Search has always been about helping people find the right information at the right time. But today, search is being reshaped in real time.
AI-generated answers, generative engine optimisation, shifting user habits, and new discovery platforms are changing how people search, how businesses are found, and how websites earn visibility. For WordPress users, this is not just a technical topic; it is vital to content creation, development, marketing, business strategy, brand trust, and long-term growth.
That is why the SEO sessions at WordCamp Europe 2026 are especially timely. Whether you are an SEO specialist, agency owner, developer, marketer, content creator, publisher, or business owner, these sessions will help you understand what is changing, what still works, and what you can start doing now to get it right.
Why SEO matters more than ever.
SEO is no longer only about ranking pages in search results and the right keywords; it is about becoming part of a much wider conversation about digital visibility.
People are discovering answers through search engines, AI tools, social feeds, video platforms, and recommendation systems. There is an integral need for brands to be cited, trusted, selected, and remembered. SEO can no longer sit quietly in one corner of a marketing plan. It touches content, development, brand trust, business strategy, analytics, and the way teams think about long-term growth.
What you’ll take away from these sessions:
- How AI search is changing the way people discover websites, products, services, and communities
- Why visibility is becoming a shared responsibility across content, development, marketing, and business teams
- What the shift from SEO to GEO could mean for organic traffic and digital strategy
- How WordPress can support stronger search visibility before you reach for another plugin
- Practical ways to think about rankings, citations, authority, structure, and discoverability
- A clearer sense of what is changing, what is hype, and what still matters in search
The talks
Panel: the future of SEO
Speaker: Kacper BartoszakPam Aungst CroninAlex MossDavid CuestaJovana Smoljanovic Tucakov
Where: Track 1
When: Friday 16:45 CEST
Session page: Panel: The future of SEO
Search is no longer a single discipline. As AI-generated answers reshape how people find information online, SEO practitioners are being asked a new question: are you optimising for search engines, or for the models that are increasingly answering in their place?
This panel brings together practitioners and strategists to tackle the defining tension in digital visibility right now: The shift from SEO to GEO (Is it really a thing?), and what that means for WordPress builders, content creators, and business owners who depend on organic traffic.
Kacper is an entrepreneur and marketing strategist specializing in viral growth and AI positioning. Founder of a marketing agency helping brands break through with high-impact campaigns. Core member and Head of Markering of the Startup Community Poznań Foundation with hands-on experience building and launching tech startups.
Follow his work on WordPress.org as @kacperbartoszak
Pam Aungst Cronin is the owner of Pam Ann Marketing, LLC and Stealth™ Search and Analytics. She is a widely recognized expert in SEO, PPC, analytics, and AI. Since founding her agency 15 years ago, Pam has established herself as a leading voice in the industry, with recognition as one of the “Top 10 Women in SEO” and features in 6 books, numerous podcasts, and several major media outlets. Armed with a marketing M.B.A. and over two decades of industry experience, her focus is on helping brands maximize their visibility across both search engines and AI chatbots.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @pamannmarketing
Alex is an expert-level SEO consultant, WordPress developer, and marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience helping brands grow their online presence, conversion, and customer loyalty. He specialises in technical and structural SEO, product development, and strategy, and has worked with thousands of websites across sectors.
He is Principal SEO at Yoast, the world’s leading SEO plugin for WordPress with over 13.5 million installs, where he focuses on product innovation and brand authority. He is a co-presenter of The SEO Update by Yoast video podcast, as well as being a guest on numerous other industry podcasts. Alex also co-founded the organic marketing and WordPress development agency FireCask, and is a long-standing conference speaker and trainer on topics including technical SEO, AI Search, and WordPress SEO.
Follow his work on WordPress.org as @alexmoss
David Cuesta is from Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where he runs a digital marketing agency specialized in SEO and WordPress web development. He has been fighting Google updates since 2015 and continues to learn about SEO and WordPress every day. He considers himself an AI lover, although when it comes to SEO, he believes AI is a major challenge for the industry.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @davidcuesta
Content strategist and SEO lead at Melograno Ventures. Blending storytelling, data, and smart SEO to help WordPress brands grow and stay visible in the evolving world of search.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @jovanasmoljanovic
AI search: why your whole company should care
Speaker: Emma Young
Where: Workshop 2
When: Friday 5 June at 14:30
Session page: AI search: why your whole company should care
AI Search isn’t just SEO’s problem anymore – it’s everyone’s. From content teams to developers, PPC to partnerships, the shift to AI-native discovery affects your entire business. This session is your wake-up call: why you’re probably already behind, what’s changed, and the quick wins you can implement now to catch up.
Emma Young is Head of Organic Marketing at Hostinger, where she leads SEO, Content, YouTube, and Localization.
Her work sits at the intersection of search, AI, and creativity—exploring how ideas turn into content, content turns into distribution, and distribution turns into visibility.
She focuses on how search is evolving into something closer to a feed, where ranking isn’t enough, and brands need to be selected, cited, and remembered across the ecosystem.
Emma is known for challenging traditional SEO thinking and helping teams build not just optimized content—but content that travels, gets talked about, and earns its place in AI-driven discovery.
Follow her work on WordPress.org as @emmaht