Something’s brewing in the content marketing world. As generative engine optimization and AI Overviews snatch website traffic, there’s growing pressure to crank out content for quick wins in visibility as a cited source or in an overview. During the recent Charlotte Marketing AI Exchange (CLT AIX) event hosted at Wray Ward, Wil Reynolds, founder and CEO of Seer Interactive, called legions of machine-created articles “zombie content” destined to suck the life out of brands.

Reynolds’ simple message is: “Better, not more.”

He argued that the future belongs to brands that prioritize human connection and relationships over temporary visibility. Not shy about calling out brands that scaled up AI slop in order to grab a brand mention in an AI overview, Reynolds said the essence of content marketing remains unchanged: “Write content that helps people solve problems, please!”

We heartily agree! Here are some more highlights from his presentation on how to navigate the current hype cycle around the role of search engine optimization, GEO and answer engine optimization in marketing.

(Editor’s note: For brevity, we will refer to GEO and AEO collectively as GEO.)

If GEO were a person, today it would still be developing in the womb.

Reynolds, a search veteran of over 25 years, compared GEO’s current phase of development to that of an expected baby: We don’t know what it will grow up to be and it may change course many times before it reaches maturity.

“I started my search career in August of 1999 when we didn’t even track Google because they weren’t a big player, so I’ve seen this happen over time and that trajectory alone tells me that [GEO is] still in the womb,” Reynolds said. “Nobody really knows how this stuff works. We’re learning as we go. New changes are happening pretty much multiple times per week. We’re seeing new models launch. We’re seeing new things launch. So it’s still in a place where it is complete chaos.”

That’s why it’s important to stay grounded in the fundamentals of quality content and not latch onto the latest get-GEO-quick scheme. Brands that jumped on the bandwagon of producing listicles that rank them No. 1 in order to be included in prompts that ask, “What’s the best ranked [insert product]?” or used AI to write and publish content at scale are now seeing their websites demoted by Google’s search algorithm.

Cue the zombie content that will ultimately drain a brand’s lifeblood by losing trust with its customers, according to Reynolds.

Who wins in a race between speed and trust?

Are zombies fast or slow? A debate for another time, I guess.

What we do know is that there are AI tools that can launch hundreds of pages in a single day with the sole intention of generating a GEO mention, but Reynolds says that while this “zombie content” might boost your visibility metrics this quarter, it rarely builds a brand that lasts.

He pointed to the Michelin Guide as the ultimate example of winning decades. Michelin — a tire company — connected its brand with great dining experiences and convinced people to associate its own products with high quality. It was a long-term content play, and it paid off.

AI promises speed and efficiency but customer relationships are built with trust and time. Aim to become a brand that provides useful information and insights so your human customers ask for you by name.

This is not to say that Reynolds doesn’t use AI tools. Quite the opposite, he’s an enthusiastic user and shared several of his tips and tricks during the presentation:

• He boosts his productivity by brain dumping into an audio note on his phone, feeding it into an AI chatbot and prompting it to write an article for his website.

• He loves Google’s NotebookLM because he can use Readwise to feed all of his e-reader book highlights into a Notebook for future ideation.

• He uses AI tools, including an app he vibe coded, to analyze his past social posts, conference presentations and blog posts to streamline updates for future communications.

Don’t let the internet become the land of the living dead.

As Reynolds emphasized, there is no KPI for trust, and misleading your audience about your content’s value in order to appeal to GEO will ultimately backfire. And once you lose their attention, you may never get it back. Content marketers should lean into what a machine cannot replicate: Your unique expertise and humanity.

• Interview Your Subject Matter Experts: Don’t let AI guess what you know. Record your SME sessions and use those transcripts to guide your content.

• The Reddit Test: Tap Reddit as a listening tool to gain insights into how people talk about your brand, industry and competitors. Use this information to fuel content topics and angles you might not have previously considered.

• Focus on Distribution: Become a curator people trust. Build internal influencers and share content in places where humans live: Slack, LinkedIn and private communities.

So, 28 days or years later, what will your brand be known for?

Building credibility with useful, quality content that helps your customers is the best way to ensure your brand remains the trusted resource — valued by humans — for decades to come.

At Wray Ward, we believe in the power of better. Whether you are marketing building products, running shoes or professional services, the goal remains the same. As Reynolds says: “Write content that helps people solve problems, please!”

Looking for more ways to navigate marketing and AI in 2026? See how conversational AI is reshaping discovery, relevance and brand credibility.