Are detailed how-to guides still worth creating?

I’ve been thinking about this while working on a small eCommerce site.

A few years ago, it seemed like publishing detailed how-to articles was a great way to answer customer questions and attract organic traffic. Now, with AI summaries, short-form videos, and search results changing so much, I’m not sure whether people still spend time reading long guides.

On the other hand, I’ve noticed that products requiring a bit of learning—DIY materials, tools, home improvement supplies, hobby products, etc.—still seem to benefit from well-written tutorials because customers often want to understand the process before buying.

For those of you running online stores or content-driven websites:

  • Are long-form guides still bringing in meaningful traffic?
  • Do you focus more on answering specific questions or creating comprehensive tutorials?
  • Have you changed your content strategy over the past year?

I’d be interested to hear what’s actually working now rather than what worked a few years ago.