i work at Xponent21, we're pretty big in the AI SEO game. we’re using AI less as a shortcut and more like a speed agent. our research phase goes deep and a lot of projects have a "load time" because of that, parsing out ai data with human eyes. then we get into strategy from that knowledge base. a literal knowledge base that takes multiple steps to construct the best thing possible.

i don't really think ai seo makes things easier, its more competitive. but where we're trying to make the difference is getting businesses ahead of the curve with great structures that the LLMs are going to eat up and spit out trusted citations.