The influence of the AG vs. Lee Sedol match in spurring interest in go has been widely noted, I think. Yes, it was probably a breakthrough, or at least the largest publicity event we are likely to see. Furthermore, AG has become an icon of AI in my opinion, as I wrote in a recent thread (AlphaGo as an Icon of AI), which means that it will continue to exert some residual influence in terms of bringing go to people’s attention.
However, the number of go players had already increased enormously in the U.S. before the advent of AG. When I first played go in the late 1960s and early 70s, it was almost impossible to find anyone who had ever heard of the game here in the Washington, D.C. area. Now there are 3 AGA clubs in Northern Virginia (and I don’t know how many in Maryland). The best way to capitalize on this surge of interest in the U.S., IMHO, would be to establish go club in middle schools and high schools. Many, if not most, such schools have chess clubs, but few if any have go clubs. However, I do not think go will ever attain the same level of popularity as chess in the West. The tradition is lacking, and something in the nature of the game, perhaps the immobility of the pieces, seems to have less appeal to the Western mind.