For years, the rule for local businesses was simple. Rank well on Google, show up in the map results, and the inquiries would follow. That rule still matters. It's no longer the whole story.
A growing share of searches now end before anyone reaches a website at all. Instead of a list of links, the searcher gets a written answer, generated on the spot, often naming two or three businesses directly inside it. If your business isn't one of them, it doesn't matter how well you'd have ranked further down the page. You were never in the running.
What Actually Changed in How People Search?
Search results now frequently lead with an AI-generated summary rather than a list of links. Google's AI Overviews reach well over a billion searches a month, and tools like ChatGPT have become a genuine starting point for people looking for a service, not just a fact.
Someone searching for a plumber, a café, or an accountant might not be typing that search into Google and scrolling through results anymore. They could be asking an AI assistant directly, and expecting a short, confident answer with a small number of options already picked for them.
Why Are Fewer People Clicking Through to Websites?
Because the AI summary is often answering the question before they need to.
Research from the Pew Research Center found that 58% of people had at least one Google search in a given month produce an AI-generated summary. People were noticeably less likely to click through to a website when that summary appeared, compared with a normal set of results.
In practice, a real portion of the people who used to land on a business's website, read a page, and get in touch are now getting their answer without leaving the search results. The businesses that still get the enquiry are the ones the AI summary actually named.
What Are AI Tools Actually Looking For?
Largely the same signals search engines have always used, just weighted differently. Three things matter most:
- A complete Google Business Profile, with accurate categories, current hours, and a steady flow of reviews.
- Consistent business information everywhere it appears, your website, your Google listing, and any directory you're listed in.
- Clear, specific website content that states plainly what you do, rather than vague language that reads well but says little.
None of that is new advice exactly. What's changed is how much it now matters. A business with scattered or inconsistent information used to just rank a bit lower. Now it risks not being mentioned at all.
Does Good SEO Still Matter for AI Search?
Yes, more than before, not less.
We've written before about what local SEO actually is and why it matters, and the fundamentals haven't gone anywhere. AI tools are essentially reading the same signals a search engine already reads, then compressing them into a short answer. A business with weak foundations online was already struggling to rank. Now it's struggling in an extra place too.
If you've ever wondered why your business isn't showing up on Google in the first place, the same gaps that explain that are very likely the same reasons an AI assistant wouldn't mention you either.
What This Means for Your Business
For a business in Sheffield competing with dozens of similar businesses across the city, this isn't a distant, future problem. It's already affecting how people are finding services today.
The businesses that show up in an AI-generated answer aren't necessarily the biggest or the longest established. They're usually just the ones whose information is complete, consistent, and easy for a machine to understand at a glance. That's a fixable problem. It just needs treating as seriously as ranking on Google used to be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to do anything different for AI search versus normal SEO?
Not fundamentally. The same basics, a complete Google Business Profile, consistent business information, and clear website content, matter for both. AI search just makes the gaps more costly.
Can I check if my business is being recommended by AI tools?
Yes. Try asking ChatGPT or Google directly for the kind of service you offer in your area, and see whether you're mentioned. It's a rough test, but a useful one.
Does my website need to rank on page one of Google to appear in AI answers?
Not necessarily. AI tools don't only pull from top-ranking pages, which means smaller businesses with clear, accurate information have a genuine chance of being mentioned even without a page-one ranking.
If you want a straightforward look at where your business currently stands, get in touch with our team. We'll give you a clear picture of what we find.
