AI is rewriting the rules of SEO and if you have been told backlinks don’t matter anymore, it’s time to think again.
In the latest episode of SEO on Air by Stan Ventures, host Koa Kauwe sat down with Arman Advani, Director of Search Atlas, to talk about what is really happening in search rankings as we head into 2026.
The conversation peeled back the layers on how AI-driven search is reshaping ranking signals, why link authority is back in the spotlight and how SEO professionals should prepare for what’s next.
“Right now, it has never been better to be in the link-building business,” Arman said confidently. “Large language models are using external validations, like backlinks, brand mentions and sentiment to decide which businesses deserve visibility.”
As search gets more intelligent, it’s not just about keywords or on-page content anymore. The future of SEO, as this episode reveals, lies in trust, validation, and contextual authority across the web.
Why Are Backlinks Made a Comeback in 2025?
Ten years ago, backlinks were the backbone of Google’s ranking algorithm. Then, as link farms and PBNs (Private Blog Networks) flooded the web, Google dialed back their influence, shifting focus toward content and user experience.
But with the rise of AI-powered search, Arman says the pendulum is swinging back.
“AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini rely on real-time retrieval when users ask about businesses, services, or products,” he explained. “They need external validation to decide whose answer to trust. Backlinks act as that validation.”
Large Language Models (LLMs) like those powering ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude, don’t just rely on static training data anymore.
They pull fresh data from the web using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). That means a company’s visibility across trusted, authoritative sites directly impacts whether AI will “mention” or recommend it in results.
And those trust signals? They look remarkably familiar:
- Backlinks from authoritative domains
- Mentions on review platforms like G2 and Trustpilot
- Brand sentiment across social and community sites like Reddit
AI’s logic, it turns out, still mirrors Google’s only this time, the feedback loop between authority and visibility is even tighter.
So What Defines a “Quality Link” in the Age of AI?
“Quality backlink” is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but few agree on what it really means.
For Arman, the answer is clear: traffic relevance trumps vanity metrics.
“We looked at domain authority, domain rating, and trust flow,” he said.
“But the metric that correlates best with performance is organic traffic. If a site isn’t getting traffic, Google and AI systems probably don’t care about it.”
But traffic alone can be deceptive. Some sites inflate numbers using irrelevant or non-commercial keywords. That is why context matters: the referring domain’s content, audience, and topical relevance to your niche all factor into link quality.
Search Atlas has even built its own metric Domain Power combining authority, traffic authenticity and topical alignment.
In short: backlinks are still votes of confidence, but only if they come from the right neighborhoods of the internet.
Digital PR vs Guest Posting: What Works Better Now?
It is a debate that’s reshaping agency strategies: are digital PR campaigns replacing guest blogging?
Arman’s take was refreshingly balanced.
“Digital PR is fantastic but not scalable for everyone,” he said. “If you’re pitching Forbes or Entrepreneur, that works for big brands. But what about a pest control company in Birmingham?
They can’t get that coverage and nor do they need it.”
For most businesses, the future lies in hybrid strategies: blending PR-style brand mentions with relevant, industry-specific guest placements.
The key, according to Arman, is ensuring that your brand gets referenced in credible contexts, even without a direct link.
That means quotes, mentions, and appearances on relevant websites matter as much as traditional backlinks. As he put it, “AI doesn’t just look for hyperlinks, it looks for reputation signals.”
How Is AI Changing the Definition of SEO?
Here’s the part where things get interesting. Despite the hype, AI and traditional SEO are not rivals, they are two sides of the same coin.
“Right now, only about 7% of SERPs feature AI overviews,” Arman shared. “But that number’s climbing fast. Still, AI search and traditional SEO aren’t separate. They overlap.”
AI systems, whether Gemini, ChatGPT, or Perplexity all draw from search engines like Google, Bing, Brave, and Common Crawl datasets. If your site does not rank well or isn’t visible to crawlers, it won’t appear in AI-generated results either.
