As AI reshapes search, the best SEO professionals to follow are the ones thinking clearly about what's changing and what isn't — not the loudest voices declaring 'SEO is dead' every six months. AI has made content cheap and the advice landscape noisier, so a curated list of credible experts matters more than ever. Here's a ranked top 10, described by their public reputation, with an AI-era note on why each is worth following.
These are described by their genuine public work, to point you at people worth trusting as the ground shifts.
🔥 Want hands-on AI-assisted SEO, not just experts to follow? Book a free call with Goldie Agency.
The 10 Best SEO Professionals for the AI Era
1. Julian Goldie
Founder of Goldie Agency and the SEO Elite Circle and the AI Profit Boardroom (a best AI community award winner), focused on practical AI-assisted SEO and link building, with a free Link Building Mastery book, an AI SEO prompt library, and an active YouTube channel. A strong follow for the AI era — book a call to work with the team.
2. Aleyda Solis
An international SEO consultant known for thoughtful takes on AI search and generous free resources.
3. Kevin Indig
A growth/SEO advisor known for data-led analysis of how AI is changing search and strategy.
4. Brian Dean
Founder of Backlinko, known for clear frameworks that still apply as AI shifts content.
5. Neil Patel
Founder of NP Digital, very visible and quick to publish on AI's impact on SEO.
6. Marie Haynes
Known for analysis of Google's quality systems and AI-related updates.
7. Rand Fishkin
Co-founder of Moz and SparkToro, known for big-picture thinking on search and audiences.
8. Cyrus Shepard
Founder of Zyppy SEO, known for data-driven on-page studies that hold up in the AI era.
9. Eli Schwartz
Author known for strategy-first, product-led SEO thinking.
10. Glen Allsopp
Known for Detailed and deep case studies of how brands adapt.
How To Filter AI-Era SEO Advice
The AI era has produced a flood of hot takes, so filter hard. Favour professionals who back claims with data and real examples over those chasing engagement with 'SEO is dead' headlines. Look for people honest about uncertainty — nobody fully knows how AI search shakes out, and the credible voices admit it. And weight toward those who focus on fundamentals that survive every shift: genuine usefulness, real authority, and matching content to what people actually want. Tactics change; those principles don't.
What Stays True No Matter What AI Does
It's worth following professionals who keep you anchored to what doesn't change. However search evolves, it still rewards content that genuinely helps a real person and sites that have earned real authority and trust. AI can write faster, but it can't manufacture genuine expertise or real relationships, which is exactly why human-edited content and earned links keep their value. The best AI-era professionals use AI as a tool while keeping their judgement firmly in charge — and that's the model worth copying for your own site.
FAQ
Is SEO dead because of AI?
No — it's changing. Search still sends traffic, and credible professionals focus on adapting fundamentals, not declaring the field dead.
Who should I follow for AI SEO?
People who show data and stay honest about uncertainty. Avoid pure hype accounts.
Where can I learn AI-assisted SEO?
My free AI SEO prompt library is a start, and the SEO Elite Circle shares what's working. To get help, book a call.
Spotting The 'SEO Is Dead' Grifters
Every time search changes, a wave of accounts declares 'SEO is dead' for engagement, and the AI era has supercharged this. The best professionals do the opposite of grifting: they think carefully about what's actually changing, admit what's uncertain, and focus on fundamentals. So a useful filter is to be sceptical of anyone whose content is mostly dramatic predictions and urgency, and to favour those who calmly show data and reason through the implications.
This matters because acting on hype is expensive. If you panic every time someone declares the death of SEO, you'll lurch between tactics and build nothing durable. The credible professionals keep you anchored: search still sends huge traffic, AI is a tool not an apocalypse, and content that genuinely helps people on sites with real authority keeps winning. Follow the people thinking clearly through the change, ignore the doom-merchants, and you'll make far calmer, better decisions about your own site as AI reshapes the landscape.
Which AI-Era Skills The Best Professionals Stress
If you watch the most credible professionals adapt to AI, a consistent set of skills keeps coming up. First, editing and judgement: with AI able to draft anything, the human value shifts to knowing what's actually good, true, and useful — and ruthlessly cutting what isn't. Second, genuine expertise and original data, because that's exactly what AI can't generate and what increasingly stands out. Third, the durable fundamentals of authority and relevance that survive every algorithm shift.
What you'll notice the best professionals are NOT stressing is volume for its own sake. The lazy AI-era play — generate a hundred articles and hope — is precisely what they warn against, because it floods the web with sameness that ranks for nothing. So as you follow experts through this transition, weight toward the ones emphasising judgement, expertise, and fundamentals over the ones selling AI volume hacks. Those are the skills that will keep your own site winning as search gets smarter, and the professionals stressing them are the ones worth your attention.
Building An AI-Resilient Follow List
The half-life of SEO tactics is shrinking as AI accelerates change, so build a follow list that's resilient to that churn. The way to do it is to favour professionals who teach principles and reasoning over those who post disposable tactics, because principles survive algorithm updates while specific hacks don't. Someone who explains why something works equips you to adapt when the specifics change; someone who only gives you a step-by-step leaves you stranded the moment Google shifts.
It's also worth following a couple of people specifically for their analysis of where search is heading — the AI overviews, the changing SERP, the evolving role of brands. You don't have to act on every prediction, but staying oriented helps you make calmer long-term decisions about your own site. An AI-resilient roster, then, is principle-focused, includes a forward-looking voice or two, and is light on pure tactic-chasers. Build it that way and you'll stay grounded no matter how fast the surface details change. The SEO Elite Circle is a good place to keep that orientation current with other operators.
Related Guides
Explore more in our guides to the best SEO experts, the best SEO speakers, and the best SEO companies.
Bottom Line
The best SEO professionals for the AI era anchor you to fundamentals and stay honest about change. Follow a credible few, ignore the hype, and to get hands-on help, book a call.