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Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) underwent a fundamental shift in 2025 with the emergence of AI Search. That shift has also changed what makes an SEO speaker worth listening to in 2026.
This list isn’t about who’s loudest or most in-demand on the conference circuit. It’s about who’s doing the most useful, forward-looking work right now in a world where businesses need to balance a traditional SEO strategy with AI Search Optimisation.
Here are 8 SEO speakers we think are genuinely worth watching in 2026.
How We Define a Great SEO Speaker in 2026
The best SEO speakers in 2026 share three defining qualities:
- They prioritise tested strategy over theory. Great SEO speakers run experiments, analyse data, and share results, including what didn’t work.
- They connect SEO to business outcomes. The best SEO speakers understand how SEO drives revenue, influences customer acquisition costs, and impacts long-term competitive positioning.
- They stay ahead of industry shifts. In 2026, this means understanding AI Search, preparing for continued changes in how people discover information, and helping businesses adapt their strategies before competitors catch on.
Follow speakers who demonstrate these qualities, and you’ll make smarter SEO decisions faster in 2026.
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8 Best SEO Speakers for 2026
Here’s your quick reference list for the SEO speakers worth watching in 2026:
| Name | Company | What Sets Them Apart |
| 1. Charlie Marchant | Exposure Ninja | CEO who connects AI Search and SEO strategy to measurable business growth with data-driven insights from real client campaigns. |
| 2. Malte Landwehr | Peec AI | Turns AI Search visibility into a structured, data-driven strategy without losing sight of SEO fundamentals. |
| 3. Josh Blyskal | Profound | Builds his talks on large-scale experiments and original data, making AI Search guidance evidence-led. |
| 4. Andrew Warden | Semrush | Turns Semrush research into practical frameworks that marketing leaders can implement immediately. |
| 5. Chima Mmeje | Moz | Champions content quality, clarity, and audience-first strategy in a landscape increasingly driven by automation. |
| 6. Lily Ray | Amsive | Brings forensic, evidence-led analysis to search quality, algorithms, and trust. |
| 7. Michael King | iPullRank | Combines technical SEO with emerging AI Search trends for enterprise-level strategy. |
| 8. Rand Fishkin | SparkToro | Combines deep search experience with honest market analysis to help teams invest in search with clear expectations. |
1. Charlie Marchant (Exposure Ninja)
Charlie Marchant.
Charlie Marchant is one of the leading SEO and AI Search speakers to watch in 2026.
As CEO of Exposure Ninja, Charlie has been an invited speaker at events across the UK and Europe, sharing practical frameworks and insights on how to optimise for SEO and AI Search. She has spoken on stage at industry-leading events such as BrightonSEO and MozCon London, as well as been an invited speaker to events such as the Web Performance Summit in Berlin and Moz’s highest-ever attended webinar on “How to Appear in Generative AI Searches.”
What sets her apart is how she grounds every recommendation in measurable business outcomes through leads and sales. Her insights come directly from SEO and AI Search Optimisation campaigns for mid-market and enterprise clients, giving her presentations a practical edge.
Where to watch Charlie:
- BrightonSEO, MozCon, and other major upcoming marketing conferences in 2026.
- The Digital Marketing Podcast by Exposure Ninja (on Spotify and Apple)
- Exposure Ninja YouTube
- Exposure Ninja Blog.
Embed Quote: Charlie Marchant, CEO of Exposure Ninja: “I’ve never believed in SEO as just a traffic channel. It’s a performance channel. The real metric isn’t visits; it’s how many qualified leads and sales you generate from search.”
2. Malte Landwehr (Peec AI)
Malte Landwehr. Image Source.
Malte Landwehr, CPO and CMO of Peec AI, brings more than 20 years of SEO experience and a sharp focus on AI Search to his talks. He’s one of the leading voices helping brands stay visible in LLM-powered platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity without abandoning core SEO best practices.
His talks are known for being structured, data-driven, and highly practical. 2025 was a busy year for Malte, where he spoke at industry events and webinars like BrightonSEO, SEO Day, Axel Springer B2B Marketing Summit, and co-hosted Exposure Ninja’s Hidden Playbooks webinar alongside Charlie Marchant on how B2B SaaS brands dominate AI results.
Where to watch Malte:
- Some of Malte’s upcoming events in 2026 include SMX Munich, Search Seekers, Growth Sessions, and OMT Summit
- X (Twitter).
3. Josh Blyskal (Profound)
Josh Blyskal. Image Source.
Josh Blyskal, Leading AEO Strategy & Research at Profound, is the SEO speaker to watch if you want data-backed insights into AI Search.
