Voices of Search: Ahref's State of SEO

Date: February 18, 2026
Host: Tyson Stockton
Guest: Patrick Stox, Ahrefs

Overview

In this episode, Tyson Stockton sits down with Patrick Stox of Ahrefs for a deep dive into the rapidly evolving landscape of SEO, with a heavy emphasis on automation, the role of AI, and the strategies that practitioners and organizations need to consider to stay ahead. With open, sometimes candid discussions, Patrick shares his perspective on the seismic shifts brought on by new technologies, the challenges of breaking into SEO as an industry today, and how both Ahrefs and the broader community are adapting.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Changing State of SEO in the AI Era

• Anxieties and Opportunities:

  • Patrick candidly opens up about his feelings regarding the current state of the industry:
    "Scared. It's AI everything, search is changing. Automate all the things, which I can get behind...It's easier than ever to create content, which is a double-edged sword. You can create a lot of mediocre, bad content very quickly." (02:10 - Patrick)
  • Automation is drastically reducing the need for manual SEO labor, raising concerns about the future job landscape, especially for newcomers:
    "Within a couple more years you'll probably need one person for what 10 people were doing before. The societal impacts of that are scary to me." (03:11 - Patrick)

• Industry Shift: Experience & Adaptability

  • Established practitioners with experience and adaptability are predicted to fare well, but the pipeline for entry-level talent is at risk of drying up as basic tasks become automated.
    "People that are already in, that have experience, that are willing to adapt...are going to be fine. The pipeline for new talent is at risk of drying up." (04:47 - Patrick)

Technical Skills & Entry to the Industry

• Can new entrants break in with technical skills?
  • Patrick is skeptical, noting that even technical tasks are being simplified by AI, making industry knowledge and the ability to generate valuable ideas the main differentiator:
    "The future is...who has ideas and usually that requires experience in the industry, some know-how, domain knowledge." (07:24 - Patrick)

Evolving Organic Strategies

• Onsite vs. Offsite SEO:

  • The focus is expanding from purely internal (onsite) efforts to a more holistic external presence, heavily influenced by how AI pulls and cites information across the ecosystem.
    "That's been a big change...it's less within your own website...so much more as you have to be thinking externally in other places." (10:51 - Tyson)

• Tactics for Today’s AI-Driven Web:

  • Ahrefs has adapted by amplifying product-led content, increasing outreach and influencer engagement, and even considering syndication across multiple owned websites to influence AI outputs—while noting the ethical concerns around web spam.
    "We never did good on things like comparison pages...now it's a lot more like influencer and outreach and that kind of thing." (09:05 - Patrick)

The Impact of AI Search and Data Sources

• Decline in Traffic from AI Surfaces:

  • AI-generated search results and overviews dramatically reduce click-through to original content, possibly forcing consolidation to a handful of trusted sources. "Website traffic is going to go away...they'll take these other signals and probably condense it...let me just cite these five that I know and trust." (11:55 - Patrick)

• Quality of Data & Platform Trends:

  • Platforms like Reddit are both opportunity and cautionary tales, as their training dataset value is being eroded by increasing levels of spam.
    "Reddit...it's being spammed to death right now...if they look at it overall it's getting less trustworthy." (13:54 - Patrick)

• Emergence of Trust Signals:

  • There's a pivot toward trusting brand websites directly over third-party content, especially as spam and data poisoning become more prevalent.
    "More likely to trust the website itself than the third party sources...let's just go to the source." (16:09 - Patrick)

Ahrefs Innovations & Workflow Automation

• AI-Powered Product Development:

  • Patrick describes his excitement for Ahrefs' recent advances, including a Google Analytics alternative and real-time technical auditing/fixing tools designed to automate and simplify SEO hygiene: "You're getting to build and create all the things that you wish you had when you were the in-house SEO...just making that stuff automated like click, click, click. Yes, done, everything's fixed." (22:54 & 23:23 - Patrick)

• Selling Automation Internally:

  • AI and automation are now easier sells to executives, aligning with their desire for efficiency—while developers and infrastructure teams may resist relinquishing control: "Every exec, C suite manager is how can we use AI more, how can we automate more, how can we get things done faster?...I think it's a pretty easy sell these days." (27:17 - Patrick)

Strategic Focus for SEOs

• Where to Spend Time:

  • With technical issues increasingly automated, practitioners should focus on creating high-quality content and leveraging internal expertise—possibly automating expert interviews and data extraction to fuel stronger content. "Probably still on your content. That's where it should have been spent anyway." (31:05 - Patrick) "Now it's more accessible than ever before...just make better content." (31:05 & 33:22 - Patrick)

