AI search
visibility

How AI search changes the way customers find you

More people now ask an AI tool instead of typing keywords: "Who does good kitchen renovations in Edmonton?", "Find me a dentist near downtown Halifax open Saturdays." Google answers many searches with an AI Overview above the regular results. ChatGPT, Copilot and Perplexity give a short list of names with a few lines each. The customer may never see your website before deciding whom to call.

That makes AI search visibility a real business question. But it's important to be honest about what can and can't be done. There's no ad slot, no submission form and no guaranteed placement in AI answers. These tools build answers from sources they consider reliable: websites, business listings, reviews and other sites that mention you. The work is to make those sources say the right things about you, clearly and consistently.

What AI tools look at

The exact mechanics differ between tools and change often, but the pattern is consistent. AI assistants draw on:

• Search indexes. Google's for AI Overviews; Bing's for Copilot and, often, other assistants. If you're not indexed or easy to understand there, you're unlikely to be quoted.
• Business listings. Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Yelp and similar platforms supply facts like hours, location and categories.
• Reviews. Recent reviews that mention specific services and neighbourhoods give AI tools something concrete to repeat.
• Third-party mentions. Articles, association directories and partner sites describing your business add credibility.

In short, AI visibility rests on the same foundations as good local SEO, with extra weight on clarity and consistency.

Writing pages AI can quote

AI tools favour content that answers a question directly in a sentence or two. Many small business websites are vague: "A full range of solutions for your home." An AI can't do much with that. Compare: "I install and repair gas furnaces and heat pumps in Regina and surrounding towns, with same-day service for no-heat calls in winter." That sentence can be quoted, and it matches real questions.

So I rework key pages to state plainly who you are, what you do, where, for whom, at roughly what price and how the process works. I add focused FAQs with real questions and specific answers, and structured data that states the same facts in code. The details are in how to get mentioned in ChatGPT answers.

Testing what AI says about you

I start by asking several AI tools the questions your customers would ask, from your area, and recording which businesses are mentioned and why. Sometimes an assistant describes a competitor using information from a directory listing you never claimed. Sometimes it repeats outdated facts about you, such as old hours or a service you stopped offering. Each finding points to a source to fix.

I repeat the same questions every month. Results vary from one try to the next, so I look for trends, not single answers, and report them honestly.

Google AI Overviews

AI Overviews appear above regular results for many questions and cite a few sources. Pages that get cited tend to rank well already and answer the question directly. For local service searches, the Map Pack often still appears, so your Google Business Profile matters as much as ever. For what this means in practice, read Google AI Overviews for small businesses.

What I don't recommend

You'll see offers to "rank in ChatGPT" with tricks: hidden text aimed at AI, mass-produced articles, fake reviews or listings. These are risky and short-lived. Fake reviews also run against Canada's Competition Act. The approach that lasts is unglamorous: accurate information everywhere, useful pages and real reputation. It also happens to be what makes regular SEO services work.