Organic SEO no longer holding value

We run a service-based business and did about $8m revenue last year.

For the last 10 years we’ve grown on organic SEO. Our services are very high intent keywords, so customers would search SERVICE in CITY and we would be at the top. We have a modest spend (about $100k p.a) on AdWords and Meta, but really it is the organic SEO that has allowed us to grow.

In the last 12 months we’ve seen this change. Our users on site are down +20% month YOY and this carries through to bookings.

I believe it is because Google is now prioritising AI results, then paid ads, then maps, then some more paid ads, then finally organic results – so by the time a customer gets down to you, they’ve already crossed many other options.

I guess I’d just like some insight in what you recommend. I see ads for ‘ranking in AI results’ but not sure if they actually work or if our customers use AI in that way. We can increase spend on AdWords and Meta, and our CAC is good, but I just want some opinions on what you think is our best move.