• Full-Funnel Content Strategy:

  • Balance is key—AI and video content are gaining, but Google Search still matters. Ahrefs favors a future-proof approach: maintain a blend of top and bottom funnel activities while focusing efforts and metrics. "I'm shifting more towards like end of funnel and stuff...Video content still really works well. It's not that our blogs...Google is like our number one referral source." (34:20 - Patrick)

Building Brand & Community

• Faces Behind the Brand:

  • Embedding real people into brands is increasingly important for connection and trust—through named authors, videos, and community involvement. "People connect to people, not necessarily to brands. If you're focused on this now...make your people more visible." (36:18 - Patrick)

• Local Communities’ Power:

  • Patrick discusses the unique value of local SEO communities versus large conferences, the draw of in-person knowledge sharing, and the push for Ahrefs and PreVisible to support and grow these ecosystems. "If you're listening to this, start a community, it's great. It's a lot of work...But there's always companies willing to sponsor." (47:51 - Patrick)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI’s effect on SEO jobs:
  "Will people work less and we have the same number of people, will there just be one person for every 10? Will there be riots in the streets or we make the Star Trek utopia eventually? I don't know." (03:11 - Patrick)

• On skillset evolution:
  "You need someone with that domain knowledge that can come up with a thousand ideas." (59:47 - Patrick)

• On human connection and branding:
  "If I see, you know, this thing and it's quoted for Ahrefs or whatever, I may be like, yeah, but if I see like that, oh, that's from Ryan Law, I'm like, oh, I love his stuff. Let me go. Go read that. And now it's like people actually click." (36:18 - Patrick)

• Advice for new SEOs:
  "Be a sponge...Just be adaptable too, like, things you learn now may not be correct or the way that they will be in five years. So just, just be open to that change and get all the knowledge you can." (53:35 - Patrick)

Key Segment Timestamps

• State of SEO & AI Anxiety: 02:10 – 04:47
• Impact of Automation on Jobs: 03:11 – 05:42
• On Entry-level Roles and Technical Talent: 04:47 – 08:11
• Strategy: Competing in an AI-Influenced Landscape: 09:05 – 13:28
• Reddit & Platform Trustworthiness: 13:54 – 16:09
• Brand Trust and Data Poisoning: 16:09 – 17:12
• Ahrefs’ New Products and Vision: 17:58 – 22:54
• Real-Time Auditing Tools: 23:23 – 24:55
• ** Selling Automation Internally:** 27:17 – 29:09
• Where SEOs Should Spend Time: 31:05 – 33:22
• Content Strategy in a Changing Landscape: 34:20 – 36:18
• Faces & Identity in Brand Building: 36:18 – 38:37
• Local Community & Networking Discussion: 39:23 – 48:32
• Lightning Round: Greatest Challenges, Skillset, & Team Structure: 49:18 – 59:59

Lightning Round Highlights (49:18 – 59:59)

Greatest challenge for SEOs next 12 months:

• "Proving their value and keeping budget, because everyone seems to want to go to JIO or whatever, and there's money there. But then where the businesses are still making money is SEO." (49:18 – Patrick)

Inspiration in Search:

• "A big part of motivation for me is just giving back. The industry gave me so much and I just want to help people now." (52:35 – Patrick)

Top advice for newbies:

• "Be a sponge...be adaptable too, like, things you learn now may not be correct...Just be open to that change and get all the knowledge you can." (53:35 – Patrick)

Favorite new research:

• "My two favorites were...the 34 and a half percent drop in clicks from AI overviews from Ryan Law and the one where Mateusz was making the fake company...to get that cited." (55:52 – Patrick)

Dream SEO Team:

• "You need someone for technical, at least one person for content, probably multiple, video is going to be a core part...I just want creative people that are willing to learn and try things and do cool things." (58:29 – Patrick)

Takeaways

• The SEO industry is at a crossroads, driven by AI and automation, with significant implications for future skillsets, entry-level roles, and strategic priorities.
• Practitioners must adapt to a landscape where both content quality and external influence (offsite SEO, brand mentions, real humans behind the brand) are increasingly critical.
• The rise of AI search will reduce direct site traffic, requiring new approaches for influence, visibility, and measurement of value.
• Building community—both locally and via brand “faces”—remains essential.
• Lifelong learning, adaptability, and creativity will distinguish successful SEOs more than ever.

For further reading:
Patrick Stox's recent studies and articles are recommended—see Ahrefs Blog and LinkedIn for updates.