In this episode of The Long Game Podcast, Alex Birkett sits down with Josh Spilker, Head of Search Marketing at AirOps, to explore how content teams are evolving in response to AI, automation, and changing search behavior. Josh draws on his background in SEO, writing, and systems thinking to outline why traditional content marketing models are breaking down and what’s replacing them.

They discuss the concept of content engineering, including how workflows, brand context, and AI-assisted processes change the way teams create, refresh, and scale content. The conversation also covers identity shifts for marketers, the growing complexity of search surfaces, and where real differentiation and business value are created as content production becomes easier.

Key Takeaways

• Content engineering represents a shift from one-off content creation to building systems that manage, update, and scale content across channels.  
• AI lowers the marginal cost of content, but differentiation still comes from strategy, brand context, and human editorial judgment.  
• Modern content teams increasingly separate roles between content strategy and content engineering, even if one person covers both in smaller orgs.  
• The expansion of search surfaces and longer, more contextual queries increases demand for more specific and tailored content.  
• As traffic becomes less reliable as a KPI, teams need to focus more on conversion quality, brand presence, and downstream business impact.

Show Links

• Visit AirOps on LinkedIn
• Connect with Josh Spilker on LinkedIn
• Connect with Alex Birkett on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Ryan McReady (Reforge), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

How to Build the Right Data Workflow with Blake Burch (Shipyard)

Data-Driven Thought Leadership with Alicia Johnston (Sprout Social)

Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

Blue Ocean vs Red Ocean SEO

Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here:

https://beomniscient.com/podcast/