No, meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor. Google has confirmed this multiple times. Writing a perfect meta description will not push your page up in search results on its own.
However, dismissing them entirely is a mistake.
Why Meta Descriptions Still Matter
Meta descriptions directly influence your click through rate. When someone sees your page in search results, the meta description is often what convinces them to click or scroll past. A well written meta description that matches search intent and clearly communicates what the page offers will get more clicks than a vague or auto generated one.
And click through rate does matter. If your page consistently gets more clicks than competing pages at the same position, Google notices. It is not a direct ranking signal but higher engagement can indirectly support your rankings over time.
What Happens If You Skip Them
If you do not write a meta description, Google will pull a random snippet from your page content and use that instead. Sometimes Google gets it right, but often the auto generated snippet is awkward, cut off mid sentence, or does not represent the page well. Writing your own gives you control over how your page appears in search results.
Google Rewrites Them Anyway
Worth knowing: Google rewrites meta descriptions a significant portion of the time, especially when it feels your description does not match what the searcher was looking for. This does not mean you should stop writing them. A well written description still gets used frequently and sets the right intent signal for both users and Google.
Meta descriptions will not directly improve your rankings but they improve the visibility and appeal of your listing in search results. For any page you want to perform well, writing a clear and compelling meta description is worth the two minutes it takes.