing, check whether your market has enough real search demand and beatable competition, otherwise SEO is the wrong channel
  • Treat SEO as a product problem tied to the user journey, not a bag of link-building tricks
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The question it answers

  1. How is SEO changing with AI answers and ChatGPT, and should I even care as a small founder?

Read with it

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  2. If the GEO article gets you excited, read this one right after to stay grounded. Heitzman, who runs an SEO agency, shows that... Search Engine Land Essay · ~10 min read AI hype vs. SEO reality: What actually drives leads and revenue Adam Heitzman
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