How does a local business get into AI answers?
More and more people no longer type a query into a search engine; they simply ask: "Who's the best dentist in Dunakeszi?" or "Where can I get a good breakfast nearby?" Google's AI Overviews or an AI assistant then names a handful of businesses. The question is whether you're one of them.
How does the AI "know" who to recommend?
It doesn't know you personally. It works from the public sources it can reach: your website, your Google Business Profile, reviews, directories and mentions of you. If these are incomplete or contradict each other, you can easily be left out.
One important caveat: there is no switch that guarantees you a place in AI answers, and these systems keep changing. The steps below improve your visibility; they are not a promise.
1. A clear website that machines can read too
- Text, not images. Anything locked inside an image (for example a photo of a flyer with your prices) is harder for these systems to read.
- A clear description: what you do, for whom, where, and at what price or price range.
- Write the essentials as questions and answers (FAQ) too, because people phrase their questions that way.
- Structured data (schema.org: LocalBusiness, FAQPage) tells search engines and AI systems in machine language who you are and what you offer.
- A fast, mobile-friendly site, because most local searches start on a phone.
2. A well-kept Google Business Profile
Accurate categories and services, correct opening hours (holidays included), fresh photos, a short human description, answered questions and regular posts. The Business Profile is one of the most important sources for local recommendations.
3. Consistent data everywhere
Your name, address and phone number should appear identically on your website, your Business Profile, your social profiles and directories. Contradictory data erodes trust, with people and with AI alike. As our previous article notes, a large share of customers avoid a business when they find wrong information about it.
4. Reviews: ask and reply
Regularly and naturally ask satisfied customers for a review, and reply to reviews, negative ones too, calmly. The text of reviews is a source as well: it shows what you're good at.
5. Mentions and directories
Be listed in local and industry directories, associations and local media. It's worth sorting out Bing Places too, because some AI assistants' search results partly build on Bing.
6. Fresh, specific content
A blog, promotions and news with dates, and detailed answers to frequent questions all signal that you're a living, active business. Write it the way your customers ask.
7. Measure where you stand
Once a month, put your customers' typical questions to two or three AI assistants and to Google, and note who appears in the answers. Google Search Console and your Business Profile statistics also show how people find you.
Where to start?
If you pick just one: fix your Google Business Profile, and put the most frequent questions with answers on your website. Those two give the most for the least work.