SEO Is Dead? The Complete Guide to Ranking in ChatGPT, Copilot, and AI Engines in 2026
SEO Isn’t Dead, But the Rules Have Changed Forever Every few years, someone declares SEO dead. In 2026, that statement feels louder than ever. Not because search disappeared, but because search no longer looks like Google alone . People now get answers directly from ChatGPT , Microsoft Copilot , and other AI-powered search engines without clicking ten blue links. This shift matters globally. In Europe, users rely on AI summaries for research. In the USA, Copilot sits inside work tools. Across the Asia Pacific , voice and conversational search dominate mobile behaviour. The real question is not whether SEO is dead, but whether your strategy has evolved into AI search engine optimisation 2026 . What Ranking in AI Engines Actually Means? Traditional SEO focused on crawling, indexing, and ranking pages. AI engines work differently. They synthesise information, evaluate trust, and surface answers rather than links. Ranking now means being referenced, cited, or paraphrased inside AI-gen...