Searching for Something You Already Have: AI and SEO

For many, the prospect of AI-assisted search engines has been one that’s considered to be a future development. But the truth of the matter is that it’s been around for quite some time.

It’s been around in the form of RankBrain even before the hype surrounding artificial intelligence existed. While AI can become a significant part of search engines, the tech itself can undoubtedly still be improved upon.

But before we even begin to delve into the possible ways that artificial intelligence can improve how search engines work, we have to first establish a working understanding on what exactly RankBrain is, what it isn’t, and what it does.

For starters, RankBrain was released in the year 2015 and it has since been working as part of the Google algorithm that produces search results when an inquiry is sent. That’s right — RankBrain is an algorithm found within Google’s search algorithm. The search algorithm is known as Hummingbird, and it is designed to handle the majority of the searches that the average user sends.

You can, in essence, liken this structure to that of a clock. Every clock has many gears that ensure its functionality. Hummingbird could be likened to the biggest gear in the clock, while RankBrain is merely a smaller gear that serves a particular function that influences the overall functionality of the clock.

RankBrain is designed to handle unrefined, uncommon, and difficult-to-interpret search queries, while Hummingbird handles your usual searches. RankBrain is able to do so by learning from previous unrefined search patterns as well as determining a user’s purpose for searching a particular term. In essence, RankBrain, like SEO, seeks to improve a user’s experience by presenting the user with information that’s relevant.

But of course, like all pieces of technology, there will be a time when either the tech can still be further improved or we will need to find a better way to apply the tech. And that will be the case when we are able to fully integrate artificial intelligence into every search inquiry.

Just think about it — the concept of your devices becoming more capable of bringing you more accurate search results with each use is one that isn’t far-fetched. In fact, AI is one of the technologies that could very well become part of daily life. And this could potentially disrupt — in a good way — the way that we conduct search engine optimization.

It is for this reason that we should be able to seek the expertise of search engine optimization specialist companies such as Digital Monopoly in order for us to be able to successfully adapt to the new SEO methods that artificial intelligence might influence.

It is nothing less than evolution in itself, and as with every instance of evolution, those who fail to adapt are often the ones who are left behind and forgotten. While it’s still unclear how exactly AI is going to alter SEO, the fact remains that we need to keep up with the times.