Breakdown #1: AI is Changing Top of the Funnel Content
But not in the way you think.
Rather than simply replacing human-written content, AI is changing how audiences discover, engage with, and interact with information, and that's a problem. Generative AI powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) is transforming how we create and consume content. This presents both opportunities and challenges for content marketers.
TL;DR: How AI is Changing Content Marketing
AI is reshaping content marketing, especially Top-of-Funnel (TOFU) content. Instead of simply replacing human-written content, AI is changing how users find, engage with, and trust content.
Key Takeaways:
Traditional TOFU content is losing value as AI-generated summaries provide instant answers, reducing organic traffic.
SEO strategies must evolve since AI-driven search prioritizes relevance, depth, and user intent over exact-match keywords.
Brands should focus on BOFU content (where conversion intent is stronger) and create expert-driven, AI-resistant content.
AI should be an ally, not a replacement. Use it for research, personalization, and audience insights, but keep human oversight for creativity and trust.
Authority, originality, and trust matter more than ever. Thought leadership, storytelling, and expert content will set brands apart.
The future of content marketing is not just about traffic—it’s about trust, engagement, and delivering real value.
🚀 Adapt, refine, and embrace AI as a tool—not a threat—to stay ahead.
In academia, AI’s impact is widely debated—students and researchers are increasingly outsourcing assignments and literature reviews to AI, raising concerns about plagiarism and academic integrity. Efforts to detect AI-written content have largely failed, as seen in Paul Graham’s widely criticized attempt to identify AI writing based on specific word choices.
For content marketers, however, the challenge is even greater. AI doesn’t just change how content is created; it disrupts how audiences find, engage with, and trust content. Search behaviors are shifting, the traditional marketing funnel is evolving, and brands must rethink their approach to stay relevant.
To be clear: AI won’t replace content marketing, but it will reshape it. AI-generated articles often lack depth, imagination, and human context—elements that great content marketers excel at. But dismissing AI’s impact on the industry would be a mistake. Content marketers must adapt, evolve, and rethink their strategies to navigate this new landscape.
How Content Marketing Has Traditionally Worked
Content marketing has historically functioned as a structured approach to attracting, nurturing, and converting leads. At the beginning of a content marketing project, you start from the top and cast your net as wide as possible. You collect all possibly relevant keywords that show that an audience might be interested in your product.
You work your way down the funnel, narrowing your user experience and creating content that nudges them down the line into your bucket. The idea is that someone who stumbles on to your content will be urged to stay a little longer. The longer they stay, the more you sharpen their interest. But if they happen to leave, at least now, you would stay top of mind and the journey into your funnel will continue at a later date.
Content Marketing is built on the assumption that if you’ve been helpful enough to help them through a knowledge gap, they will remember you when they finally decide to buy. Top of the Funnel (TOFU) content is where this is at play the most. Unfortunately, Generative AI and LLMs have sunk their fingers deep into the regular TOFU approach.
The AI Disruption at the Top of Funnel Content
AI is fundamentally changing how consumers interact with content, shifting from broad awareness strategies to hyper-personalized, AI-curated experiences. Search engines and chat-based AI assistants increasingly provide direct answers, reducing the need for traditional TOFU content. But how exactly is this happening?
AI-Generated Answers Are Replacing Traditional Content Discovery
If you're a content marketer for a baby food brand, your TOFU content might cover topics like:
Most important nutrients in baby food
When should you start feeding your baby solid food?
Understanding baby food stages
The goal of such content is to provide valuable information that leads parents deeper into your ecosystem—whether through signing up for a newsletter or exploring related content. Historically, these interactions happen on your website, where your brand messaging is subtly embedded in the user’s journey.
However, AI-driven search experiences are disrupting this model. Instead of visiting your website, parents now turn to AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini AI, which summarize the best content on the internet without directing users to specific brands. This removes not only your traffic but also your opportunity to build brand recognition.
Organic Traffic from Informational Content Are No longer Iron-Clad
Previously, ranking high on search engine results pages (SERPs) meant increased visibility and organic traffic. Here again, we see AI at work with AI summaries. AI tools don’t just provide quick responses—they aggregate insights, making traditional SEO strategies less effective. Now, users may find all the information they need without ever clicking a link. Even if they see your content in search results, AI summaries often provide a robust enough response to end their journey right there.
Taking it a step further, users now expect AI-driven answers and even modify their search queries to trigger them. This means that instead of discovering your educational content through search, they receive AI-generated summaries that remove brand mentions altogether. As a result:
Websites lose valuable TOFU traffic.
Listicles, beginner’s guides, and broad informational content become less impactful.
The natural linking journey from one piece of content to another (which marketers rely on for engagement) is disrupted.
AI is Subtly Changing Consumer Search Intent and Behavior
AI tools now shape what users see first, prioritizing conversational responses over traditional search rankings. That’s why you might have been surprised to see Reddit and Quora answers appearing at the top of Google search results when Gemini wasn’t summarizing content.
In response, users are adapting their search behavior, tweaking their queries to suit AI-generated responses. This shift weakens keyword strategies built around TOFU traffic, as ranking for high-volume informational searches is no longer as impactful. Instead, brands need to rethink their SEO approach, focusing on content that AI can’t easily summarize or replace. Unfortunately, it gets worse.
The Emergence of AI-Enhanced SEO
AI is not only pushing Content Marketing from just the content point of view. It’s also challenging the strategies that underpin CM. AI is fundamentally reshaping SEO by shifting the focus from rigid keyword optimization to a more nuanced understanding of search intent and contextual meaning. This means that marketers can no longer rely on previously reliable strategies like keyword density or exact-match terms. Instead, they must align their content with how AI systems interpret and rank information. How does this work in a real-world scenario?
