The Leap of Tech #4: Classic SEO Is Dead. Here’s What Comes After

Welcome to the New Era of Digital Visibility

The fourth edition of Leap of Tech took place on June 18 and brought together digital leaders, marketers, and founders to tackle one of the most urgent shifts in the online space: how the rise of AI and social search is changing the rules of brand building and visibility. The event featured Radu Marcusu, CEO of Upswing. 

With a portfolio built around SEO, performance content, data, and automation, Radu delivered a deep dive into what’s really happening behind the scenes of your traffic drop and why marketing no longer stops at being first in the rankings.

Search is no longer a Google monopoly

Radu opened with some striking news for context: “Google is steadily losing market share.” From a peak of over 90%, it’s slipping–under pressure from new behavior patterns, AI tools, and social platforms. For example, TikTok is now the #1 platform for engagement in Romania, with users spending over 42 hours a month on it. YouTube is becoming a true second search engine, yet remains underused by most marketers.

At the same time, new engines like Perplexity and SearchGPT are gaining serious traction.Their ranking logic is based less on backlinks and more on what you say and what others say about you. “PR content works like SEO now. So, watch out for the results that you get. As a good practice, filter the information critically,” Radu said, emphasizing the importance of content reputation and media presence.

The SEO playbook has changed dramatically

A key shift is happening with AI-generated search results. Google’s AI Overviews, already live in Romania, answer many user queries without showing traditional links. For websites relying on organic blog traffic, this has led to drops of up to 60%. “We’re seeing the disappearance of curiosity-driven clicks,” Radu noted. “When the AI gives you an answer right away, why would you scroll?”

Google also surfaces suggested blog articles, promotes YouTube videos, and pulls short videos directly from various social media platforms. Visual optimization has become critical—image quality, file formats, and metadata influence whether content appears first in search rankings.

Local businesses can leverage geolocation to gain visibility, while position zero, once prime SEO territory for high-traffic keywords like weather or sports, has been overtaken by auto-generated answers shown immediately on the homepage. For questions like weather or sports scores, users are shown direct responses on the search homepage, reducing the need to click through.

The impact is real: blogs and content-heavy websites are reporting traffic drops between 15 and 60%. The shift is even more complex in the EU, where platforms must comply with the AI Act, influencing how AI-generated features are rolled out. In this new context, adapting your visibility strategy becomes a survival measure.

In addition to traditional blog links, Google now suggests blog articles, YouTube videos, and even short-form videos sourced from across social platforms. Radu emphasized the growing importance of visual content: “Pay attention to images, image formats, and how to optimize them to rank.” Photos, video thumbnails, and structured visual data are becoming crucial. Geolocation has also emerged as a visibility lever, helping local businesses gain relevance in area-based queries.

In short: optimize beyond words. SEO now depends on integrated content formats, behavioral signals, and how effectively your assets align with intent.

AI is taking over, but not how you expect

ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are already claiming significant ground in search. ChatGPT’s SearchGPT functionality, in particular, has gained rapid traction, with an estimated 4.5 billion monthly searches compared to Google’s 450 billion. That’s not just a stat. It’s also a signal. AI is now shaping not just the way people search, but where they search. And what wins is not just high-ranking content, but high-relevance content.

Radu shared how tools like Notebook LM are helping automate research, transcriptions, and briefs, turning SEO into a dynamic system powered by AI assistance. But that doesn’t mean “set it and forget it.” Instead, you need constant adaptation to how engines work–because AI shifts ranking based on context, intent, and perceived authority.

Organic alone isn’t enough anymore

Another critical point was the economic layer. With bidding wars over PPC keywords escalating, many brands have responded by increasing budgets. But this is not sustainable. “If your first countermeasure is to spend more, you’re just delaying the pain,” Radu warned.

The alternative? A smarter, integrated approach. Organic visibility must now include social content, community presence, and multimedia optimization. If you’re only investing in SEO and not building awareness across formats, you’re missing major market opportunities.

Content strategy needs a complete rethink 

More than ever, visibility demands a holistic approach. From structured listings to social videos, how you surface your content now shapes how you’re discovered. “The user journey is fragmented,” Radu said. “You can’t rely on one funnel, one channel, or one format.”

That’s why Upswing focuses on total visibility strategies that treat every touchpoint, video, blog, social, AI response, as part of your digital footprint. SEO is no longer just a marketing tool. It’s a dynamic interface for how information is consumed.

Four possible futures for visibility in the age of AI

To close his talk, Radu outlined four strategic scenarios digital leaders need to watch as search continues to evolve:

1. Default lock-in will shape access: Google pays Apple around $25 billion to remain the default search engine on Safari. A shift in this relationship could dramatically alter how users access search and where marketers focus their efforts.
2. AI-native engines will redefine ranking: Platforms like Perplexity and ChatGPT are reshaping how information is filtered and surfaced. Instead of prioritizing backlinks, these engines emphasize contextual relevance and verified reputation.
3. Search will fragment across platforms: Discovery is no longer confined to Google. TikTok, YouTube, and other content ecosystems now act as search layers. Adapting content for these contexts is key.
4. Regulation will reshape the playing field: The EU AI Act and similar global regulations will define how platforms operate and what is permissible in algorithmic processing. 

What’s next in the world of online visibility

One message came through loud and clear at Leap of Tech #4: the rules of online visibility have fundamentally changed. In a landscape shaped by AI-driven search and fragmented user journeys, visibility is no longer just about traffic or keyword rankings. It’s about how your brand is interpreted, how your content connects, and how well your strategy flexes across formats. Visibility isn’t a growth hack. It’s your digital reputation—and your competitive edge.

Radu’s key takeaway: “Don’t chase rankings. Chase relevance.”

See you at the next Leap of Tech event

Stay close, because the next edition will go even further. We’ll explore how founders build distribution into their product from day one, and why the new marketing moat is made of tech, timing, and trust.

The Leap of TECH isn’t a trend. 

It’s a movement. A manifesto. IT starts with you.

✊ Stay tuned.