Why AI Is Forcing Us to Rethink Content: From SEO to Human Experience

This weekend, I had one simple goal: find a great chicken stir-fry recipe. I already had the ingredients—chicken, frozen stir-fry mix, soy sauce, ginger powder, onion powder, ground coriander and salted butter—and did what we all do. I Googled it. 

The search results looked promising. I clicked on the top link, a beautifully photographed food blog. But to get to the recipe, I had to scroll. And scroll. First came a 700-word account of the author’s life-changing trip to Thailand. Then a deep dive into the history of the wok. And finally, a sentimental ode to their grandmother’s love for ginger. All I wanted was the ingredient list and instructions. Then came the pop-ups. ‘SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER!’ one demanded. ‘DOWNLOAD MY FREE EBOOK!’ shouted another, while a video ad auto-played in the corner. After wrestling with two more similarly bloated blogs, I gave up in frustration.

I opened a new tab, went to ChatGPT, and typed: ‘I have chicken, onion powder, ginger powder, soy sauce, ground coriander, and McCain vegetable stir fry mix. Give me a simple stir-fry recipe.
 

Ten seconds later, I had a clear, concise, and perfectly usable recipe. This wasn’t just about dinner. It was a reminder of a larger disconnect. For years, we’ve been creating content for algorithms—padding, priming, and posturing for bots—and in doing so, we’ve neglected the real audience: people. Now, the rise of AI is holding a mirror to our content strategies and asking a confronting question: Are we actually providing value—or just getting in the way?
 

From Pulling Clicks to Providing Value 

For over a decade, digital marketing has operated within a ‘pull’ paradigm. ‘Google Search relies on users actively searching for something they know about.’ Our job as SEOs was to rank for those searches and pull in clicks.

In pursuit of this, many SEO best practices became gospel: write long-form content, include relevant keywords, stretch dwell time. The result? Pages like the stir-fry blogs I encountered—optimised for bots but obstructive for humans.

The new kids on the block: ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews are disrupting that model. These systems cut through the clutter and deliver answers without the fluff. While this isn’t necessarily the death of SEO—it’s a reckoning. AI is exposing how often our content prioritises performance metrics over people. This isn’t a question of whether AI will replace publishers or content teams, but whether our content deserves to be chosen by users or AI. 

What AI Is Teaching Us About Modern Content 

The speed and clarity of AI-generated responses reveal an undeniable truth: user expectations have changed. People don’t just want information—they want fast, useful, frictionless information.

Here are the questions we need to ask ourselves as content creators:

Is Our Content Respectful of Time?

The biggest lesson from my stir-fry saga? Time is currency. Making someone scroll through stories and dodge pop-ups just to get a recipe isn’t charming—it’s inconsiderate. When content is hard to access, it signals that we value our metrics more than the user’s experience.

New standards are emerging: TL;DR summaries, ‘jump to recipe’ links, clear formatting, direct answers. Give users the function first, and they’ll stay for the story—on their own terms. 

Does Our Story Serve the User or Ourselves? 

Narrative matters. It builds trust, brand identity, and emotional connection. But it only works when it’s offered—not forced. The issue with many lifestyle blogs isn’t that they tell stories—it’s that they use them as obstacles.

An AI can’t replicate a brand’s voice or share personal anecdotes. But those human elements need to follow value—not precede it. Start with utility, lead with clarity, and let your unique perspective enhance the experience—not slow it down. 

Are We Creating an Experience—or an Obstacle Course? 

AI responses exist in clean, minimal environments. Your website? It’s your digital home. And like any home, the feeling it gives off matters.

If visitors are hit with pop-ups, autoplay videos, and cluttered design, they’ll bounce—regardless of how great your content is. No amount of brilliance can outshine poor UX. Your content’s future is directly tied to how enjoyable your site is to navigate.

So, what’s the way forward? We evolve—from Search Engine Optimisation to Human Experience Optimisation (HXO). (Yes, I just dropped another acronym. Guilty.) And in writing that, I’m suddenly struck by a familiar thought: How different is this really from the usual flood of clickbait posts posing as thought leadership on LinkedIn?
But here’s the truth: beneath all the jargon and trend-chasing, the principles haven’t changed. The irony is that good SEO—the kind that actually earns trust and drives value—has always been about people. We just drifted too far from it.

AI is forcing us to confront that reality. It’s a mirror showing us where we’ve overcomplicated, over-optimised, and under-delivered.

Do I know exactly what the future holds? No. But I do know this: we can watch, adapt, and keep practising SEO as it was always meant to be. Content so helpful, so trustworthy, and so effortless to consume that both humans and AI want to engage with it.

Because in a world of instant answers, our real advantage is what AI can’t replicate—empathy, perspective, trust, and human context.
That’s how we earn attention. That’s how we stand out.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s how we make a simple recipe search feel joyful again. 

About The Author 

Fumani Baloyi is an experienced SEO and digital strategy leader with over a decade in performance-driven marketing. As Head of SEO at Vetro Media, he blends deep technical know-how with a sharp understanding of audience behaviour, helping brands scale visibility across competitive industries.

He specialises in user-first SEO and believes the future of search lies in clarity, trust, and human-centered experiences.