AI is coming for SEO’s job.

Search engine optimization (SEO) has become an important part of recruiters’ playbooks, dictating how they format their company’s careers site, job postings, and recruitment marketing materials so they surface in search engine results.

But as AI tools reshape how people search for information on the internet, SEO strategy is being upended. AI overviews appear on 21% of Google search results according to a November 2025 analysis by Ahrefs, while certain queries, such as those comprising a long string of words or questions, generated an AI overview at least half the time. And 28% of US adults use AI chatbots and AI search engines to search simple information, according to a survey from content marketing agency Claneo. (To get into the accuracy of the answers provided by these tools would, unfortunately, be to open a can of worms.)

Already for consumer products, companies are adapting their product and website copy to accommodate AI-powered search tools. This strategy, derived from SEO, is referred to by several names, most commonly generative engine optimization (GEO). Recruiters will have to do the same, experts say.

For more on how recruiters must tailor their strategies to AI, keep reading here.—PM

Jessica Hardeman is the global head of attraction, engagement, and culture for Indeed, where she is responsible for designing and scaling programs that attract, develop, and retain Indeed’s workforce. She is set to speak at HR Brew’s upcoming summit, Talent 2030 Collective: Recruit, Retain, Repeat, on April 21 about how the hiring landscape is changing amidst an evolving AI era. Before then, we had a chance to catch up with her about why talent systems haven’t kept pace with the speed of AI and what it actually takes to build ones that do.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

If you zoom out, what’s the biggest shift happening in the talent landscape right now that HR leaders can’t afford to ignore?

The biggest shift is that skills are evolving faster than roles, and talent systems haven’t kept pace. AI is accelerating how work gets done, but it’s also exposing how rigid many hiring, development and mobility models still are.

For more from our conversation with Hardeman, keep reading here.—JK

Healthcare is doing the heavy lifting for the US jobs market.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed a majority of jobs (63%) added to the economy in January were from the healthcare industry. Overall, healthcare added 82,000 jobs, with the majority in ambulatory health, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities.

However, labor strikes in February—such as in New York City where 15,000 nurses from three health systems went on strike—caused healthcare to lose 28,000 jobs that month, according to the BLS.

Amid the rapid movement in healthcare employment, Healthcare Brew asked leaders from around the industry to weigh in on the causes of increased job demand and the challenges facing the workforce.

For more on the healthcare industry’s labor challenges, keep reading on Healthcare Brew.—MA