Why SEO Matters for Cannabis Dispensaries - Despite AI

AI is changing how people search, but it hasn’t made Cannabis Dispensary SEO obsolete. If anything, it’s made SEO more important.

With Google’s AI Overviews now appearing in over 11% of all searches (up 22% since 2024), and ChatGPT seeing a 21% increase in traffic last month alone, it’s easy to think SEO is a thing of the past. But here’s what BrightEdge found: total search impressions have jumped 49% since AI Overviews launched. People are still searching - they’re just finding answers differently.

If you own or operate a cannabis dispensary, you can’t afford to ignore this shift. You need to be visible both in traditional search results and in AI-powered answers across Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Bing, and other emerging platforms.

Let’s talk about why SEO still drives growth for dispensaries and how you can adapt.

AI Didn’t Replace Search - It Expanded It

The prediction that AI would “kill SEO” hasn’t come true. According to BrightEdge, Google still owns over 90% of the search market, and AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are just starting to scale.

AI tools are trained in part on publicly available content,  including your website and blog posts. And while they may answer user questions directly, their answers still depend on quality content from sites like yours.

That means if you want to show up in AI Overviews, ChatGPT responses, or Bing Copilot summaries, you still need:

• Well-structured, high-quality content

• Technical SEO and schema markup

• Original insights, opinions, and data

• Strong local signals and relevance

In other words, you still need SEO. You just need it to work across both traditional and AI-driven search.

Local Marketing for Cannabis Companies Still Starts with SEO

AI may answer general questions, but it doesn’t deliver your products. When someone searches “dispensary near me,” Google still considers proximity, relevance, and prominence.

Local SEO for cannabis dispensaries ensures your Google Business Profile ranks well, your website shows up for product and brand searches, and your content builds trust in your community.

And with search behavior evolving - like a 7x increase in queries over 8 words long - optimizing for long-tail, specific searches is more important than ever. People aren’t searching for “weed gummies” - they’re searching for “best 10mg THC gummies in Cleveland for sleep.”

AI rewards businesses that provide detailed, helpful, locally relevant content.

Clicks Are Down - But Visibility Is Up

One important trend: click-through rates are down 30%, but impressions are way up. That means your dispensary’s content could be surfaced more often in AI Overviews, even if people don’t always click through to your site.

This shift doesn’t make SEO irrelevant. It just changes the goal - from chasing clicks to earning engagement.

For example:

• Google AI Overviews often cite content that ranks outside the top 10. In fact, 89% of citations now come from pages beyond the first page of search results.

• ChatGPT, which is powered in part by Bing, rarely links directly to your website - just 2 in 10 brand mentions include a source URL.

• Bing's AI tools (including ChatGPT integration) increasingly use content from indexable, well-optimized websites with schema and structured data.

Bottom line: even if AI doesn’t drive direct traffic, it drives influence. SEO is how you make sure your dispensary is part of the conversation.

Good Content Still Wins

There’s no shortcut here. AI can generate text, but it can’t replace smart, opinionated content grounded in experience, data, and customer insight.

Cannabis shoppers aren’t looking for generic advice. They want to know:

• What your budtenders recommend

• Which gummies actually help with anxiety

• Why a certain strain pairs well with a Friday night movie

This is content only you can create. According to Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) framework, high-ranking content should reflect:

• First-hand experience

• Expert opinions from real people

• Clear sourcing and accuracy

• Transparency and trust signals

In the cannabis space, this could mean adding reviews from your staff, blog posts from certified medical professionals, or customer Q&As about specific product types.

You can use AI to speed up drafts - but the best-performing content is still written for real people, by real people, based on real experience.

Don’t Just Optimize for Google Anymore - Include Bing and ChatGPT

Historically, SEO was all about Google. But in 2025, you also need to think about Bing. Why? Because ChatGPT’s browsing mode runs on Bing. And if you’re using GPT-4 or GPT-4.5 to find a dispensary, it’s pulling data from Bing’s index.

To improve visibility on these platforms:

• Make sure your site is indexable by Bing, not just Google

• Submit your sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools

• Use structured data like LocalBusiness, Product, and FAQPage

• Keep your NAP (name, address, phone) consistent across directories

Remember, ChatGPT and Perplexity don’t rely just on rankings. They source content based on topic relevance, structure, and clarity. This means high-quality pages - even those that don’t rank #1 - can still be cited by AI engines.

How to Future-Proof Your Cannabis Dispensary SEO

If you want your dispensary to stay relevant in an AI-powered world, here’s where to start:

1. Strengthen Your Local SEO

• Optimize your Google Business Profile with real photos, updated hours, and keyword-rich descriptions

• Build local citations (e.g., Weedmaps, Leafly, Yelp, local news outlets)

• Use schema markup to help AI understand your store’s location and offerings

2. Create Experience-Rich Content

• Publish how-to guides, “best of” lists, and product comparisons based on your team’s real experiences

• Highlight local promotions, events, and brand partnerships

• Include staff picks, budtender reviews, and product walk-throughs

3. Optimize for Long-Tail Search

• Use tools like BrightEdge, Semrush, or Google Search Console to find queries over 6–8 words

• Create blog content that matches real user questions

• Break up content with subheadings, bullet points, and FAQs for AI readability

4. Track Performance Beyond Clicks

• Use impression data from Search Console to track how often your content is surfaced

• Monitor AI Overview inclusion

• Measure engagement and scroll depth - not just raw traffic

5. Diversify for Bing and Beyond

• Make your website fast, mobile-optimized, and easily crawlable

• Submit to Bing Webmaster Tools

• Test how your dispensary appears in ChatGPT’s browsing mode and Microsoft Copilot

Final Word: AI Is the Interface - SEO Is the Engine

If AI is the future of search, Cannabis Dispensary SEO is still the fuel. Visibility, trust, and local presence don’t happen by accident. They’re earned through consistent, quality-driven marketing.

The rise of AI doesn't mean the end of search. It means your customers are finding you in new ways. Whether it's Google, ChatGPT, Bing, or Perplexity, the rules have changed - but the goal hasn’t:

Be helpful. Be local. Be visible.

Want help turning this into a real plan for your dispensary? We specialize in Local Marketing for Cannabis Companies and know how to build a search strategy that keeps you relevant - no matter how the algorithms evolve.