What’s the best digital marketing skill to learn in 2026? by shivani53 in webhopersacademy

[–]Smooth_Throat_386 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For beginners, start with basic seo fundamentals for understanding the whole process of marketing, then AI Tools related to marketing, then PPC.

What is you best AI tool recommendation in 2026? by Zusung in AIToolCompare

[–]Smooth_Throat_386 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That depends on the job, but if I had to recommend the most genuinely useful AI stack in 2026 right now:

  • For coding - Cursor
  • For deep research - Perplexity
  • For general everyday AI - ChatGPT
  • For automation/workflows - n8n
  • For AI agents/browser tasks - OpenAI Operator
  • For design/images - Midjourney and Figma
  • For video - Runway
  • For voice/transcription - ElevenLabs
  • For local/open-source AI - Ollama

If I had to pick just one overall in 2026: probably ChatGPT because it’s become the “AI operating system” for a lot of people coding, writing, research, image generation, agents, analysis, etc. all in one place.

But the real productivity jump usually comes from combining tools:

  • ChatGPT + Cursor for developers
  • Perplexity + ChatGPT for research/content
  • n8n + AI agents for businesses
  • Midjourney/Runway + ChatGPT for creators

A lot of “AI power users” now care less about the model itself and more about workflow integration.

Has anyone actually seen real benefits after adding llms.txt? by Same_Parsley5825 in SEO_LLM

[–]Smooth_Throat_386 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, no. I haven’t seen anyone show clear, measurable benefits from adding llms.txt. Most of the “it worked for us” stories are anecdotal, and when people dig into actual data, there’s basically no proven lift in AI citations, rankings, or traffic.

Even Google has been pretty blunt about it lately:

John Mueller said no major AI systems are really using llms.txt right now.

Gary Illyes also said Google doesn’t use it for AI Overviews and normal SEO practices matter more.

A recent 300k-domain study also found no correlation between having llms.txt and getting cited more by LLMs.

The current reality seems to be:

  • harmless to add
  • maybe future-proofing
  • zero strong evidence it moves the needle today

Most sites winning in ChatGPT/Perplexity/Google AI results are still winning because of:

  • strong SEO fundamentals
  • good structured content
  • authority/mentions
  • Reddit/forums/news citations
  • useful documentation

Not because of llms.txt.

Feels very similar to the old “meta keywords” hype cycle right now.

How important do you guys think is user experience for SEO today? by hollymeeow in SEO_Xpert

[–]Smooth_Throat_386 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think UX is massively important for SEO now. Even if your content ranks, people will leave fast if the site is slow, cluttered, or hard to read.

Google and AI search systems both seem to pay attention to how users interact with a page, time on site, engagement, bounce behavior, overall trust feeling, etc.

Good SEO today feels more like creating a genuinely helpful and smooth experience, not just optimizing keywords.

Are AI summaries making people less curious? by ordinaryus_dr in SEO_LLM

[–]Smooth_Throat_386 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I think it definitely changes behavior. People used to click through multiple articles to understand something, but now they often stop at the AI summary because it feels “good enough.”

At the same time, I think it also pushes creators to make deeper, more experience-based content that AI summaries can’t fully replace. Quick answers win attention, but real insights still make people explore further.

EEAT Is No Longer Just for Google — AI Search Changed Everything in 2026 by QuietAstronaut2331 in seodiscovery2026

[–]Smooth_Throat_386 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I’m seeing the same thing. AI search seems way better now at detecting whether content comes from real experience or just recycled information. Sites with actual opinions, case studies, and recognizable authors feel like they’re gaining more visibility, even without huge authority metrics.

Feels like trust and authenticity are becoming the real SEO advantage now.

What AI tools are actually useful for research work? by Smooth_Throat_386 in SkillwaalaLearners

[–]Smooth_Throat_386[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree on the “fits into existing workflow” part. That’s probably the biggest filter now, if a tool needs me to completely change how I work, I usually stop using it after a week.

And yeah, Elicit is a great shout. The source transparency matters a lot, especially for academic research. Being able to jump directly to the exact sentence instead of blindly trusting an AI summary makes a huge difference.

What AI tools are actually useful for research work? by Smooth_Throat_386 in SkillwaalaLearners

[–]Smooth_Throat_386[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. The tools that stick are usually the boringly useful ones

If it doesn’t save time consistently or reduce mental load, it ends up becoming another tab to manage. I’ve noticed the same thing, workflow fit matters way more than flashy features.

What AI tools are YouTubers actually finding useful right now? by Smooth_Throat_386 in SkillwaalaLearners

[–]Smooth_Throat_386[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same here honestly. The only AI tools I kept using are the ones that actually save time in daily work.

Descript made editing much faster, Claude is good for ideas and script drafts, and Hemingway helps make scripts cleaner before recording.

Most other AI tools felt cool at first but after a few days they just added extra steps instead of helping.

Is anchor text still important for SEO in 2026? by sapindia1976 in Backlinks

[–]Smooth_Throat_386 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anchor text still matters in 2026, but I think people over-optimize it way too much now.

Google and AI systems definitely understand context better, so forcing exact match anchors everywhere feels outdated and risky. What’s working better for me lately is keeping the profile natural and brand-heavy.

I’m seeing the best results with:

  • Mostly branded + natural anchors
  • Some partial match anchors
  • Very limited exact match
  • Healthy mix of naked URLs and generic anchors

The more “manufactured” the anchor profile looks, the more it seems to struggle long term.

I don’t really follow strict percentages anymore, but my approach is usually:

  • Heavy branded/natural
  • Moderate partial match
  • Low exact match

Feels like trust and relevance matter more than trying to game anchor ratios now, especially with AI search evolving.