Google increasingly shows an AI-written summary above the search results, and more people ask their question to a chat assistant. As a result, people click through less often for general questions.
Local questions are different: someone looking for a tradesperson or a shop eventually wants to call, visit or book. And AI answers draw on the same sources: your business profile, reviews, and clear pages about what you do and where.
That makes the basics more important, not less. At the same time, I expect part of the simple SEO work to be taken over by smart tools in the coming years. Where that applies to you, I’ll say so honestly, and you’re better off doing it yourself.
SEO takes time: first improvements often show after a few weeks, clear growth usually after three to six months.