The Post-SEO Website: How AI Is Reshaping Discovery & Engagement

For years, marketers optimized websites for one primary goal: traffic. Rank higher, drive more visits, repeat.

But according to Dave Steer, CMO of Webflow, that playbook is officially outdated.

In a recent Game Changers session, Dave joined Oana Manolache to unpack how AI, answer engines, and shifting buyer behavior are redefining the role of the website and what marketing leaders must do to adapt.

The takeaway was clear: the website is not dead, but traffic-first thinking is.

Below are the most important insights from the conversation, along with actionable ways marketers can apply them today.

The Website Isn’t Dead. It’s Becoming More Important Than Ever

Despite headlines declaring the “death of the website,” Dave strongly disagrees.

“As channels fragment and attention spans get smaller, there needs to be a home base that you bring people to. And that’s the role of the website.”

Search, social, communities, events, Slack groups, and LLMs now dominate discovery. But all roads still lead somewhere—and that place is your website.

What’s changed isn’t the importance of the website, but its job.

Instead of acting as a digital brochure, the modern website must:

• Convert more qualified, later-stage traffic
• Personalize experiences instantly
• Serve both humans and AI agents

Key Takeaways:

• Stop treating your website as a static destination.
• Start treating it as your highest-impact conversion and engagement engine.

From Traffic-First to Engagement-First Experiences

One of the strongest themes of the session was the shift from volume to value.

“The nature of traffic that comes to your website is further down the funnel. So the role your website has to play is much more about conversion.”

With research now happening in AI tools, peer communities, and private channels, visitors arrive already informed. By the time they hit your site, they’ve often completed 70% of the buying journey.

That means:

• Less tolerance for generic messaging
• Higher expectations for relevance and clarity
• More pressure to prove value immediately

Key Takeaways:

• Optimize for what users do, not just how they arrive.
• Measure success with engagement, conversion rate, and progression—not sessions alone.

You’re Now Building for Two Audiences: Humans and AI

AI has fundamentally changed how content is discovered and interpreted.

“You’re building a website for the human who’s consuming information—and for agents and LLMs that are coming to your website.”

This means structure matters more than ever:

• Clear page hierarchies
• Explicit FAQs
• Machine-readable formats
• Intent-driven content, not keyword stuffing

Dave highlighted the growing importance of files like llm.txt, noting massive adoption growth across Webflow sites.

Key Takeaways:

• Audit your site for clarity, not cleverness.
• Ask: Can a human instantly understand this? Can an AI easily summarize it?

AEO Is Not a Replacement for SEO. It’s SEO Done Right

While new acronyms like AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO can feel overwhelming, Dave urged marketers not to overthink it.

“Great AEO is great SEO at the same time. The fundamentals still apply.”

The biggest shift isn’t how you optimize, it’s where impact comes from.

According to Dave:

• ~15–20% of AEO impact happens on your website
• ~80% happens off-site through content distribution, community engagement, and brand mentions

Key Takeaways:

• Invest as much in distribution and community as you do in on-site optimization.
• Create content people want to reference, not just rank.

AI Is a Competitive Advantage If You Don’t Automate Yourself Away

One of the most candid moments of the session came when Dave addressed the AI paradox.

“Lean into AI but don’t automate yourself away.”

AI can accelerate testing, personalization, content workflows, and decision-making. But blindly outsourcing thinking leads to what Dave called “AI slop”; content that’s fast, cheap, and forgettable.

His proposed solution is to use AI as a thought partner, not a replacement.

“I use a chief-of-staff GPT three times a day to challenge my thinking.”

Key Takeaways:

• Use AI to pressure-test ideas, not generate unquestioned outputs.
• Reward originality, judgment, and taste. Those are still human advantages.

The Rise of the Marketing Orchestrator

Dave predicts a fundamental shift in marketing roles.

“You’re going to see a move from content managers to content engineers.”

In this model:

• Content is created once, then atomized everywhere
• Marketers orchestrate systems, agents, and workflows
• Product marketing becomes the source of truth for personas and positioning

Key Takeaways:

• Build shared “primitives” (personas, narratives, FAQs) your whole org can reuse.
• Design workflows, not one-off campaigns.

Where to Invest First If You’re Moving Beyond Traffic

When asked where teams should start, Dave was direct:

1. Conversion rate optimization powered by AI
   • Move beyond manual A/B tests
   • Automate experimentation and personalization
2. Organizational collaboration
   • Break silos
   • Align teams around workflows, not functions

“This is less about work silos and more about the work itself.”

Key Takeaways:

• Your biggest bottleneck isn’t traffic, it’s friction.
• Fix systems and structure before chasing more leads.

Final Thoughts: This Is a Grace Period for Marketers

Dave closed with a message that resonated deeply:

“We have a grace period right now. The marketers who lean in will be on the positive side of this transformation.”

The rules are being rewritten. Titles, tools, and tactics are all in flux. But marketers who focus on engagement, clarity, and value, not vanity metrics, will shape what comes next.