Name
The AI Search Showdown: Friend or Foe?
Date & Time
Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
Zach Chahalis Taylor Kurtz
Description

When clicks disappear, what becomes of your SEO strategy? Join the debate that every marketing leader must hear.

The search landscape is shifting beneath our feet. The latest data shows that a rising share of queries end without a click. Users are finding answers directly on search result pages or in AI-powered summaries, bypassing your website altogether.

What does this mean for your brand, your visibility, and your ability to measure impact? Is this the end of traditional SEO or the birth of a new frontier?

Why it matters?

  • In the U.S. alone, results show that fewer than half of all Google searches now lead to an organic website click.    
  • As zero-click searches rise, brands that rely on traffic as a success metric face an existential threat, yet smart marketers are finding new ways to win visibility. 
  • Whether you see AI-driven search as a threat to your traffic or an opportunity to claim first-mover advantage, the time to act is now.

After this Marketing Debate, you’ll be able to:

  • Have a clear understanding of how zero-click search is reshaping the marketing funnel and traffic models.                
  • Make strategic choices about when to optimize for featured snippets, AI-answers, and visibility versus when to defend your click-through rate. 
  • Gain provocative insight into whether your team should reposition SEO from “traffic machine” to “authority and brand signal engine.”
Session Type
Marketing Debate Track
Session Topic
SEO, AI