Is Keyword Research Still Important?

Keyword research is still important, even as AI Overviews and chat-based search change how results get displayed. Understanding what people actually search for, and in what words, remains the starting point for deciding what content to create, regardless of whether the final result appears as a link or an AI summary.

What has shifted is what counts as success. Ranking for a keyword now might mean being cited inside an AI-generated answer rather than just appearing as a blue link, but the underlying research into real search demand and phrasing matters just as much either way, arguably even more given the added competition for that AI citation.

Adapting keyword strategy for that shift is part of what automated SEO software for agencies is built to handle for client sites.