Should i, b, em, strong tags be replaced with css formatting styles?

Question

Search Engine Optimization

The SEO office among the recommendations issued the following paragraph:
Formatting tags i, b, em, strong were found on the site and must be replaced with CSS formatting styles.
Search engines regard the excessive use of formatting tags in website content as a way to manipulate the attention of users. The use of formatting tags can lead to a decrease in the position of the site and, as a result, traffic from search engines.
Is it so? I always thought that, in any case, strong is exactly the tag for seo. Or am I behind the times?

Answer 1

See where you use them. If for formatting some blocks outside of the content, then this is not very good. If in the content, then they should be applied there. Of course, not through every word, but in moderation and to the point.
See how https://ahrefs.com/blog/ru/audit-obratnyh-ssylok/
is used here . In the article, these tags are in almost every paragraph. This formatting in the content should help optimization. No need to select keywords more than 1-2 times.
It says here when and how to apply https://webref.ru/layout/advanced-html-css/semanti...

Answer 2

The use of formatting tags can lead to a decrease in the position of the site and, as a result, traffic from search engines.

whatever.
From the side of search engines, there is no significant guidance on how to use basic HTML tags to optimize pages. Google employees deny any difference and allow any of them to be used. - https://serpstat.com/ru/blog/kak-i-kogda-ispolzova...
Yes, I myself did not notice any negative during the promotion.