Last week marked the latest installment of the biggest event in search: brightonSEO. Two days, 150 speakers and 4,000 attendees in (mostly) sunny Brighton.

At a time when search (and marketing as a whole) are experiencing AI-induced chaos, this felt like an important one. So after talks from some of the leading voices in digital PR, SEO and beyond, my key takeaways were:

• No one has all the answers to AI. As you’d expect, AI was brightonSEO’s biggest talking point. A lot (and I mean a LOT) of the talks covered it in some shape and form. How it’s changing the way we search, the way we buy, the way we work. Many of the sessions were incredibly insightful, but it’s clear that we’re all still working it out – and that’s okay. Let’s throw ourselves in and have some fun with it.

• Testing, testing, testing. It’s the only way we’ll learn. From digital PR to SEO, so many of the talks focused on the importance of experimenting – and failing. Tried and tested strategies are out the window, we need to think innovatively. Start making mistakes. And find out what works in this new era of search.

• Humanity and trust are more crucial than ever. The growth of AI is exciting. But it’s also driven our target audiences back to humanity. They want to hear from real people, with real expertise, who understand their real problems. How do we do this? Research your audience. Align your marketing to their behaviour. Engage with them as people, not a brand. And start building some genuine trust.

OpenAI launches AI web browser, ChatGPT Atlas

A big update in the world of AI search: ChatGPT Atlas just launched. And it’s had a bit of a lukewarm reception…

Atlas is OpenAI’s own web browser. Similar to Perplexity’s Comet (covered in July’s column), it’s basically its answer to Google Chrome.

So far, feedback has been mixed to say the least. Yes, Atlas offers in-depth answers, personalised results and even agentic capabilities. But is it actually any good?

Some early reviews are positive. But many aren’t so sure. Does searching in Atlas actually require more effort than traditional browsers? Are its agentic features worth paying for? What security issues does it pose? Do we even need it? Right now, there’s a lot of questions.

What does this mean for digital PR?

As we’ve come to expect with these updates, no one’s really sure. Sure, some people will say that Atlas is about to ‘kill Google’. And yes, one day AI browsers probably will be our go-to search experience. But does that mean we should drop everything and focus our digital PR, SEO and content strategies on ChatGPT Atlas? Absolutely not.

In my opinion, AI is brilliant for complex, multi-level queries, shortening hours of research and analysis into just a few seconds (I now use Perplexity’s Comet for this type of search daily). But to be perfectly honest, I can’t see myself dropping Google Chrome as my default anytime soon. It’s the market leading browser for a reason, and with AIO and AI Mode on offer, you’ve access to most of the benefits of AI browsers anyway.

The search landscape is changing every day. New AI browsers like Atlas are popping up all over the place. And right now, we don’t really know how people use them (or if they do at all). So instead of panicking and diving down a rabbit hole, we need to learn.

As PRs, we’ve got a unique opportunity to succeed in this era of search. Let’s not waste it.

What else’s new in digital PR and SEO?

• Google Discover promotes spam to millions. Fake news stories on fraudulent sites have been shown to 10s of millions of people. Which isn’t great news for us PRs. Taking up real estate, eroding consumer trust and even posing reputational risks. Google needs to sort its spam policies out ASAP.

• Reddit sues Perplexity over “unlawful” data scraping. Another example of legal action against AI companies. But this one could have much wider consequences. If Reddit comes out with a win, it could set a precedent for how AI uses our data moving forward. One to keep an eye on.

• Microsoft and OpenAI lock in partnership long-term. The two tech giants have extended their deal until 2032. Meaning? Microsoft will continue to get OpenAI’s latest models for years to come. The AI hype isn’t going anywhere.

• OpenAI gearing up to offer advertising in ChatGPT. The success of this will be massive for the future of search. If it works? Traditional search could disappear altogether. But if it doesn’t? The AI search bubble could take a hit — or even burst.