The New Job Titles of AI Search
AI search isn’t just changing how content gets found; it’s shifting the core of what we do and who we are.
If your work has started to outgrow your job title, you’re not broken. You’re early. We’re in an exciting moment where SEOs, content strategists, and digital marketers can help define what comes next.
Below are a few job titles I’ve been seeing more and more in conversations around AI search. Some are already real roles, others feel like they’re still taking shape, but all of them speak to the direction our work is heading.
Content Engineer
Coined by:AirOps
Used to be called: Writer
You don’t just write blog posts anymore; you build structured pieces of content that AI can easily grab, reuse, and understand.
Think of it like building with LEGO blocks, not pouring a concrete slab. FAQs, definitions, stats, mini-how-tos, every component is designed to stand alone and show up in AI summaries, chat threads, voice responses, and tool cards.
→ AirOps even offers training cohorts to teach this approach. They’ve built a job board and a hall of fame of folks doing it right now.
Old mindset:“I write blog posts and add keywords.”
New mindset: “I build content blocks that both people and AI can use anywhere.”
Relevance Engineer
Coined by:Mike King
Used to be called: SEO
This one’s my favorite and not just because it’s a glow-up for our whole field (okay, maybe it is).
Relevance Engineering is about showing up where it counts in AI chats, smart search boxes, voice replies, and beyond. Not just Google.
It’s where content strategy meets information retrieval, UX, AI, analytics, and digital PR all working together to make sure your content isn’t just published, but pulled, cited, and trusted in the new search landscape.
It’s the gateway drug (just like Pixy Stix) to AI search and a career path that extends far beyond rankings
Old mindset: “I research keywords and try to rank.”
New mindset: “I build and measure relevance across human and machine-led search.”
→ Relevance Engineering & The End of SEO As We Know It
→ Relevance Engineering services
AI Visibility Engineer
Coined by: Garrett French
This is about being findable in AI-native tools, not just on the SERP.
You’re thinking about:
- How your content is chunked
- How it’s stored in vector databases
- Whether it appears in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or AI-mode
- If it’s cited, summarized, or remixed, and by whom
You’re designing for retrievability and reusability by AI systems.
Old mindset: “I optimize my pages for search rankings.”
New mindset: “I build content signals that help AI find and use my content.”
Prompt Strategist
Introduced by: Duane Forrester
You don’t optimize content for keywords. You optimize what the AI says. This role is equal parts content strategist, UX thinker, and AI whisperer. You write the instructions and the prompts that guide the system’s behavior.
Old mindset: “I guess what people search and add it to my content.”
New mindset: “I shape what AI says by giving it the right instructions.”
Duane’s is one of the loudest voices naming this shift. He’s also written a great blog series on his Substack that explores multiple emerging AI-era roles, including Information Design Lead, Digital GEOlogist, and others worth knowing about.
→ Substack – Duane Forrester Decodes
TL;DR: What This All Means
These roles aren’t just buzz for buzz’s sake. They’re showing up in job boards, agency offerings, and AI search conversations.
And whether or not they’re on your LinkedIn profile yet, you might already be doing parts of them.
So if you’ve been doing more prompt crafting, modular writing, or AI visibility work lately, you might be becoming Buzzword Betty too.