Think about the last time you had a question and went searching for answers online. Did you type it into Google and click through to a website? Or did you ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini and get your answer instantly?
If you’ve noticed this shift in your own behaviour, you’re not alone—and this change in how people interact with search is having a real impact on how potential customers find and choose franchise businesses. As a franchise marketing professional at Rocketbarn, I’ve spent the past couple of years working with franchisees across home services, retail, senior care, pet services, and child education to understand what’s actually happening beneath the surface of fluctuating traffic reports and shifting lead volumes.
The question I hear most often is: “Is SEO still worth it?” Business owners are seeing the impact, but they’re not always sure how to diagnose the problem, or whether their SEO strategy is still relevant in an AI-driven landscape.
Here’s what I’ve learned: the fundamentals haven’t changed, but AI has become a much harsher judge of quality.
What AI actually rewards (and punishes)
Both traditional search engines and AI chat platforms have the same goal: deliver the best possible information to users. The difference now is that AI is better at identifying what “best” actually means. If your SEO strategy was built on shortcuts (thin content, generic location pages, or an over-reliance on blog posts targeting long-tail keywords) you’re likely feeling the squeeze.
We’ve seen franchisees who invested in high-quality SEO come through this transition relatively unscathed, and in some cases, even stronger. If they were already creating genuinely useful content, properly localizing their pages, building authority, and keeping their information accurate across platforms, they may have seen a drop in informational traffic (since AI now summarizes those answers), but their actual lead generation has improved. Why? Because AI can summarize information, but it can’t perform the service. When someone needs a plumber, a senior care provider, or a pet groomer, they still need a real business.
What’s changed, what hasn’t, and what to do about it
The role of backlinks has evolved in interesting ways. You no longer need an actual hyperlink for AI to understand that your brand is being referenced (though backlinks still help). However, the content you’re being linked to will now be judged more critically, so low-quality pages can actually lose value, even with links pointing to them. This is where strategic public relations could become more valuable than traditional backlink tactics.
Blog-based SEO strategies can still work, but the approach needs to shift. Instead of simply targeting long-tail questions with high search volume, focus on topic clustering (creating interconnected content that establishes authority across a broader subject area). This helps both search engines and AI platforms understand that you’re a legitimate expert, not just someone chasing keywords.
Much of what defines good SEO remains essential. EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is still the guiding principle for content development. Structured data, the code that helps search engines understand what your content is about, will be read and interpreted more effectively by AI. And localizing your franchisee pages is more crucial than ever.
The franchisee advantage
Here’s where franchise businesses have a genuine edge: franchisees have unique, local stories and expertise that AI platforms will value! A generic page about “plumbing services in Toronto” pales in comparison to a page that features a local franchisee’s approach, their years of experience in the neighbourhood, customer testimonials specific to that area, and insights into common issues they’ve solved for customers in Toronto.
The franchises that lean on their franchisees and provide systems to easily capture these unique perspectives and experiences will see massive growth moving forward. This isn’t just theory, it’s what we’re already observing in the market. AI rewards authority and local relevance, and franchises inherently possess both.
Where to go from here
Look at your website structure. Evaluate whether your local pages are truly localized or just templates with the city name swapped out. Consider whether your content demonstrates real expertise or simply exists to rank for keywords. Check if your business information is consistent across all platforms.
AI has raised the bar for what counts as quality, but it’s also created opportunities for those willing to do the work properly. The question for many isn’t whether SEO will still matter in 2026, it’s whether your SEO strategy was ever built on a solid foundation to begin with … time to find out!
Alex Preddie, CFE
Rocketbarn Marketing
alex@rocketbarn.com