AI Didn’t Kill Blogs. They’re Just Having a Midlife Crisis.
Here’s the TL;DR overview of this article:
Everyone's asking if AI killed blogging. It definitely killed GENERIC blogging, but no, not blogging as a channel.
The old playbook of pumping out keyword-heavy articles for search engines is losing steam. Today, blogs need to do something much more valuable: demonstrate expertise, answer real customer questions, and give AI systems something worth citing.
If your content is original, authoritative, and genuinely useful, it can help your brand show up in AI-generated answers, influence prospects before they ever talk to sales, and establish credibility in your market.
Instead of analyzing if blogging still matters, the better question is: are you creating content that's actually worth reading?
Read on to find out…
Long Live the Blog
AI can write a blog before you can say “writer's block”. Gone are the days of staring at a blank screen waiting for inspiration to strike. Today, AI can answer your question before you've even made it halfway through a traditional blog article. Even Google now surfaces AI-generated summaries before suggesting you take your own deep-dive that requires…gasp…reading *booooooo*. Sorry, we’re from the Philly area, we boo when we don’t like things. Read on, I’m sure we’ll find something else to boo at.
In this AI-laden landscape, many marketers are wondering if blogging is still worth the effort. We’ve seen two common answers to the quick rise of AI:
Marketers stop blogging in favor of other activities.
Marketers make WAYYYYYYY more blog content, but it’s that totally AI-generated generic kind. Booooo! (sorry)
So, is blogging dead?
No! But its job has changed. We used to write blogs to make the Google search engine overlords happy. Now blogs report to a bunch of bosses. SEO remains important, but now blogs need to be written to function as source material for AI searches (overviews and within popular tools such as ChatGPT and Claude).
Generic keyword-focused content is losing value, but original experience-driven content (you know the kind that only a human can write) is becoming increasingly important. Let’s explore the new role of blogging in your marketing strategy.
Clickless content killed blogs. Or did it?
Maybe it killed your KPIs, but it didn’t kill blogs. It’s true: clickless content from Google AI Overviews and LLMs has changed how people search for your content, but it doesn’t diminish the need for your brand to generate content.
For those who relied on paid or organic click metrics as an indicator of marketing success, this shift is uncomfortable. A major drop-off in traffic to your blog content might feel like an indicator that it’s time to ditch the blog. But…where do you think the LLMs and AI overviews are getting their answers from…it’s from good content on the internet. The type of content you should be making.
Content production has exploded as technology has leveled the barriers to content creation, enabling a blog to be written in seconds. But the result is generic content, and spoiler alert, everyone can tell if your content was written by AI. It lacks personalization and doesn’t add unique value. The combination of AI creating the content and… AI reading the content… is making it harder for marketers to get their content to rank. Booooooo!
So, in summary. It may seem like blogs carry less weight than they once did. Really, the take-home message is that generic blogs, yeah, they’re totally dead. High-quality blog content reigns supreme. What makes a blog successful today?
Demonstration of subject matter expertise
Deep subject matter expertise that can’t be AI-replicated
Originiality
Obvious authority
Written simply, like it’s for a human
This is the Way. What’s actually different?
The Old Model
We’d decide what keywords we wanted our brand to be found for, and we’d pack blog articles with those words. We’d work on ranking for them, we’d watch our traffic roll in, and then we’d rinse and repeat.
We were trying to be found for searches like:
"Animal health marketing agency"
"HubSpot implementation partner"
"Lead generation marketing agency"
We might have focused on keywords such as:
Veterinary marketing agency
Animal health marketing services
Veterinary digital marketing agency
Veterinary lead generation
Veterinary marketing company
Pet health marketing agency
And our blogging strategy would have aligned. We might have written a blog about 5 Lead Generation Strategies for Animal Health Brands or maybe The Secret to Getting Meta Leads for B2B Veterinary Marketing Brands in 2026 (oh, hey, we did that one!).
The New Model
Now we’re more concerned about questions, expertise, and evidence than just keyword packing. Before we thought about what we wanted to rank for, now we are confronted with a new question: “What questions do we want AI to answer using our expertise?”
Now, we’re trying to be found by LLMs for searches like:
"Who are the best marketing agencies for animal health companies?"
“Who are the animal health-specific HubSpot Implementation partners?"
"Who are the animal health-specific marketing agencies that specialize in lead generation?"
We did these searches on our own company, and here’s what we need to do better, and where we shine. We’re not going to sugar coat how we faired, we’re all learning this new world together and we’ve all go to start somewhere.
"Who are the best marketing agencies for animal health companies?"
Yikessss we didn’t show up! When we asked ChatGPT if they had heard of Red Brick Partners, here’s what they said:
“Yes. In fact, Red Brick Partners has built a fairly specialized niche around B2B veterinary and animal health marketing rather than trying to be a generalist agency. According to its website, the agency focuses on B2B veterinary companies, healthcare companies, veterinary independent reps, and veterinary practices, with strengths in lead generation, marketing automation, CRM infrastructure, HubSpot implementation, content marketing, and campaign development.”
I asked why Red Brick wasn’t included in the initial suggestions, and it said because of how niche and specialized we are in B2B. Solid note. We’d been really keyword optimizing for B2B animal health agency but…those searching for use might not be including B2B in their searches. Interesting!
