Roughly 40% of searches now trigger some form of AI-generated answer. That has understandably made contractors nervous about investing in SEO. The concern is reasonable, but the conclusion most people draw from it is wrong.
What Changes
For informational queries — how long does a roof last, what does a replacement cost, should I repair or replace — AI increasingly answers directly. Those pages will lose clicks even while they keep influencing buyers, because the AI is quoting them.
What Does Not Change
Hiring decisions still happen on the map and on your website. Nobody asks ChatGPT to schedule a roof inspection. When someone is ready to hire, they still search, still look at the map pack, still read reviews, and still call a phone number.
The Real Shift
Visibility is splitting into two surfaces. Ranking gets you clicks. Being cited gets you recommended. The signals overlap heavily — authority, structured data, thorough topical coverage — but they are not identical.
What to Do About It
Keep doing local SEO, because that is where the buying happens. Add answer-shaped content and structured data so the generative systems can quote you. In most roofing markets nobody is doing the second part yet, which makes it unusually cheap to establish right now.