Introduction to Agentic SEO
The development of agentic SEO is being closely watched, as it is believed that over the next few years, agents will have a significant impact on the industry. This is not expected to be a seamless replacement of talent with machine intelligence, but rather a radical shift in how the online space operates. Marie Haynes, a well-known expert in the industry, has been sharing her learnings on E-E-A-T and Google’s algorithm through her popular Search News You Can Use newsletter. She has also made the decision to retire her SEO agency and focus on learning AI systems, as she believes we’re at the beginning of a profound transformation.
The Future of SEO
Marie believes that AI will radically change our world for the better and that every business will have AI agents. She has written an article, "Hype or not, should you be investing in AI agents?" about what SEOs need to understand about this rapidly developing space. In an interview, Marie emphasized that the idea that we optimize for appearing as one of the 10 blue links on Google is already gone. Instead, the focus should be on creating agentic workflows that can handle the work that can be automated.
Experimenting with Gemini Gems
Marie’s practical advice for anyone wanting to understand agents is to start with Gems. She suggests trying to create some Gemini Gems, which will eventually morph into agentic workflows. To illustrate, she shared a process she called her "originality Gem," which contains a 500+ word prompt that captures how she evaluates content, along with examples of truly original content in its knowledge base. We’re not far from the day where all of Marie’s processes that she does for SEO can be handled by agentic workflows that occasionally pull on her for some advice.
The Power of Chaining Agents
The next progression and real potential come from chaining agents together to create agentic workflows. The power that this gives opportunity to is that we can use our knowledge and experience to teach AI like a team of assistants to do the work that can be automated. We would then orchestrate the process and, like a conductor, sit and guide the agents to perform the work as we become the human-in-the-loop to review the output. Once we have downloaded our knowledge to the agents, and the systems work, we can scale ourselves to handle exponential clients.
Why Gemini Over ChatGPT
Marie focuses on Gemini over ChatGPT because she believes that Google will be the winner in the AI race. She thinks that Google is going to win the game and that it’s always been their game to win. Therefore, she makes it a point to use Gemini as much as she can. Marie also believes that Google’s ecosystem is coming together, and she wants to grow her skills in what’s coming tomorrow.
Transformations Will Follow the Money
Marie’s prediction for the next few years is for workflows to become embedded. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, said that in two to four years, every agentic workflow will be deeply embedded into our day-to-day work. However, Marie thinks the real transformations will come when businesses start making money from agentic workflows. It’s wild how many trillions of dollars are being spent on developing AI, yet there’s not a whole lot of financial output at this point.
What SEOs Should Do Now
Overwhelm is a real issue to be aware of, and with developments moving so quickly, there is a huge learning curve to essentially retrain. Even for those working on this full-time. Marie made a commitment when she went all in on AI research, and she advises others to keep learning, keep trying things, and experiment with writing prompts. The next time you go to do a task, try to create an agent that would do this for you, even if you don’t finish, you’ll learn skills for the next attempt.
The Future of SEO
Marie referenced Sundar Pichai calling AI technology more profound than fire or electricity in its impact on society. Despite acknowledging her bias after investing significant time in understanding AI, she maintains there’s going to be societal disruption. Being able to understand what’s happening in the world and distill it down to what’s important to your clients will be a superpower. Although, she does admit, there is still a lot of learning and grey areas to move through as we navigate the edge of technology.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the development of agentic SEO is expected to have a significant impact on the industry. Marie Haynes believes that AI will radically change our world for the better and that every business will have AI agents. She advises SEOs to keep learning, keep trying things, and experiment with writing prompts. The future of SEO will be about acting as the interface between businesses and technology, and SEOs will be the human experts who teach, guide, and implement AI agents. Those who develop these skills now will be extremely valuable in the future.