"Who are the animal health-specific HubSpot Implementation partners?"
We were #1. “Red Brick Partners is probably the most animal-health-focused HubSpot partner I’ve encountered.” Oh, why, thank you! We agree!
This is interesting because, arguably, our animal health focus on HubSpot implementation is even more niche than our agency support for animal health companies, but in this case, it worked in our favor. Our homegrown how-to videos, guides, and ebooks seem to have scratched the right itch.
"Who are the animal health-specific marketing agencies that specialize in lead generation?"
We were #1, and I’ve got to say, we’ve been working for YEARS to make sure this is the claim that we hang our hat on. We’re lead gen experts, end of story. “Red Brick Partners " is probably one of the strongest agencies focused specifically on B2B lead generation for animal health companies. Their positioning centers around lead generation, lead nurturing, content marketing, HubSpot, campaign optimization, and sales pipeline development for veterinary and healthcare brands.”
Think like your prospect and ask the LLMs the questions your prospects are asking, in exactly the language they use. If you don’t appear in the answer, ask the LLM why you weren't included. You’ll learn why you’re being left out of the consideration set. Just like us, we’ve got to work on being found for the broadest search term that our prospects are probably looking for to find us.
AI Needs Authoritative Sources—And Blogs Are Where It’s At
AI systems don't create expertise on their own. They rely on existing information to generate responses, making high-quality content more valuable than ever. We’re eating our own dog food on this one: we’re telling you that blogs are important for appearing in AI search results because we do it too. We asked ChatGPT why they recommended Red Brick Partners for lead generation for animal health companies and here’s what they valued in making their recommendation:
We explicitly position ourselves this way in our “Meet Red Brick” page. While other agencies focus on creative, branding, or social media, Red Brick focuses on B2B lead generation for veterinary businesses.
Our process website page focuses on lead-generation keywords that the LLM liked, such as CPL, MQL, SQL, marketing automation, and lead nurturing.
The website emphasizes HubSpot and marketing automation expertise, which the LLM understands are closely tied to lead-generation goals.
And here it is…the moment we’ve been waiting for…”They publish lead-generation-specific content. A lot of agency blogs are generic; their blog topics include: Getting B2B veterinary leads from Meta, AEO for marketers, Conference lead generation, HubSpot implementation, Marketing attribution, and Automation.” Our blog, hard at work. You see what it said, though, right? It values what we’re doing because it’s not generic. We have picked a very narrow lane and stayed in it. Find out what your lane is and double down on producing very narrow and original content to support it.
They publish actual lead-generation case studies. Our case studies feature numbers that demonstrate real-world lead-generation success stories.
I think we’re all seeing it, the blog is not dead, it’s actually more important than ever, we just have to do the blogging right. Here are some things you can do to strengthen your blog quality:
Blog about independent research reports
Field your own surveys and share the outcomes
Develop case studies
Perform expert interviews
Share subject matter expertise that can’t be imitated
Discuss your take on hot market trends
Before and after analyses
How-to-guides
Playbooks and frameworks
Step-by-step tutorials
Include video
How Blogging Supports AEO and AI Visibility
It’s pretty simple, really. Quality blogs create opportunities to be referenced by AI-powered search tools. The more useful and authoritative your content is, the more likely it is to contribute to AI-generated answers.
A few tips to help the AI find and cite you:
Use question-based headings
Provide clear definitions
Use statistics where you can
Include short content summaries at the top of your blog
Include lists
Leverage FAQs in your content where you can
Create multiple pieces of content about the same topic to gain topic cluster authority
The OTHER Job of Your Blog (Besides Just Traffic)
We’ve been so focused on generating those precious clicks that we haven’t hit on a huge reason why blogs are still important. They support sales conversions. Seems obvious, but let’s talk about it.
When people are truly interested in a topic, they will, in fact, read. Yayyyy! See, we Philly folk can cheer, too. Your blog is the home for ungated content that helps buyers decide to engage with your team in a sales conversation. Consider this common prospect journey:
They identify a problem and ask ChatGPT about it.
They read the short overview and decide on three companies to investigate.
During their investigation, they look for as much as they can without talking to a salesperson (sorry, we all know it’s true, though). They’re primarily searching for:
Case studies
Subject matter expertise
Resources to educate them during their research phase
That whole process is fueled by your blog. Every article also contributes to your brand's digital footprint and provides an opportunity to influence and win a prospect. The sales process is increasingly influenced by what’s happening before you ever become aware of a prospect. Keep that blog going strong to support the process. Also, blog content is great to include in email nurturing sequences to keep those interested prospects that you know about engaged. Oh, oh, it also gives you something interesting to talk about on social media. That’s important too.
In Summary, Here’s What Marketers Should Stop Doing:
Stop…
Publishing generic content
Thinking of blogs as traffic-only tools
Chasing volume, focus on the right people
Toying with the idea of ditching your blog
Defending your blog to your boss, just send them this article
And most importantly, stop mourning the loss of the blog. It’s not dead, it’s very much alive. Hopefully, after reading this lil blog of ours, you feel the same.
If you need help creating high-value blogs that help your brand get found, contact Red Brick Partners. We’ve got deep experience in the animal health industry and can’t wait to meet you and see how we can fill in the gaps that the AI just can’t.