Is SEO still worth it now that people use AI search?

Yes. AI search tools do not invent their answers from nothing; they draw on pages, reviews and business listings they can find and trust. Google's Search Central page on AI features states that "the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features in Google Search" and that there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode beyond being indexed and eligible to show with a snippet.

So the foundation is the same: a site Google can crawl, pages that answer real questions, a complete business profile and a reputation people can verify. What has changed is where the payoff shows up. A family law firm used to measure SEO in website visits. Now some of its value arrives as a mention in an AI answer, a call from the map pack or a client who says "ChatGPT suggested you."

Three things changed, and they affect service businesses differently from publishers.

• Fewer clicks on simple questions. Pew Research Center found that Google users clicked a traditional result on 8% of visits that showed an AI summary, versus 15% without one. Ahrefs found a 58% lower clickthrough rate for the top-ranking page on searches with an AI Overview.
• More people ask AI tools directly. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found 45% of consumers used ChatGPT and other generative AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6% in 2025, making AI the third most popular source of business recommendations.
• Usage skews younger and keeps growing. Pew's 2025 survey found 34% of US adults had used ChatGPT, about double the 2023 share, including 58% of adults under 30.

From the same public sources search engines use: your website, your Google Business Profile and other listings, reviews, directories and mentions on other sites. Google's AI features guidance tells site owners to keep pages crawlable, keep important content in text form, make structured data match visible text and keep Business Profile information current. It also says site owners do not need new machine-readable files or special schema markup to appear in AI features.

Reviews carry extra weight because AI tools summarize them. BrightLocal found 82% of consumers read AI-generated review summaries and 23% would rely on those summaries alone to make a decision. A salon with a steady flow of detailed recent reviews gives those summaries something accurate to say.

Prioritize the work that helps in both regular search and AI answers. For most service businesses, that list is short.

• Service pages that answer directly. One page per main service, with a plain answer near the top: what it is, who it is for, typical cost range if you can share one, how long it takes, how to book.
• A complete Google Business Profile. Correct categories, services, hours, service areas, photos and regular updates.
• Recent, detailed reviews. Ask every satisfied customer, and reply to reviews so the profile shows an active business.
• Consistent business details. The same name, address, phone and website everywhere you are listed, so search engines and AI tools can match your identity.
• Crawlable, fast pages. Text in the page rather than in images, quick loading on phones, accurate structured data.
• Evidence of expertise. Credentials, licenses, years in practice, team bios and specifics a summary can quote correctly.

The shift hits hardest where customers research before they buy, and least where they need someone today. The examples below show where to put the effort.

• Legal and financial: clients ask detailed questions ("do I need a will if I have a trust") that AI tools now answer directly. Detailed practice area pages with clear answers and attorney or advisor credentials give those answers a reason to name your firm.
• Health and wellness: patients compare procedures, recovery and cost. Pages that explain your process and what is included, plus a strong review profile, help with both AI summaries and the final choice.
• Real estate and property: much of the early research (market questions, process questions) is answered on the results page. Neighborhood and service pages with local specifics are harder for a summary to replace.
• Home services and automotive: urgent searches still run mostly through the map pack, so the business profile, reviews and fast phone response carry most of the weight.
• Beauty and personal care: booking decisions lean on photos, reviews and availability. Keep the profile current and make online booking easy to find from it.

Thin, generic articles written to catch broad informational searches are the weakest investment now. A post titled "10 tips for healthy teeth" competes with AI summaries that answer the question on the results page, and it rarely brings in a patient. The same effort spent on a detailed page about your implant process, costs and recovery is more likely to be cited and more likely to convert the person who does click.

Chasing raw traffic numbers also matters less. A property management company may see fewer total visits while getting the same number of owner inquiries, because the visits it lost were from people who only wanted a quick definition.

Measure leads and revenue by source, not sessions alone. Track calls, forms and bookings from organic search and from your business profile, and ask new customers how they found you, adding "AI assistant" as an option. Watch Search Console impressions alongside clicks: rising impressions with flat clicks usually means you are visible in results that now answer the question on the page.

Monvell's Marketing and Development teams build and maintain service sites around this approach, with pages written to answer questions directly and tracking that shows which searches turn into customers.