From hyper-technical to incredibly niche, AI conversations either go way over our heads or drastically oversimplify what’s happening.
That’s where Prerender.io’s new Get Discovered podcast comes in. Hosted by CEO Joe Walsh, the podcast focuses on demystifying AI at a higher level. From there, we can take a step back and understand what AI really means for search, society, and our world at large.
In the first episode of this series, Joe welcomes Erin Simmons, Managing Director at Women in Tech SEO (also known as the WTS Community), to discuss the role of AI in our lives and its implications within the SEO industry.
Throughout this conversation, Erin discusses her experiences as the Managing Director of the WTS Community and how community, above all else, is a great instrument for change and personal development. Most AI platforms are designed to be a personalized yet isolated experience, often telling you what you want to hear. Real human engagement and interaction take you beyond the “remix machine” (more on that below) and provide you with novel and innovative ideas that could not be created alone.
So what does that mean for the future of AI and SEO?
You can listen to the discussion in full below, or keep reading to get a summary of Erin and Joe’s conversation and their thoughts on AI, community, and where SEO might go.
Defining the True Benefits of AI for SEO
AI has fundamentally changed the way people interact with the online world and has completely overhauled how companies should be looking at SEO and online search visibility.
Joe and Erin both acknowledge that the term “AI” is thrown around a lot these days, but in most cases, people are referring to platforms like Gemini and ChatGPT. From Erin’s point of view, AI is still in the stage where it’s not creating anything essentially new, but more “remixing” old content into new formats.
“ I don’t know that I truly believe AI right now in its current form, especially through ChatGPT and AI Overviews, is actually creating anything net new. But I do think it’s so interesting for remixing things together and for just getting different lenses on things that currently exist.”
(03:55)
To Erin and Joe, AI is still just a tool rather than a more collaborative partner in creating content. For example, Erin is a fan of Chris Voss and his book “Never Split the Difference,” which focuses on negotiation and conflict resolution. Now, she might get ChatGPT to rewrite an email or other content with Chris Voss’ teachings in mind, but she still finds she has to edit it afterwards. Essentially, for Erin, AI will take the idea of something and replicate it, but it’s still quite far from understanding it in the same way a human would.
This is where Erin and Joe really focus on the power of community and how it can help people thrive in the online world.
Read More: SEO vs. AIO vs. GEO: Understanding the New Search Landscape
The Power of Community for Women in Tech SEO
The WTS Community was set up to create an open and collaborative platform for women in tech to learn and develop from their peers on everything from new SEO trends to business management and community development skills. It has since grown to become a community for any marginalized gender to discuss a wide variety of issues and even offers inclusive spaces for all genders in its newsletters, social media, and some conferences.
For Erin and the Women in Tech SEO community, inclusivity is everything. For example, Erin discusses their community channels and how common it used to be for people to start a post with “stupid question but…” and how that has steadily faded away over time, thanks to a more inclusive and judgement-free space. And AI has helped with this too.
“ We like to say in our community that you can ask any question here. Unfortunately, the language that a lot of folks use is ‘I hope this isn’t a stupid question,’ and that breaks my heart. I’ve said that so many times, so many times, and it took so long to start to remove that from my vocabulary.
A few weeks ago, I actually typed ‘stupid questions’ in quotations into our Slack and into our Facebook group. And so many messages came up, but they weaned over time. It rarely pops up anymore, and that’s such a beautiful thing about AI, because fear of asking ‘stupid’ questions is a deterrent for so many people to connect or engage with others.” (20:06)
The WTS Community allows people to engage with peers who may give them novel insights on topics that AI may either not have full knowledge of or have significant biases about. It creates a forum of human connection that provides unique insights in that moment and can also lead to people following up or creating long-term connections or partnerships with peers within that community. AI interactions are often isolated and once-off experiences, community engagement (when done right) creates long-term, growth-focused connections.
