We hear business owners ask daily: is google still important for seo? The quick answer is an absolute yes. Search behaviour is splitting into different phases, not switching completely.
Our team at Adam SEO has watched these technical shifts unfold since 2011. You need a strategy that captures both.
Let’s look at the data and explore practical ways to respond.
What is actually happening with Google and AI
AI assistants manage the early research phase, while Google continues to drive actual commercial discovery and purchases. Customer search behavior is splitting, not switching. A meaningful share of upper-funnel research now happens inside tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
Our data shows that Google still dominates the majority of commercial discovery in Malaysia. This is especially true for local services, branded searches, and high-intent purchase queries. The right reading of the current market is “both”, not “either”.
The Uneven Shift Across Industries
You will notice this shift is highly uneven across different sectors. Categories with strong informational research patterns see AI usage rise much faster.
This includes B2B SaaS, complex consulting services, and comparison-heavy products. The chatgpt vs google search debate is most visible here.
We see a very different pattern for local or transactional intent. Categories like restaurants, urgent home services, and e-commerce checkout queries still depend heavily on traditional search.
Here is how the current search landscape breaks down in 2026:
- The Research Phase: Users ask ChatGPT or Gemini to explain complex topics or brainstorm ideas.
- The Verification Phase: A 2026 Vodus Research study found that 50% of Malaysians still use Google alongside AI to verify facts.
- The Transaction Phase: Shoppers move to a traditional search engine to find local inventory, check reviews, and make the final purchase.
Why Google is not going away soon
Google handles billions of queries daily and remains the dominant default for most search behavior. Even when AI assistants are used for research, customers often verify on a traditional search engine before purchasing. Google retains roughly a 90% search market share in Malaysia as of 2026.
Our clients often ask why AI cannot replace local search right now. The answer lies in real-time geographic data. Local search, map pack discovery, and image search are all surfaces where chat assistants do not yet provide a comparable experience.
The Power of the Map Pack
Consider the massive volume of hyper-local queries happening every minute. Recent industry data shows that 86% of Malaysians use Google Maps to find local businesses. Chatbots simply lack the real-time store hours, live reviews, and exact GPS coordinates required to fulfill these “near me” searches.
We strongly advise Malaysian businesses to protect their traditional search rankings first. Strong Google visibility produces real revenue today. Over 80% of local mobile searches result in a purchase within 24 hours.
Investing in classic SEO foundations remains the highest-impact activity you can undertake. The same technical architecture that ranks your site today will support your visibility tomorrow. The future of google seo relies heavily on these strong fundamentals.
How AI search and SEO actually overlap
The technical requirements for ai search and seo are virtually identical. Both systems need to understand exactly who you are and what you do.
AI search rewards the same fundamentals as good SEO, plus a few extra signals.
Crawlable pages, structured content, entity clarity, and source authority all help in both Google and AI surfaces. The extras are answer-readiness and brand entity consistency.
Our technical audits reveal a significant overlap between these two channels. Sites with strong technical health, deep topical content, and good link profiles tend to perform better in AI summaries too. The extras are answer-ready content structures like clear definitions, Q&A blocks, and decision frameworks.
Building Brand Entity Consistency
You also need to implement precise FAQ, HowTo, and LocalBusiness schema markup. This code translates your content into a language that AI crawlers instantly understand.
We always emphasize the importance of brand entity consistency. Your business name, address, and phone number must match perfectly across your own site and external Malaysian platforms like Grab merchant listings, Foodpanda, or iMoney. Search engines use these local directory citations to verify your legitimacy.
This is why an AI Search Strategy engagement usually starts by reinforcing core technical foundations. You must fix your site speed and architecture before adding Answer Engine Optimization and Geo-targeted work.
When to prioritize AI search vs classic SEO
Your primary focus should always be securing foundational search rankings before attempting to optimize for AI chatbots. The pattern is consistent across all industries. Classic SEO is the prerequisite, and AI search is the extension.
Our strategy table below outlines exactly where to allocate your resources based on your current situation.
| Situation | Priority | The “Why” Based on 2026 Data |
|---|---|---|
| New site, weak rankings, weak foundations | Classic SEO first | You need basic crawlability before AI tools can index you. |
| Mature site, strong rankings, competitive niche | Add AI search work | Sponsored ads now appear in Malaysian AI Overviews, increasing competition. |
| Strong informational/comparison demand in category | Add AI search work earlier | 50% of users now start complex research in tools like ChatGPT. |
| Local-dependent business | Local SEO first, AI search later | 76% of local searchers visit a physical store within 24 hours. |
| B2B SaaS with high-consideration buyers | AI search work earlier in roadmap | Tech buyers heavily use Perplexity for feature comparisons. |
| E-commerce store competing on commercial keywords | Strong SEO first, AEO/GEO for niche queries | Product schema and traditional Google Shopping feeds drive immediate sales. |
Where to go next
You now have a clear roadmap for balancing traditional search optimization with emerging AI technologies. If anyone asks you if is google still important for seo, you know the answer is a resounding yes.
For the practical work of becoming visible in these new surfaces, explore our detailed guides:
We invite you to take the next step.
To assess your current SEO and AI search readiness together, request a discovery audit.