The Next Move · Edition 01
Your next customer might ask AI who to use
How to help your business get found in local AI search
Someone nearby needs exactly what you do. They open an AI search tool and ask a question like:
“Which salon in Bristol is good with fine hair?”
“Who can design a small garden in Northampton?”
You know why your business would be a good fit. Would someone looking at your website understand that just as quickly?
That is a useful place to start with AI search visibility, often called GEO: generative engine optimisation. The aim is to make your business easier to discover, understand and reference in AI answers.
Google says established search engine optimisation (SEO) practices still apply to its AI search features, and inclusion is never guaranteed. My advice is to start by making your expertise clear and easy to check.
1. Describe the work you want to be found for
Choose one service you would like more enquiries about. Open its page and check whether it explains who it helps, what problem it solves and where you provide it.
For example, a salon might write: “We help clients with fine hair choose a cut that suits their hair’s density and their everyday styling routine at our Bristol salon.” Only use details that are true for your business.
Then explain the consultation and what a customer should expect. This gives a prospective client something concrete to judge.
2. Answer questions customers ask before booking
Think about the questions you answer before someone books. How much does it usually cost? How long does it take? Is it suitable for me? What happens first?
Pick three that genuinely matter to the service. Give each a clear heading and a direct answer. If pricing varies, explain what affects it. If suitability needs a consultation, explain why.
Google’s guidance favours original, useful content that answers visitors’ questions. I’d start with the advice you already give customers every week.
3. Make your local details easy to verify
Check your Google Business Profile against your website. Is the business name current? Are the contact details, hours, main category and services accurate? Does the website clearly explain where customers can visit you or which areas you serve?
If you have several locations, give each a useful page with its actual team, services and booking details. Include local work where you have it. A visitor should learn something specific about that location.
Google says complete business information helps local search, alongside relevance, distance and prominence. These are Google’s local ranking factors; other AI services use their own systems.
Google’s local visibility guidance
4. Show what your expertise looks like in practice
Choose one recent piece of work that reflects the enquiries you want. Explain what the customer needed, what you did and what changed. Add original photos where appropriate and use results you can substantiate.
A garden designer could show how they made an awkward outdoor space usable. A salon could explain the thinking behind a cut and how the client maintains it. Ask permission before sharing identifiable client details or images.
Ask customers for honest reviews after their experience, too. Let them describe it in their own words. Relevant professional listings and partner websites are also worth checking for accurate, current details.
Google includes links and reviews among the information it uses to assess local prominence. A particular review or mention does not guarantee an AI recommendation.
5. Check that search tools can reach the information
A page can look fine to you and still have settings that prevent it appearing in search.
Ask whoever manages your website to check that important service pages can appear in search, that the main information is available as readable text and that links lead to those pages. Google Search Console can help identify indexing problems.
For ChatGPT search, OpenAI recommends allowing its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, through the relevant website and security controls. Permission for search is separate from permission to use content for model training.
Google says its AI features do not require a special AI file or a separate set of technical additions. Get the existing foundations checked before investing in extras.
6. Check progress with real customer questions
Write down a few questions a new customer might ask, including the service, location and a specific need. Try them in tools that use live web search, without including your business name.
Look at the businesses mentioned and open the sources provided. Which services are clearly explained? What evidence helps a customer compare them? Use that comparison to identify information your own website could improve.
Treat this as a spot check. Answers vary, and a single result cannot tell you how often customers see your business. Track enquiries, bookings and identifiable website referrals over time, and ask new customers how they found you.
Google currently includes traffic from its AI search features within overall Web performance in Search Console, so that report alone will not isolate AI visibility.
A quick check you can do today
Choose the service you most want to grow. Can a new visitor find these things on your website without having to ask you?
- A clear explanation of who the service is for and the problem it solves.
- The locations or areas you actually serve.
- Answers to the questions that come up before someone books.
- A relevant example of your work or an honest customer review.
- A straightforward way to enquire or book.
Start with one gap. Even before considering AI visibility, filling it can make the decision easier for your next customer.
Your next move
Work out what deserves your attention first
Some improvements are straightforward. Others involve decisions about which services to prioritise, how to organise the website and whether anything technical is getting in the way.
You may already have most of the ingredients. The useful next step is working out how they fit together and which changes deserve your time.
If you would like a hand with that, book a discovery call with me. We can talk through what you want your business to be found for and where to focus next.
Book a discovery call with Declan