Inbound Isn’t Dead - But AI has Broken the Funnel

Every time there’s a big shift in digital marketing, someone declares something “dead”.

SEO is dead.

Email is dead.

Websites are dead.

Now apparently, inbound is dead too.

It isn’t.

But if you’re still thinking about inbound the way we did five or ten years ago, then yes — that version of the funnel is broken.

Not subtly. Structurally.

The inbound funnel we all grew up with

For a long time, inbound worked beautifully because the system was stable.

The model looked something like this:

• Write helpful, SEO-driven content

• Rank on Google

• Drive traffic to your website

• Convert a small percentage

• Scale by increasing volume

Awareness, consideration, decision.

Simple. Predictable. And for many of us (MO Agency included), incredibly effective.

We built pillar pages. We obsessed over keywords. We optimised for traffic growth. And when we wanted more leads, the lever was clear: more visits.

That’s the model most HubSpot users still have in their heads.

The problem is… that funnel no longer exists in one place.

The top of the funnel has left your website

The biggest change is right at the top.

Awareness used to happen on Google. Now it happens inside AI tools and platforms you don’t control.

Think about where people are actually learning today:

• ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity

• Reddit threads

• YouTube creators

• TikTok explainers

• Niche industry communities

People are forming opinions, shortlists, and preferences before they ever touch a website.

In many cases, they’re not even aware they’ve skipped a step. They ask a question, get an answer, and move on feeling informed.

That entire discovery phase — the phase inbound relied on — is now decentralised.

And that’s why your traffic graphs look the way they do.

The middle of the funnel is collapsing too

The next surprise for most teams is the middle.

Traditionally, the consideration phase lived on your site:

• comparison articles

• “best of” pages

• long-form pillar content

• research-heavy blogs

This is exactly the kind of content we spent years perfecting.

But AI is very good at absorbing this middle layer.

Instead of reading five articles to compare tools, buyers now ask:

“Compare X vs Y for my use case”

“What’s the best CRM for a 50-person company in South Africa?”

“Is HubSpot worth the cost in 2025?”

And they get a synthesis.

Not a link list. A conclusion.

That doesn’t mean no one visits websites anymore — they do — but the volume of research visits is shrinking fast.

Which is why so many pillar pages that “used to kill it” are quietly bleeding month after month.

A real example: when a pillar page stops being a growth lever

We have a pillar page that ranked extremely well for years.

Top positions. Consistent traffic. Solid lead contribution. A proper inbound workhorse.

It still ranks.

But the traffic has dropped by 30%+ month-on-month, consistently.

What’s interesting is this:

• The volume is down

• The time on page is up

• The quality of sessions is better

In other words, fewer people are arriving — but the ones who do are more serious.

That’s not a content problem.

That’s a funnel problem.

The page was designed to capture attention at the top of the funnel. That job has moved elsewhere.

So where does inbound still work?

At the bottom.

Very much at the bottom.

Conversion is now where you have leverage.

Your website still matters enormously, just not in the way it used to.

This is where inbound is actually becoming more valuable (and more connected to sales):

• personalisation

• clear positioning

• strong CTAs

• relevant follow-up

• sales alignment

• fast response times

• conversion rate optimisation

You don’t control where someone first hears about you anymore.

But you do control what happens when they raise their hand.

The new inbound reality

The funnel hasn’t disappeared. It’s just… exploded outward.

Awareness happens everywhere:

• AI models

• creators

• communities

• conversations you’ll never see

Consideration is increasingly compressed:

• summaries instead of research

• answers instead of articles

• conclusions instead of exploration

Conversion is where structure returns:

• your site

• your messaging

• your sales process

• your follow-up

This is why many businesses are seeing:

• lower traffic

• higher lead intent

• fewer “window shoppers”

• more serious conversations

Inbound hasn’t stopped working.

It’s just stopped being traffic-first.

Why this matters for HubSpot teams in particular

If you’re running HubSpot (or any serious CRM), this shift should actually sharpen your focus.

Because the growth lever is no longer:

“How do we get more visits?”

It’s:

“How do we convert better when the right people arrive?”

That means:

• tighter marketing → sales handover

• better context in follow-ups

• using behavioural data properly

• fewer generic nurture tracks

• more relevance, faster

The tools haven’t gone away. The priorities have changed.

What this sets up next

Once you accept that:

• awareness lives outside your site

• consideration is increasingly handled by AI

• conversion is where you win or lose

The next logical question becomes:

How do you make sure your brand shows up in those AI-driven awareness moments in the first place?

Because if the funnel starts there, and you’re not present there, you don’t even get invited into the conversation.

That’s where the shift from traditional SEO to AEO (AI Engine Optimisation) starts to matter.

That’s what I’ll unpack next.

Read: SEO vs AEO: Why Structure Beats Backlinks in an AI-Driven World (Coming soon)