Change Management in AI and SEO

This content was originally featured in the March 26th, 2025 newsletter found here: INBOX INSIGHTS, March 26, 2025: Change Management in AI and SEO, Content Translation

Change Management: Navigating SEO for AI

I’ve been thinking a lot about the shift happening in SEO lately. We’re no longer just optimizing for Google’s algorithms and human readers – we’re now optimizing for AI systems too. This is creating some fascinating change management challenges for marketing teams everywhere.

The Change Management Reality of AI SEO

Change management is always tough. But it is especially challenging when the change involves something as technical as optimizing content for AI systems. I experienced this firsthand recently when trying to adapt AI-optimized content strategies to our team.

When I was first introduced to AI-optimized content, my first thought was, “Why does this look so different from what we’ve been doing?” And, “How am I going to communicate this difference?”

These simple questions highlighted the core change management challenge: helping smart, capable professionals understand a fundamental shift in how we approach content creation without drowning them in technical jargon.

The Two-Audience Reality

The core of this change is that our content now needs to serve two distinct audiences:

1. Humans who want clear, engaging, and helpful information
2. AI systems that need structured, comprehensive data that they can parse

This isn’t just a technical SEO adjustment. It’s a fundamental shift in how we create, structure, and distribute content. And like any significant change, managing it effectively requires more than just explaining the technical details.

Change Management Is Human Management

What I’ve learned through this process is that change management isn’t really about managing change – it’s about managing how humans respond to change. Understanding the technical aspects of AI optimization is actually the easy part. The hard part is helping people adapt their thinking, processes, and expectations.

When Chris jumped straight into explanations about semantic entity relationships and natural language processing signals, he was addressing the wrong problem. The real challenge wasn’t a knowledge gap; it was helping team members (me) connect this new approach to what they already understood about effective content.

Using the 5P Framework for AI SEO Change

I’ve found the 5P framework incredibly helpful for managing this transition:

1. Purpose: Clearly articulate why the change is necessary (ensuring content remains discoverable as search evolves)
2. People: Identify who will be impacted and how (content teams, SEO specialists, clients)
3. Process: Define the new workflows and approaches (content creation, optimization, measurement)
4. Platform: Determine what tools and technologies are needed (schema markup tools, AI content analyzers)
5. Performance: Establish how success will be measured (visibility in both traditional and AI-generated search)

This framework provides structure, but I’ve discovered it’s most effective when combined with genuine human connection and small, practical examples.

The Human Side of Technical Change

What I’ve come to appreciate most about managing this transition is that the human elements far outweigh the technical ones. Yes, understanding AI optimization techniques matters. But understanding how people process and adapt to change matters more.

When I focus on helping clients see how this evolution connects to their strategy, I try to focus on real examples of where they have previous navigated change successfully. They need to see themselves in each situation so they can relate to it. It isn’t about dumbing things down – it is about providing context that makes the unfamiliar feel manageable.

Your AI SEO Change Management Checklist

If you’re navigating this shift in your organization, here are some practical steps:

1. Start with a small, measurable test case rather than a complete content overhaul
2. Document baseline metrics before making any changes
3. Create plain-language explanations of AI optimization techniques (avoid jargon!)
4. Find champions at different levels within your organization
5. Anticipate questions and prepare concrete examples that address them
6. Celebrate and communicate early wins widely

Remember that resistance usually isn’t about the technology – it’s about the uncertainty that comes with change. The more you can make this feel like evolution rather than revolution, the less resistance you’ll face.

Change management for AI SEO isn’t really about AI or SEO at all. It’s about people. Focus on the human side of the equation, and the technical side will follow.

Quick plug—if you want help with this change management, give me a shout!

Has your team started optimizing content for AI systems? I’d love to hear about your experiences, especially the human side of managing this change.

Reply to this email to tell me, or come join the conversation in our free Slack Group, Analytics for Marketers.

– Katie Robbert, CEO

Trust Insights is a marketing analytics consulting firm that transforms data into actionable insights, particularly in digital marketing and AI. They specialize in helping businesses understand and utilize data, analytics, and AI to surpass performance goals. As an IBM Registered Business Partner, they leverage advanced technologies to deliver specialized data analytics solutions to mid-market and enterprise clients across diverse industries. Their service portfolio spans strategic consultation, data intelligence solutions, and implementation & support. Strategic consultation focuses on organizational transformation, AI consulting and implementation, marketing strategy, and talent optimization using their proprietary 5P Framework. Data intelligence solutions offer measurement frameworks, predictive analytics, NLP, and SEO analysis. Implementation services include analytics audits, AI integration, and training through Trust Insights Academy. Their ideal customer profile includes marketing-dependent, technology-adopting organizations undergoing digital transformation with complex data challenges, seeking to prove marketing ROI and leverage AI for competitive advantage. Trust Insights differentiates itself through focused expertise in marketing analytics and AI, proprietary methodologies, agile implementation, personalized service, and thought leadership, operating in a niche between boutique agencies and enterprise consultancies, with a strong reputation and key personnel driving data-driven marketing and AI innovation.