SEO, or search engine optimization, served as a key tool in digital marketing by helping companies build an online presence and reach consumers. Many marketing courses required students to learn SEO, but the rise of artificial intelligence raised questions about whether students still needed it.
Trinity Villa, senior business administration major, described SEO in simple terms.
“I would explain it as a way that companies help us, as users, see their website. [An example is] if I’m looking for an ice cream store and I look up ice cream, then this company would’ve used SEO to make sure their website pops up for ice cream,” Villa said.
As AI tools expanded, SEO adjusted to changing user behavior. Zsa Zsa Mueller, a junior marketing major, said AI and SEO worked together.
“Whenever you look something up, it uses keywords in what you say, and it brings up all of these articles and sources that have something to do with what you looked up,” Mueller said. “So, I feel like AI gives you the quickest, most simple to understand response, but it’s still using SEO just because that’s how the computer works.”
Dr. Carnell Borden, assistant professor of business analytics, said the industry remained in an early stage of AI adoption and that search behavior continued to shift.
“We are in the formative stage of AI. There are still a number of people who have their old behaviors, and while OpenAI through ChatGPT is winning a lot of the search market, it still has a lot of growing to do. Google is still the first place to go for many folks. And of course, they’ve incorporated AI into their search function. I suspect they’ll get better at it,” Borden said. “So, I think the landscape is going to become more competitive… The part that SEO plays in that, I can’t really tell you at this time, but I think search engine optimization is always going to be a thing.”
Villa said students still benefited from learning SEO because it strengthened research skills.
“I think it is [worth it]. It goes back to the basis of knowing how to research. It’s kind of like if you go to the library database, you need to know your key terms and know how to work it to get the best results,” Villa said. “And I think it’s the same way with AI and SEO. If you can understand it, then you can utilize it better for your own education.”
As AI continued to evolve, SEO remained a foundational skill in digital marketing. Understanding how search worked, including keywords and audience intent, helped prepare students for careers that relied on digital visibility.