So, optimizing for AI search still starts with solid SEO fundamentals:
- Crawlable and indexable pages
- Fast-loading, structured content
- Schema markup for machine readability
- Credible backlinks and brand mentions
“If you want to be visible in AI,” Arman added, “you first have to be visible in search. That’s SEO 101.”
How Are Agencies Scaling SEO in the AI Era?
Running a full-service SEO operation today requires balancing automation with human creativity.
Arman detailed how Search Atlas, which started as a traditional agency, scaled its team globally without compromising quality. By hiring across Colombia, Serbia, Nigeria, Pakistan and India, the company built an international workforce that blends cost efficiency with deep expertise.
“Talent has no borders,” Arman noted. “We couldn’t have built this platform if all our hires were U.S.-based. Scaling globally allowed us to reinvest in product innovation.”
He emphasized how remote collaboration tools like ClickUp and Hubstaff made global project management seamless, proving that cost-effective scaling doesn’t mean cutting corners, it means working smarter.
How Do You Make AI Content That Still Ranks?
Everyone’s asking the same question: if AI is creating content, how can you make yours stand out?
Arman had a blunt answer: “If you copy-paste a blog from ChatGPT and call it SEO content, you have failed the assignment.”
Search Atlas approaches AI writing differently. Before content is generated, it builds a Brand Kit, feeding the model key inputs like tone, audience, location, and existing assets.
Then, it scrapes top-ranking pages for that keyword, analyzing headings, schema and entity usage.
The result? Context-aware AI content designed to rank, not just read well.
“AI content isn’t the problem,” Arman said. “Bad content is. Whether it’s human-written or AI-generated, if it doesn’t add new information or context, it’s useless.”
What’s the Real Problem with SEO in 2025?
When asked what he would change about the SEO industry, Arman didn’t hold back.
“There’s too much smoke and mirrors,” he said. “Some agencies overpromise, underdeliver, and make clients think SEO doesn’t work. But SEO works, it is just often done wrong.”
Transparency, education, and data-backed strategy, he says, are what will separate real SEO professionals from opportunists.
To help bridge that gap, Search Atlas even built a free “Patent Brain GPT” an AI tool trained on every Google patent ever published. Anyone can ask how Google actually uses links, structured data, or ranking factors.
“If you want to know how Google works, ask Google’s patents,” he joked.
Where Is SEO Headed Next?
As the conversation closed, Arman shared his biggest prediction: the rise of blended search.
In his words,
“We’re entering an era where Google, social media, and AI platforms will merge into a hybrid discovery ecosystem. Some searches will stay in Google. Others will start and end in AI or social apps. SEO must evolve to serve all of them.”
He expects AI SEO systems, where marketers can talk to AI agents like Search Atlas to deploy entire SEO campaigns to become mainstream within the next two years.
And as for traditional Google search? It’s not going anywhere but it is about to share the stage with a new wave of intelligent discovery platforms.
TL;DR – Key Takeaways
- AI is reviving backlinks as major ranking signals for validation and trust.
- Quality links = traffic + context + authority, not just metrics.
- Digital PR and guest blogging are merging into hybrid link strategies.
- AI and SEO are interconnected — visibility in AI starts with strong organic SEO.
- AI content must add “information gain,” not regurgitate existing ideas.
- Global teams and automation are driving the next generation of SEO agencies.
- The future is blended search, where Google, AI, and social platforms converge.
Dipti Arora
AuthorDipti Arora is a Senior Content Writer with over seven years of experience creating impactful content across Digital Marketing, SEO, technology, and business domains. She has a strong background in managing news verticals and delivering editorial excellence. Dipti has contributed to leading publications such as The Times of India and CEO News, where her research-driven storytelling and ability to simplify complex subjects have consistently stood out. She is passionate about crafting content that informs, engages, and drives meaningful results.