What is Content Engineering?

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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

Time Stamps

• [00:00] – Introduction to Josh Spilker and the shift from content marketing to content engineering
• [01:26] – Content theater and why much B2B content is performative
• [04:15] – Why influential writers moved from blogs to podcasts and other formats
• [06:18] – Content engineering as an identity shift for writers and marketers
• [08:00] – The rise of the “content engineer” and systems-driven SEO workflows
• [11:23] – Using AI as a creative partner while maintaining human perspective
• [17:07] – What content engineering is not, and how systems enable experimentation at scale
• [19:09] – Brand context, internal linking, and content refresh as system-level advantages
• [20:28] – The emerging roles inside modern content engineering organizations
• [24:09] – Why expanding search surfaces require more scalable content systems
• [26:24] – Longer AI-driven queries and the growing importance of the long tail
• [28:21] – Where competitive advantage comes from when everyone can publish more content
• [30:45] – Information gain and frontier knowledge as competitive advantages
• [31:49] – Balancing SEO, thought leadership, and brand plays
• [32:51] – The rise and decline of listicles in search and AI
• [35:03] – Surround sound SEO and getting mentioned elsewhere
• [37:15] – Bias, authenticity, and trust signals in recommendations
• [39:47] – Surround sound as a model for truth and credibility
• [42:22] – Core skills for content engineers and systems thinking
• [46:54] – Creative AI workflows and emerging use cases
• [48:10] – Using internal meetings and sales conversations as content inputs
• [52:54] – How advanced orgs approach AI experimentation and governance
• [55:52] – Key differences between AI search and traditional SEO