Why Collaboration Through Disagreement is More Important Than Ever
Further on into the podcast, Erin and Joe dive into the issues of disagreements and debate, and why it has become so important for us as people and professionals to find spaces for discussion. AI platforms like ChatGPT make this issue even worse, often blindly agreeing with users instead of offering another point of view for healthy debate.
Communities like WTS allow for that debate, making people confront their beliefs and ideas in a forum that focuses on non-judgmental, community-focused learning. Erin discusses Audre Lorde’s essay that shows how important it is to find the spaces between our differences and explore these—rather than creating walls and dividing one another. This is something only an inclusive and engaging human community can do, not AI.
Erin sums up the one-sided experience of choosing an AI platform for help by saying;
“It’s so nice that I get a judgment-free experience [when conversing with LLMs]. But am I doing myself a disservice in what I could give back to my community, what I could give back–knowledge-wise–to the people that I do want to connect with? By not having those tough conversations and practicing, having discourse around disagreements?”
(25:18)
Discussion and debate have become a focal point for the WTS Community, and Erin points out that it’s an internet-wide thing. Searches on Reddit, where people know they’ll be able to have a discussion with another human being and not a bot, are significantly on the rise. Joe adds to the importance of this issue by mentioning that for Prerender.io, they have noticed that so much more traffic for customers’ sites is coming from bots, and so much content on those sites is made by AI. In a world where the internet is slowly becoming a feedback loop of bots copying content from bots, finding a human community with real engagement, feedback, and education opportunities is vital.
At the end of their conversation, Erin perfectly sums up the power of community and trust by saying:
”Visibility is a byproduct of trust. If you’re getting into a community every day, you’re answering people’s questions, you’re sharing resources, you’re asking questions, you’re giving and receiving, you’re gonna earn trust, right?
And that trust is not going to just disappear with an algorithm update. As you earn that trust, and especially within our community where we are focused on amplification, you will have people when those search journeys happen, where they’ll think, ‘Okay, I have all these options, let me go ask these people that I trust what they think about these options.”
(41:00)
Promoting Trust and Collaboration With the WTS Community
Prerender.io is a proud partner of the WTS Community. If you or someone you know would be interested in joining their community, you can sign up here. Women in Tech SEO is a supportive community for women and people of marginalised genders in SEO and marketing, providing mentorship, educational resources, and networking opportunities. Founded by Areej AbuAli in 2019, the community has grown to thousands of members worldwide and hosts regular events, workshops, and an annual conference dedicated to SEO and digital marketing topics.
About Prerender.io
Prerender.io is a leading technical SEO solution that helps websites ensure their JavaScript content is fully visible to search engines and generative AI tools. Used by thousands of companies worldwide, including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Walmart, Prerender.io solves critical SEO challenges for modern websites. You can learn more about Prerender.io here or create an account for free.
FAQs
What is the Get Discovered podcast?
The Get Discovered podcast, hosted by Prerender.io CEO Joe Walsh, explores the evolving landscape of SEO, AI, and online discoverability. Each episode features industry experts sharing insights, challenges, and strategies for thriving in the modern digital space. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Who is Erin Simmons and what is the WTS Community?
Erin Simmons is the Managing Director of Women in Tech SEO (WTS Community), a global network dedicated to supporting women and marginalized genders in SEO and marketing. The community provides mentorship, peer learning, and safe spaces for professional growth.
Why does community matter in the age of AI?
While AI tools can obviously streamline tasks, they lack the depth of human connection, debate, decision-making capabilities, and perspective. Communities like WTS provide inclusive spaces for learning, asking questions, sharing resources, and building trust—elements that AI can’t replicate.
What does Prerender.io do?
Prerender.io ensures that JavaScript-heavy websites are fully visible to search engines and generative AI tools. Without a solution like Prerender.io, your website’s important information like pricing, reviews, images, or FAQs may never show up on search platforms like ChatGPT. Prerender.io helps businesses improve SEO performance, maintain visibility, and stay ahead in a world where both AI and human audiences matter.
