The Game Has Changed, Friends: AI, Freaking Out CEOs, and Google Embarrassing Itself
Let's start with a premise: if you think digital marketing is still about 'create a Facebook page and post something', you might need a vacation. Or maybe you're the one who's ended up in the 'dead internet theory' that's giving even Sam Altman the chills. Yeah, that Sam Altman from OpenAI.
Last week, while many of us were trying to figure out if our morning coffee had more caffeine than usual, some CEO out there screenshot a ChatGPT response. And guess what? It recommended a competitor. Boom. Panic mode. Three after-hours meetings to explain why their company wasn't showing up in AI responses. Good SEO, paid ads that work, decent content. Nothing, zero. Apparently, all this has become 'irrelevant' to management because the boss read an article. This is the new normal, folks.
AI: The Ghost in the Machine Terrifying CEOs (and Not Just Them)
The post on r/digital_marketing is a perfect snapshot of the moment. My CEO screenshotted a ChatGPT answer recommending our competitor and sent it to me at 11pm. AI is no longer just for tech enthusiasts; it's the new frontier that can trigger late-night emails with 'explain to me why we're not first' tones. And the funniest part? This is happening while Altman himself tweets his concerns: Sam Altman Says He's Suddenly Worried Dead Internet Theory Is Coming True. Ironic, right? The AI that could create an internet saturated with AI-generated content, making it hard to tell what's real and what's synthetic, is the same AI that's now shaking up strategies of those who thought they had everything under control.
SEO: Between ChatGPT Selling You Out and Companies Making You Cry
Talking about SEO, the situation is just as juicy. On r/SEO, not only is the 'dead internet' theory being discussed, but there are also stories that are, to say the least, discouraging. There's someone who, like the user asking for Need SEO help, found themselves devastated after a meeting with a supposed SEO agency. A carefully made site on Webflow, helped by ChatGPT, was deemed 'very, very poor'. The bill to fix the foundations? A figure that's giving even the bravest cold sweats.
This tells us one thing: AI is democratizing content creation, sure. But the real challenge, the one that makes the difference between a site that 'exists' and one that 'sells', is strategy, analysis, deep competence. And this, for now, ChatGPT alone can't give you. In fact, as seen, it might even use it to recommend your competitor.
PPC: Google Account Reps, the Embarrassing Surprise, and Budgets Flying Away
And then there's the world of PPC, where things get even more... interesting. On r/PPC, there's a heated debate about how useful, or rather useless, Google account reps are. Google Account Reps Are Hilariously Terrible. One unfortunate soul received 20,000 euros in credit for a 'brand awareness campaign' that, predictably, failed spectacularly. And when they asked for data, they were ghosted. No measurable impact, no economic damage, but a lot of frustration.
But it doesn't end there. There's someone who made a decision that's, to put it mildly, bold: We pivoted our entire Q1 budget away from search to 'create demand' and the performance team is now screaming at me. The justification? 'Search is too competitive, CTR is down'. Result? The performance team is screaming. This is the classic example of how blindly shifting budgets based on a vague idea of 'creating demand' without a solid strategy can turn into a disaster. And to close the circle of embarrassment, there's someone wondering Who Is Above 'Head Of Business' at Google? because Google reps are so pushy they're even interfering with medical calls. Crazy stuff.
What Does All This Tell Us? The New Era of Marketing Is Here, and It's Not Waiting for Anyone.
Digital marketing is going through an epic transformation. AI is changing the rules of the game, making approaches that seemed solid until yesterday obsolete. CEOs are panicking, SEO agencies are promising miracles (at a high price), and Google reps seem more interested in brainwashing than delivering concrete results.
The 'dead internet theory' is no longer just a theory in many ways. We're witnessing a flood of AI-generated content, and distinguishing quality will become the new frontier. For us entrepreneurs and professionals, this means one thing: we have to adapt. We can't afford to be 'tech impaired' or delegate blindly anymore. We need to understand how to integrate AI into our workflow, how to use it to create valuable content, not just mass-produce it. We need to keep investing in strategic SEO, based on analysis, research, and deep understanding of our audience, not just keyword stuffing. And for PPC, we need to be more critical than ever towards the advice we receive and focus on data-driven strategies, not random 'brand awareness campaigns'.
The game has changed. Those who don't realize this risk becoming just another ghost in an increasingly crowded and, let's say, somewhat embarrassing internet.
Sources
* My CEO screenshotted a ChatGPT answer recommending our competitor and sent it to me at 11pm
* Sam Altman Says He's Suddenly Worried Dead Internet Theory Is Coming True