diff --git a/esphome/components/improv_serial/improv_serial_component.cpp b/esphome/components/improv_serial/improv_serial_component.cpp
index 33514c9e06a..ab91ca6765a 100644
--- a/esphome/components/improv_serial/improv_serial_component.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/improv_serial/improv_serial_component.cpp
@@ -267,26 +267,16 @@ bool ImprovSerialComponent::parse_improv_payload_(improv::ImprovCommand &command
       for (auto &scan : results) {
         if (scan.get_is_hidden())
           continue;
-        const char *ssid_cstr = scan.get_ssid().c_str();
-        // Check if we've already sent this SSID
-        bool duplicate = false;
-        for (const auto &seen : networks) {
-          if (strcmp(seen.c_str(), ssid_cstr) == 0) {
-            duplicate = true;
-            break;
-          }
-        }
-        if (duplicate)
+        StringRef ssid = scan.get_ssid();
+        if (std::find(networks.begin(), networks.end(), ssid) != networks.end())
           continue;
-        // Only allocate std::string after confirming it's not a duplicate
-        std::string ssid(ssid_cstr);
         // Send each ssid separately to avoid overflowing the buffer
         char rssi_buf[5];  // int8_t: -128 to 127, max 4 chars + null
         *int8_to_str(rssi_buf, scan.get_rssi()) = '\0';
         std::vector<uint8_t> data =
             improv::build_rpc_response(improv::GET_WIFI_NETWORKS, {ssid, rssi_buf, YESNO(scan.get_with_auth())}, false);
         this->send_response_(data);
-        networks.push_back(std::move(ssid));
+        networks.emplace_back(ssid.c_str(), ssid.size());
       }
       // Send empty response to signify the end of the list.
       std::vector<uint8_t> data =