44% of SEOs are more worried about AI than a year ago: Survey

Nearly 44% of SEO and search professionals say they’re more worried about AI than a year ago, according to a new SEOjobs.com survey of 279 respondents. Smaller teams, keeping up with AI, and tougher competition worry them more than losing their jobs.

Why we care. Fewer job openings and tougher competition could make finding or keeping a job harder. If you’re already feeling pressure to learn new AI tools while proving your value at work, you’re far from alone.

Concerned about AI. Asked whether AI could hurt their jobs or income within the next two years, 33% said they were very or extremely concerned.

• Slightly concerned: 28% (78 respondents).
• Moderately concerned: 23.7% (66).
• Very concerned: 24% (67).
• Extremely concerned: 9% (25).
• Not concerned at all: 15.4% (43).

Compared to last year, 43.7% (122) were more worried, 32.6% (91) reported no change, and 23.7% (66) were less concerned.

Smaller teams top AI career fears. Shrinking teams were the biggest concern, selected by 45.5% of respondents. Keeping up with AI (44.8%) and tougher competition (44.1%) followed closely. Other concerns included:

• Existing skills losing value: 33.3%.
• Lower pay or rates: 30.1%.
• Role elimination: 24.4%.
• Disappearing entry-level positions: 24%.
• Only 12.2% said they weren’t particularly concerned.

Job seekers report the highest concern. People looking for work were the most likely to be very or extremely concerned about AI, at 61.1% (11 of 18 respondents). They also worried about smaller teams and tougher competition, with 11 selecting each concern.

The biggest fears differed by employment status:

• In-house SEOs: 31 of 97 feared losing their roles, the highest share among employed respondents.
• Agency SEOs: 43 of 85 worried about smaller teams, while 28 feared entry-level jobs disappearing.
• Business owners: 14 of 20 worried about keeping up with AI.

Experience also played a role. Among respondents with six to 10 years in search, 42% were very or extremely concerned. Another 34% feared losing their roles. Both were the highest shares of any experience group.

• Those with 11 to 15 years of experience were most likely to worry about their skills losing value (44%). For professionals with at least 16 years of experience, keeping up with AI was the top concern, selected by 42 of 90 respondents.

AI concerns vary by country. Germany had the highest share of highly concerned respondents among the countries surveyed, at 71.4% (15 of 21). That compared with 44.7% (17 of 38) in the United Kingdom and 27.9% (43 of 154) in the United States.

• In the U.S., tougher competition was the top concern, selected by 73 of 154 respondents. In the U.K., keeping up with AI ranked first, selected by 17 of 38.

About the data. SEOjobs.com surveyed 279 SEO and search professionals from Oct. 6–24 through social media and email lists. Respondents chose to participate, so the findings don’t represent the broader SEO industry.