We get asked this a lot now, usually by someone in Chelmsford or Southend who has just watched an AI summary answer their own question at the top of Google. It is a fair worry. Our answer is yes, SEO is still worth it for most local businesses, but not the lazy version of SEO that was already failing before AI arrived.
What Has Actually Changed
Search results look different. AI overviews and chat assistants now answer some questions directly, which means fewer clicks on certain kinds of query, especially simple informational ones. If your whole strategy was publishing generic "what is" articles to catch passing traffic, you have reason to be nervous.
But a lot has not changed. People still search for a plumber in Basildon, a solicitor in Brentwood, an accountant near Colchester station. Those searches carry commercial intent, and they are tied to location, trust and availability, none of which a summary can fully replace.
Where the Clicks Still Go
Local and transactional searches continue to send people to websites, maps and phone numbers. Someone who needs a boiler repaired does not want a paragraph, they want a name and a way to contact it. That is where we see the clearest ongoing value for service businesses.
- Local pack and Google Business Profile visibility.
- Service pages that match what people type when they are ready to buy.
- Comparison and "best for" searches where people still want to read opinions.
- Branded searches from people who already heard of you.
The Part That Is Genuinely Harder
We will not pretend it is all fine. Top-of-funnel content is under pressure. Thin articles that rephrase what everyone else says add nothing, and AI can reproduce that for free. Sites built on that model will struggle, and no amount of tinkering fixes it.
What survives is content with something behind it: real experience, local knowledge, specific pricing guidance, photographs of actual work, opinions from people who do the job. A Brentwood electrician explaining why a particular fault keeps recurring in older houses is more useful, and more quotable, than any generic guide.
SEO Has Become Part of a Bigger Job
The tools that summarise answers draw on the same web that search engines index. Pages that are clear, trustworthy and well-structured get cited. Businesses that are discussed consistently across reputable sources get mentioned. So the sensible response is not to abandon SEO, it is to widen it: technical health, helpful content, reviews, local citations and a clear brand.
Who should probably wait
This is not a sales line; we turn work down when the timing is wrong.
If your business takes all its work from word of mouth, is at capacity, and has no wish to grow, SEO may not be a priority. If your website is not yet live or has no real content, fix that first. SEO amplifies a decent foundation; it cannot invent one.
How to Judge Whether It Is Working
Watch enquiries, not just traffic. A smaller number of visitors who ring you is better than a crowd who leave. Track calls, form submissions and Google Business Profile actions. Review your rankings for the handful of searches that matter commercially, rather than hundreds of vanity terms.
Ask your provider to show you the work behind the numbers: which pages changed, what was fixed, and why. Good SEO is explainable in plain English, and a monthly report full of jargon but light on actions is a warning sign.
Be patient but not credulous. Most sensible SEO takes months to show results, and anyone promising page one in a fortnight is guessing. If you want a straight conversation about what is realistic for your sector, our SEO service for Essex businesses starts from exactly that.
The Bottom Line
SEO is not dead, but low-effort SEO is. For local businesses that depend on being found by people ready to buy, it remains one of the better long-term investments, provided you pursue substance over shortcuts and measure results by enquiries rather than impressions.