There’s been a lot of noise about AI replacing search engines, and rightly so, this shift is akin to the dot-com boom.
The industry is rife with speculation, but until now, we haven’t had real data. The latest research from SparkToro paints a clearer, more useful picture, one that’s based on evidence rather than hype. For us, and for our clients, that’s a welcome update.
At PF, we monitor website traffic and search performance for our clients every single month. That gives us a close-up view of what’s actually happening.
And what we’re seeing is far less dramatic than the headlines suggest: steady traffic, hardly any dips, and certainly nothing that can be attributed to an “AI drop-off.”
For the majority of clients, traffic patterns are consistent with seasonal changes or campaign activity. Only a small number of clients see notable traffic from AI tools, and even then, it’s a fraction compared to traditional search.
AI is working alongside search
The SparkToro and Datos study analyzed millions of devices in the US and EU to compare AI tool use (ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, etc.) with traditional search (Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo).
Here are the standout findings:
- Only 20% of Americans are “heavy” AI users (10+ uses per month). Nearly 40% use them at least once a month.
- Traditional search is still dominant. Around 95% of Americans use search engines monthly, and 86% are heavy users.
- Heavy AI users search more, not less. AI is working alongside search, not replacing it.
- Growth is slowing. AI adoption has risen quickly, but the trajectory is already flattening, suggesting a plateau is coming.
- In the UK and EU, adoption is about 10% higher than in the US, but the pattern is the same: AI supplements search, it doesn’t take over.
What This Means for you as an accountant
When we look at our clients’ data, it lines up perfectly with these findings. We’ve hardly noticed any changes that would suggest AI is taking traffic away from websites. For most firms, Google search is still the dominant source of visibility. Where AI tools do show up, they act as an additional path, not a replacement.
That means your audience still finds you the way they always have: by searching for questions and problems, and landing on your content. AI tools may sometimes point them to you, but search remains the foundation.
Why AI and SEO Work Together
Both AI tools and search engines rely on the same thing: clear, valuable, trustworthy content.
- Search engines rely on your content, links, and site structure to determine relevance.
- AI tools pull from that very same content to generate their responses.
So when we’re building SEO strategies for clients, we’re also building their AI visibility. The principles don’t change: clarity, helpfulness, and authority still win.
What This Means for Your Accounting Firm
For accountants, the key points are:
- Search is steady. Clients are still Googling you, and AI isn’t stopping them.
- AI is a companion. It may surface your content, but it won’t replace the need for SEO.
- Consistency matters. Your content is what makes you visible, whether through search results or AI answers.
The fundamentals haven’t changed: helpful, trustworthy content is what gets you found, whichever tool your audience is using. At PF, we’re watching these trends closely by monitoring client traffic every month. And right now, the evidence is clear: SEO isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Let’s make sure your firm’s content works for both search and AI.
If you’re not getting a monthly marketing impact report with this kind of data, book a discovery call to talk to us about what this looks like. We’ll show you a demo report and we can even do an initial analytics review as part of the discovery process.
And watch this space… change is continually happening!