Why differentiating content has never been more important
At Adobe Summit this week, SEMRush CEO Andrew Arden gave a speech and gave a really interesting summary of how visibility on search has changed, and - you guessed it - AI is why.
Essentially, AI search is starting to behave less like Google (which was more like a directory of business listings) and more like an editor. And, like any editor, it’s pedantic and picky.
The idea here is the “bland tax”: if your content looks like everyone else’s - safe, SEO-shaped, competent - there’s a good chance AI just ignores it. The irony being is that is exactly the kind of content which is exploding thanks to AI.
A few things are going on:
AI decides who gets seen. It’s not about ranking anymore, it’s about being shortlisted or even selected as the chosen one.
Generic content = invisible. If your content could have been written by anyone (or an LLM), it’s very unlikely to be cited by one.
Distinctiveness is increasingly the key to distribution. Clear expertise, strong POVs, and recognisable positioning aren’t “nice to have” - they’re how you show up at all.
It compounds. No citations means no visibility, which leads to weaker signals, which means even less chance of showing up in the future.
Being distinctive and having something to say have been best practice tenets for as long as I’ve worked in comms, but the main difference now is seemingly that it’s much harder to get away with weak, inane content.
Playing it safe used to mean that you might rank, just not be top of the list. Now, it might mean you don’t make the list at all.
This summary at Search Engine Journal is a great read.
Further Reading
Elsewhere, Meta is reportedly tracking employee clicks and activity, all in the name of training its AI tools. To some extent, I’m surprised it isn’t already doing this, but it’s safe to say the backlash hasn’t been great.
You’ll recall there are a series of court cases at the moment pertaining to Meta, and other social platforms, being dangerously addictive for children. Execs from a few major players denied this (unsurprisingly) this week before a select committee, ahead of the UK potentially adopting a ban for under-16s. The UK Government is also planning a ban on mobile phones in schools.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk snubbed French regulators over an investigation into various aspects of X, including Grok being used to create non-consensual deepfakes. France is one of the nations leading the charge on restricting social media usage/platforms in Europe, and this hasn’t exactly helped matters.
That’s it for this week! I’ll be back next week. If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.
If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