A growing share of your future customers aren't scrolling through ten blue links anymore. They're asking Google, which now answers at the top of the page, or asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, or whatever's built into their phone: "Who's a good electrician near Lodi?"
And something answers. The question is whether the answer includes you.
There's a lot of hype about "AI SEO" right now, most of it selling something. The reality is more boring and more reassuring: the businesses getting recommended by AI are the ones that were already doing the fundamentals well. Here's what those fundamentals are, and where to focus.
Where the AI Gets Its Answers
When an AI recommends a local business, it isn't guessing. It's pulling from the same sources Google has always used, plus a few more:
- Your Google Business Profile. Category, hours, service area, photos, and above all reviews. This is the primary source for "near me" style answers, just as it is for the map pack.
- Your website. Specifically, pages that say plainly what you do, where, and for whom. Vague pages give the AI nothing to quote.
- Reviews, everywhere. Google first, then Yelp, Facebook, and industry sites. AI answers often summarize review themes: "customers mention fast response and fair pricing."
- Consistency across the web. If your name, address, and phone number differ between your site, your Google profile, and three directories, the AI has less confidence you're a real, current business.
- Structured data. The behind-the-scenes markup that tells machines "this is a local business, here's the address, here are the hours." It's not magic, but it removes ambiguity.
None of that is new. What's new is that the answer is now a paragraph instead of a list, and you're either in the paragraph or you're not.
Say the Facts Plainly
The single biggest change I'd make on most small business sites for this: state the facts in words, not just in design.
An AI can't infer that you serve Galt from a map graphic. It can't tell your prices from "affordable." It can't tell what you specialize in from "we do it all." So write it down:
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| "Serving the Central Valley" | "We serve Lodi, Galt, Stockton, and Elk Grove" |
| "Affordable pricing" | "Service calls start at $95" |
| "Full-service plumbing" | "Water heater replacement, drain cleaning, repiping, and leak repair" |
| "Family-owned" | "Family-owned since 2003, licensed (CSLB #123456) and insured" |
Every one of those on the right is something an AI can quote when someone asks. Every one on the left is filler.
Answer the Questions People Actually Ask
AI tools are answering questions, so the content that gets used is content that answers questions. That means:
- A FAQ section with real questions and direct answers. "Do you charge for estimates?" "Yes, estimates are free within our service area." Two sentences. Done.
- Service pages that explain the service, not just name it. What's involved, how long it takes, what it typically costs.
- A page per city you serve, if you cover several. It's how you show up for "in Manteca" and "in Ripon" without stuffing every city into one paragraph.
If you've read my post on whether you need a blog, this is the same idea: be the clearest answer to a real question. AI just made the payoff more direct.
Reviews Matter More, Not Less
When an AI says "customers praise their quick response times," that came from your reviews. When it says "some customers mention scheduling issues," that came from your reviews too.
So the review strategy I've written about before is now doing double duty. A steady flow of recent, specific reviews doesn't just help you rank in Maps. It literally writes the AI's description of your business.
Reply to them, too. Responses show the profile is active and give the AI more signal about how you treat people.
What Not to Do
- Don't pay for "AI optimization" packages. Nobody outside the platforms knows exactly how the answers are assembled, and anyone claiming a secret method is guessing.
- Don't stuff your pages with "best electrician near me" phrases. That never worked well and it reads terribly in a summary.
- Don't generate 50 AI-written pages about your services. Thin, repetitive content gets ignored by both Google and the AI tools that draw from it.
- Don't abandon regular SEO. AI answers still lean on the same ranking signals. If you're not showing up in normal search, you're not showing up in the AI answer either.
The Bottom Line
You don't need a new strategy for AI search. You need your Google Business Profile complete and active, your website stating the facts in plain words, your reviews flowing, and your business details consistent everywhere they appear.
That's the same advice I'd have given two years ago. The difference is that now, when someone in Galt or Ripon asks their phone who to call, those fundamentals decide whether the answer is you.
Curious what AI tools currently say about your business? Get a free audit and I'll check your profile, your site, and how you show up for the questions your customers are asking.
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