The Truth About AI SEO & Why Agencies Are Struggling

About This Episode

AI was supposed to make SEO easier.

Instead, agencies are doing more work, charging more just to survive, and seeing less traffic than ever before.

In this roundtable discussion, SEO agency owners Vlad Yudkin, Brent Carnduff, and Dan Shure share what’s actually happening behind the scenes of SEO and digital marketing in the age of AI.

This isn’t theory or hype. It’s real-world experience from agencies navigating:

• AI-generated content
• Falling organic clicks
• Rising costs and pricing pressure
• Client expectations shaped by headlines—not data

Key takeaway:

AI didn’t kill SEO. It exposed weak strategies, bad content, and unrealistic expectations.

If you’re an SEO professional, agency owner, marketer, or business leader trying to understand what’s really changing in search, this conversation will help you cut through the noise.

Key Time Stamps:

00:00 – Introduction to the Podcast: AI as the next evolution of SEO

01:33 – Guest Introductions and Agency Growth

03:31 – Biggest agency mistake: trying to be everything for everyone

05:16 – Pricing regret: “We should have charged more sooner”

05:55 – Solo consultant vs scaling with employees

09:20 – SEO pricing reality: costs up, revenue down

11:03 – The stress and risk of raising prices

13:55 – Why AI increased workload instead of reducing it

18:13 – Evolution of AI in Programmatic and Scalable SEO

24:22 – AI overviews, fewer clicks & client expectations

25:50 – Why organic traffic won’t return, but lead quality improves

29:21 – YouTube, video & diversification beyond Google

32:16 – Reddit as a surprising lead-generation channel

34:14 – “Great decoupling”: impressions up, clicks down

47:00 – Final advice for agencies adapting to AI-driven search