Redefining Keyword Relevance and Search Intent
Search engines are becoming smarter, using AI to analyze not just the words in a query but the intent behind them. This shift means that:
Search rankings are no longer just about who has the most optimized keywords but about who provides the most relevant and authoritative answer.
AI-powered search engines prioritize content that matches search intent rather than just including specific terms.
Brands that fail to align their content with this new paradigm risk losing visibility.
For instance, instead of optimizing a blog post solely for "best baby food for newborns," marketers should create content that covers why certain baby foods are recommended, their nutritional benefits, and common concerns parents have—all in a way that AI can understand and surface as a valuable response.
Semantic Search and AI-Assisted Keyword Clustering Are More Important Than Ever
AI-driven search engines use semantic search to understand relationships between words, phrases, and topics. This means that:
Building on the keyword relevance and search intent, the broader meaning of a query has taken center stage.
AI categorizes and groups keywords by topic, making keyword clustering a more effective strategy than targeting individual keywords.
Context matters more than ever—Google and other AI-powered search engines analyze how content fits into a broader conversation rather than looking at isolated phrases.
For marketers, this means shifting from a keyword-centric strategy to a topic-centric strategy. Rather than writing separate articles for every keyword variation, they should focus on building comprehensive content hubs that AI sees as authoritative on a subject.
How Should Content Marketers Respond?
The rise of AI-driven search and content discovery means that marketers must rethink how they approach SEO, content creation, and audience engagement. Traditional tactics—such as optimizing for high-volume keywords and relying on broad informational content—are becoming less effective. Instead, marketers must adapt to AI-enhanced search dynamics, where context, intent, and relevance take precedence over keyword stuffing.
To remain competitive, content marketers must embrace a new approach that aligns with AI’s evolving ranking criteria. Some key steps include:
Structuring content for AI comprehension: Using clear headings, natural language, and well-defined topic hierarchies.
Focusing on long-form, authoritative content: AI tends to favor in-depth, high-quality content over thin, keyword-stuffed articles.
Optimizing for AI-generated summaries: Ensuring that key takeaways, insights, and value propositions are clear so that AI considers them when generating responses.
Incorporating multimedia elements: AI recognizes images, videos, and structured data, so integrating these elements can improve content visibility.
Prioritize Authority Through Human-First Content: AI struggles to replicate deeply researched, expert-driven content. Brands that invest in original thought leadership, industry expertise, and unique perspectives will stand out.
Here’s an excellent take by Sprout Social on adopting AI for content.
Real-Life Example: Baby Food Brand SEO Strategy
Here’s a mini demonstration. Let’s take the example of a baby food brand trying to rank for the keyword “best baby food for newborns.”
Before AI-Enhanced SEO (Traditional Keyword Optimization):
A content marketer would create a blog post titled “Best Baby Food for Newborns: Top 10 Options” and optimize it by:
Repeating the exact keyword multiple times throughout the article.
Using variations like “best baby food for infants” and “top baby food brands.”
Structuring the content as a listicle with brief descriptions of different baby food brands.
Adding meta descriptions and headers focused on exact-match keywords.
This approach worked well when search engines primarily relied on keyword density and exact phrases to determine rankings.
After AI-Enhanced SEO (Search Intent & Contextual Understanding):
With AI-driven search, the algorithm prioritizes search intent over keyword stuffing. Instead of just ranking content based on how many times “best baby food for newborns” appears, AI evaluates:
The true intent behind the search: Is the parent looking for store-bought baby food recommendations, homemade baby food recipes, or guidelines on when to start solids?
Content depth and authority: Does the article provide nutritional information, pediatrician-approved guidelines, and comparisons instead of just listing product names?
Related semantic topics: AI recognizes connections between “organic baby food,” “nutrients for newborns,” “homemade vs. store-bought baby food,” and more.
User behavior signals: If users frequently refine their search after clicking an article, AI may deem it less relevant and adjust rankings accordingly.
Optimized AI-Era Content Strategy for Baby Food Brands:
Instead of a basic listicle, a baby food brand should create a comprehensive, intent-driven guide, such as:
Title: “A Pediatrician’s Guide to Choosing the Best Baby Food for Newborns”
Subtopics covered:
When can newborns start eating baby food? (addresses search intent directly)
Key nutrients for infant growth and brain development
Store-bought vs. homemade baby food: Pros and cons
How to introduce new foods to a newborn’s diet
A breakdown of organic vs. non-organic baby food
Content Structure:
Uses FAQs, tables, and expert quotes for deeper engagement
Includes structured data (schema markup) to enhance visibility in AI-driven search results
Optimized for semantic keywords like “baby food nutrition,” “first foods for babies,” and “how to start solids safely.”
Outcome:
This content would rank higher in AI-driven search because it provides context, depth, and authoritative insights rather than simply matching a high-volume keyword. AI would surface this article in search results, potentially summarize key points in Gemini’s answer box, and even suggest it in follow-up queries.
Meaning over Mechanics
AI-enhanced SEO demands a fundamental shift in strategy—one that prioritizes meaning over mechanics. Content marketers must move beyond outdated keyword tactics and embrace an AI-first content approach, ensuring their material aligns with how AI processes and delivers information to users. By doing so, brands can remain competitive in an era where AI controls more of the content discovery process than ever before.
Questions to Ponder
Driving this conversation further, here are some other questions to consider in your content marketing effort.
What can brands do to build direct engagement when AI is reducing website visits?
Are social media and community-driven platforms (e.g., Reddit, Quora) becoming more important for brand visibility?
How can Content Marketers integrate AI into workflows while maintaining human oversight?
What other ways do you think AI is affecting content development and strategy in general? Leave a comment below.