It's a fair question. Google now puts AI-written summaries at the top of many searches. People ask ChatGPT for recommendations. Some studies suggest a growing share of searches end without a click. If AI is answering everything, is SEO still worth paying for?
For most businesses that sell to real people in real places, yes. But what "doing SEO" means has shifted, and some of the old habits now do more harm than good.
What actually changed
Fewer clicks on simple questions. If someone searches "how long does paint take to dry", the AI Overview probably answers it, and they never click a website. Content built purely to catch those quick informational searches gets less traffic than it used to.
More places to be found. Search isn't just ten blue links any more. There's the map pack, AI Overviews, Google's AI Mode, and assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Each pulls from a slightly different mix of sources.
Less tolerance for filler. Google has spent several years tuning its systems to reward content written from first-hand experience and to push down pages made mainly to rank. Its spam updates keep tightening the screws on mass-produced content.
What didn't change
People still search when they're ready to buy. "Emergency plumber near me", "accountant for self-employed", "best patio contractor in my area". These searches carry intent, and the person wants a business, not a summary. Local and commercial searches like these still send clicks and calls.
AI answers are built from websites. The summaries and recommendations have to come from somewhere. They lean on websites, Google Business Profiles, reviews and trusted directories. The businesses that get mentioned tend to be the ones with clear, consistent, well-organized information. That's SEO work.
Your Google Business Profile still matters enormously. For local searches, the map results are often the first thing people see. Reviews, accurate categories and complete information still drive calls.
Technical basics still decide who gets considered. A page that loads slowly, can't be crawled or hides its text behind scripts loses out to search engines and AI tools alike.
The lesson from Google's spam updates
Google's August 2026 spam update ran from August 18 to 21. Search consultant Glenn Gabe published case studies of sites hit by it, and the pattern was hard to miss: the sites that dropped had scaled up programmatic or AI-generated content, often thin pages built in bulk, and some lost visibility across their whole domain, including in AI Overviews.
For a small business, the takeaway is simple. Don't let anyone talk you into publishing dozens of near-identical location pages or a stream of AI-written blog posts with nobody checking them. It might work for a few months. When it stops working, it can take the rest of your site down with it.
Using AI tools isn't the problem. Publishing at scale without real expertise, editing or a reason for the page to exist is. A person who knows your business should be behind every page you publish.
Where a small business should spend first
If budget is limited, here's the order we'd usually work in:
- Your Google Business Profile. Correct categories, services, service areas, photos and a steady flow of genuine reviews. For local businesses, this is often the fastest win.
- Fix the website's foundation. Speed on mobile, text readable in the page source, working forms, consistent contact details. Our technical SEO page goes into the details.
- One strong page per main service. Written by someone who knows the work: what's involved, who it's for, roughly what affects the price, where you offer it.
- Consistent details across the web. Your name, address and phone number matching everywhere, from directories to social profiles. It helps both Google and AI tools trust they've got the right business.
- Content that answers real questions. Only once the basics are in place. A few genuinely helpful articles beat a weekly stream of filler. See our approach to SEO content strategy.
How to tell if it's working
Rankings are only part of the story. The numbers that matter are the ones tied to business:
- Calls, direction requests and website clicks from your Google Business Profile
- Form submissions and phone calls from your website
- Clicks and impressions in Google Search Console for the searches you care about
- Referral visits from AI tools, which show up in analytics with growing frequency
If someone reports only traffic or "keyword positions" and can't connect them to enquiries, ask more questions.
The bottom line
SEO isn't dead. The lazy version of it is. Being clear, fast, consistent and genuinely useful has always worked, and it's exactly what both Google and AI tools reward now. If you'd like help working out what that means for your business, our SEO services page explains how we work, and our page on optimizing for AI search covers the newer side.
SEO Analyst at MapleRank IT Solutions. Gian has worked on SEO across several digital agencies before partnering with Bim Antenor at MapleRank.
More about our team