Type "good plumber in Penrith" into one of these tools and it just hands you a short answer with a couple of names. If your business is not one of them, you may as well not exist for that search. The fix is less mysterious than the people selling "AI optimisation" want you to think.
How people are starting to search
The old way was a list of ten results and you picked one. The new way, for a growing slice of people, is a single answer that has already done the picking. For a business with no real online presence, that is a threat. For everyone else it is mostly an opening, because the field is still wide open locally.
The good news: it runs on the same basics
These tools do not invent their answers from nowhere. They pull from the web, your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and clearly written pages about what you do and where. The work that gets you mentioned by an AI is almost exactly the work that already gets you ranked on Google: a complete profile, genuine reviews, and a fast site that says plainly what you do. Do the fundamentals and you are most of the way there.
What actually helps
Write your pages in plain language a human would use, because that is what these tools read best. Spell out your services and your suburbs in normal sentences, not marketing fog. Keep your name, address and phone identical everywhere. Pile up real reviews. The clearer and more consistent your information is across the web, the easier it is for an AI to repeat it with confidence when someone asks.
What to ignore
You do not need to pay anyone for "AI optimisation" as a separate service, and you should be wary of anyone selling it as a magic package. There is no secret button. There is the same honest groundwork, done well, that has always made a local business easy to find. Anyone telling you different is selling fear.
Common questions
Will ChatGPT and Google AI send customers to my business?
They can, and increasingly do, for local searches. These tools pull from the web, your Google Business Profile, your reviews and clear pages about what you do. If your basics are in order you have a real shot at being the name they recommend.
Do I need to pay for "AI optimisation"?
No. There is no secret button. The work that gets you mentioned by an AI is the same honest groundwork that ranks you on Google: a complete profile, genuine reviews, and a fast site that plainly says what you do and where. Anyone selling "AI optimisation" as a magic package is selling fear.
How do I get my business mentioned by AI search tools?
Write your pages in plain language a person would use, spell out your services and suburbs in normal sentences, keep your name, address and phone identical everywhere, and pile up real reviews. The clearer and more consistent your information, the easier it is for an AI to repeat it with confidence.
If your basics are not in order, that is the place to start, and my free website audit shows you where you stand in about 30 seconds. When you are ready for the proper setup, tell me about your business.