Will AI Replace SEO In 2025?
Here's 9 Ways Your Accounting Firm Can Adapt To AI Search
AI will continue to have a significant impact on search.
With tools like ChatGPT, Alexa, etc, how do accounting firm’s adjust their SEO strategies to ensure online visibility and lead generation?
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Mike de Ravel
Providing expert marketing insights for accountants, bookkeepers and tax professionals.
Will SEO Be Replaced By AI?
SEO is NOT dead.
AI has just changed how people search. Tools like Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Perplexity, etc are drawing eyeballs away from Google. A lot of us now ask ChatGPT for the answers to our queries, both business and personal.
So if people are searching differently, what should your accounting firm be doing differently when it comes to its SEO strategies in 2025?
The good news is that you don’t have to throw out everything you’ve been doing. But there are definitely adjustments that need to be made.
This is what we’ll cover:
Does your firm need a better marketing strategy?
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Overview: The Changing Landscape of Search
Here’s a couple of ways the search is being impacted by AI.
AI-Powered Search Engines: Search engines like Google are incorporating AI to provide smarter and more intuitive search results. AI tools like Google Bard and generative AI in search have shifted the focus from traditional keyword-based searches to intent-based results.
Voice and Conversational Search: Voice search via assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are growing rapidly. These searches tend to be conversational, with users asking full questions rather than typing fragmented keywords.
Visual Search: Tools like Google Lens allow users to search using images, which is increasingly relevant for service-based businesses.
AI-Generated Summaries: AI is generating direct answers for many queries, reducing the need for users to click through to websites. This trend impacts traditional click-through rates and necessitates strategies to capture user attention within search snippets.
How AI Impacts Your Accounting Firm’s SEO
If you’ve been doing SEO in your CPA firm and have some decent traction, one of the most significant impacts of AI that you may see on your website traffic is a drop in clicks.
This is because people no longer need to come to your site to read key information.
Historically you may have written a blog on an important topic, like BOI reporting deadlines (in the US) and BAS deadlines (in Australia). If you’d done your SEO well, your firm’s post would rank highly, people would click through to your site and you’d see good, qualified traffic and hopefully a few leads over time.
Now, people can search for that same information using AI. They could even just have a conversation with an AI tool. The information can be summarized or read back to them without ever visiting your site.
A lot of people still use Google. Gartner estimates that Google will lose about 25% of search inquiries to AI platforms by 2026.
While that’s significant, that still leaves 75% on the current paying field!
But There’s 2 Important Things To Keep In Mind
#1. When someone searches, ‘boi reporting deadlines’, for example, these AI tools aren’t sucking the answers out of thin air. They’re still largely providing results that correlate with the top ranking websites on Google. Why? Because they’re drawing on credible online sources to provide that information and in most cases, referencing those sources.
These websites have done their SEO well, built authority and the information on them can be trusted as credible. AI tools turn to them because they still need to provide reliable answers at the end of the day. The question now is, how can your accounting firm be one of those sources?
#2. The other thing to keep in mind is understanding the nature of search.
There’s 2 main types of searches that are of importance to accounting firms.
Informational and transactional/commercial.
As mentioned above, you may see a drop in clicks to your website for content that’s more informational.
But when it comes to commercial / transactional searches (people looking for your services), Google and Maps are still favourites. SEO is still essential to make sure that your firm shows up in the top results for ‘accountant near me’ (for example).
These types of searches will see clicks or conversions because people aren’t just looking for information – they’re looking to make contact with your firm. They’ll click through to your site.
But once they do, your website better be optimised for conversions. By this stage of a lead’s journey, they’ve probably already read through some info about your firm that the AI provided. Now they’re looking to verify that what the AI said about your firm is accurate, and make contact.
Websites that are slow, hard to use, and hard to convert on, will lose that lead.
Example: AI Search vs Google Search
We ran an interesting experiment in January 2025. We first asked ChatGPT to:
‘help us find accounting firms for a small business in Aurora, CO’
When we asked ChatGPT why it chose those six firms, it said they were based on:
- the firm’s online reputation
- services listed
- local expertise
- how active they are online
- how easy it is to reach them
- And their relevance to our search query
These are all modern day SEO best practices, something that MITCO Digital emphasizes in our own SEO strategies for CPA firms.
We then asked Google the same query. The results were almost identical.
So what does that mean? That means that your SEO is more important now than ever. If you’re doing your SEO well and adjusting it for modern AI experiences, you should be able to rank well on Google and on AI platforms.
How To Do SEO For AI: 9 Strategies
Adapting to AI-driven SEO doesn’t have to be daunting, but it does require a shift in mindset and approach. Here’s a few things that your CPA firm can do.
Use Google’s E-E-A-T Framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Google emphasizes the importance of credible and trustworthy content. Firms need to showcase their expertise and establish themselves as authoritative sources in their niche. This applies across AI platforms too.
Content Quality Over Quantity: AI algorithms prioritize high-quality, relevant content over mere keyword optimization. Accounting firms need to ensure their content answers user questions effectively and provides real value. Get specific, useful, and engaging.
Focus on natural, conversational keywords that mimic the way people actually speak. For example, a client isn’t searching “tax accounting,” they’re asking, “How can I save on my taxes this year?” or “How do I file back taxes for the past 5 years?”
Voice and conversational search are rewriting the rulebook, so the more your keywords align with these patterns, the better.
Personalization: AI personalizes search results based on user behavior, location, and preferences. This shift means that SEO strategies must include localized and personalized content.
Use Multimedia Content: Visual content like videos and infographics isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore; it’s essential for keeping users engaged and boost your site’s performance in search rankings. Youtube is the 2nd biggest search engine online so it’s beneficial to your overall marketing strategy to incorporate quality video topics.
Use Schema Markup: Schema markup structures website content so that it can be easily understood by search engines and AI platforms. This improves your firm’s visibility in rich snippets, voice search, and zero-click searches. By using schema, your CPA firm can highlight its services, FAQs, and local details, ensuring relevance and personalization in the search results that AI generates.
Create resources that AI can’t replicate in results: Things like calculators, checklists or sign-up webinars can’t be easily replicated by AI at this stage and can drive quality traffic into your funnel.
Build non-Google channels: SEO should only be one leg of your marketing strategy. At MITCO Digital we employ an omni-channel approach for accounting firms to ensure that your firm is visible on multiple channels. You should be generating traffic from other sources like Youtube, social media, email etc.
Optimize key pages / landing pages: As mentioned above, users who are coming to your site may already be informed about your firm and services through AI research. Make sure that your site is optimized for mobile, clearly displays your services, relevance, credibility, and case studies. It should be really easy to reach out to you.
Improve your Google Business Profile: If you’re a local firm targeting local clients, keep your profile up-to-date with accurate contact information, services, and client reviews. Post personalized, relevant content regularly to make sure that your profile is active.
Example: AI SEO Done Right
Here’s a clear example of why you need to be thinking about this topic. We’ve successfully ranked one of our clients in Ireland, Around Finance, in 2nd position on ChatGPT for anyone looking for an ‘online accounting firm in Ireland.’ This is a significant result considering the competition.
Don't Be Scared Of AI Search
AI is changing how people search for your accounting firm’s services and financial related information. It’s not something to be scared of.
A good SEO agency for accountants can help you adjust your strategies and help your firm remain competitive in a changing digital environment.
Stay proactive and speak to our team today. Send through the form and let’s discuss a strategy for your firm.