In 2025, Josh took to the stage twice at BrightonSEO, presenting findings from large-scale experiments on AI Search. He excels at explaining clearly the differences between SEO and AI Search Optimisation, helping businesses understand what to do to excel in all areas of search. He regularly attends webinars and podcasts, and you can stay up-to-date with his upcoming appearances on his LinkedIn page.
He also joined Charlie Marchant in a webinar to share his insights on how Fortune 500 brands can dominate in AI Search:
Where to watch Josh:
4. Andrew Warden (Semrush)
Andrew Warden. Image Source.
Andrew Warden is the CMO at Semrush and one of the most influential voices shaping how modern search strategy is evolving inside real businesses.
In 2025, Andrew spoke on stage at Semrush Spotlight and appeared in numerous webinars and podcasts, where he has become a consistent and credible voice on how AI is changing search.
In a recent podcast appearance, he explained:
“94.3% of searches are happening on Google still. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be, as marketers, worried about visibility in LLMs and the traceability and citations there. We absolutely need it. In fact, customers who are coming through AI Search engines where you are referenced in an LLM are 4.4x as likely to convert. So, you definitely need to care, but this is not ‘Oh, it’s such a big deal, we’re going to stop doing our SEO, and we’re only going to focus on LLMs.” This is the worst decision that can be made.”
This thinking underpins the value of Andrew’s talks. He doesn’t pitch AI Search as a replacement for SEO. He explains, with data, how SEO and AI visibility now work together as one system and what marketing leaders should actually do about it.
Where to watch Andrew:
- One of Andrew’s upcoming events in 2026 is Spryng
- Semrush Blog.
5. Chima Mmeje (Moz)
Chima Mmeje. Image Source.
Chima Mmeje is Content Marketing Manager at Moz. If you care about content quality, clarity of message, and building search strategies that serve users rather than just algorithms, she’s someone you should absolutely be following in 2026.
In 2025, Chima was a regular fixture across SEO talks, appearing in panels, podcasts, webinars, and community events discussing how search is evolving, how AI is changing content production, and why quality, differentiation, and audience-first thinking matter more than ever.
Where to watch Chima:
- Chima is so far scheduled to speak at BrightonSEO, WTSFest London, and The Marketing Meetup Conference 2026.
- Moz Blog.
6. Lily Ray (Amsive)
Lily Ray. Image Source.
Lily Ray, VP of SEO Strategy at Amsive, is one of the most trusted and analytically rigorous voices in SEO today.
She’s a regular contributor to webinars, podcasts, and industry discussions, and a familiar face on major stages including BrightonSEO, SEO Week, and MozCon.
Recently, Lily joined Malte Landwehr and others for a panel discussion on AI Search. Lily’s perspective was characteristically grounded: AI is changing discovery, but original research, authentic content, and real authority are becoming increasingly important, not less so.
While she hasn’t yet published her full 2026 speaking schedule, Lily is almost sure to remain one of the most important voices in the conversation around search quality and trust.
Where to watch Lily:
7. Michael King (iPullRank)
Michael King. Image Source.
Mike King, Founder and CEO of iPullRank, is one of the best SEO speakers for challenging how you think about SEO and AI Search in 2026.
He has spoken on stage at events like SXSW, MozCon, BrightonSEO, Digital Summit, and Inbound, as well as regularly appearing on podcasts and webinars. His talks tend to cover SEO strategy, AI Search, and digital transformation.
In a recent podcast, Mike explained one of his prevalent topics: relevance engineering. He argues that modern search strategy can no longer be about optimising individual pages or chasing rankings. It must be about engineering relevance across passages, entities, and the wider web, so your brand is consistently selected as evidence in AI responses.
Where to watch Michael:
8. Rand Fishkin (SparkToro)
Rand Fishkin. Image Source.
Rand Fishkin, Founder of SparkToro and former Moz CEO, remains one of the most respected SEO speakers.
Rand was on stage at events such as The Marketing Meetup and SEO Week, and appeared occasionally on webinars and podcasts throughout 2025. Rand’s value as an SEO speaker in 2026 comes from his unique focus on market research and changing search behaviour.
Rand is also known for his transparency regarding the challenges and limitations of the SEO industry. He doesn’t oversell SEO’s potential, making his recommendations more trustworthy for CMOs evaluating where to allocate marketing budget.
Where to watch Rand:
- Rand is so far confirmed to speak at SEO Week in April 2026.
- X (Twitter).
What This List Tells Us About SEO in 2026
What’s interesting about this group is that none of them are really just SEO speakers anymore. They’re talking about:
- AI-driven discovery
- Brand authority and trust
- Data, systems and platforms
- Demand generation, not just traffic
That’s the shift we’re all living through. SEO isn’t disappearing, but it is being absorbed into something much bigger: how brands get chosen in AI Search.
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