AI Search for Small Businesses
AI Search shows how your business appears when customers ask ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity what to choose. Optimization then improves the facts and content those systems use to find, understand, verify and cite your business.
Also called: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) · Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) · AI SEO · AI Visibility
Why AI Search matters now
Customers can compare businesses before they ever reach your website. If AI leaves you out, a competitor may make the shortlist instead. If important facts are wrong, a customer may rule you out before visiting your site.
Need → Ask AI → Research & Compare → Shortlist → Contact / Buy
BrightLocal's 2026 research shows that AI is already part of local-business research, although most users still verify what they find through other channels.
45%
used AI for local business recommendations in the past year
23%
used AI during their most recent local business search
#3
AI is now the third most-used source for local business recommendations
Is AI Search right for your business?
AI Search matters more when your customers buy like this:
鈿栵笍 Compare before choosing
Customers compare several options when the decision is expensive, important or difficult to reverse.
馃挰 Ask detailed questions
They want clear answers about services, pricing, availability, process or fit before contacting you.
馃Ь Look for proof
Credentials, reviews, experience and supporting evidence influence who makes the shortlist.
How the AI Search process works
Snapshot and Check focus on diagnosis. Optimization turns the priorities into action and then measures again.
01 路 Understand the business
Confirm your services, locations, key business facts and the questions customers ask before choosing.
02 路 Set the questions and measure
Agree on the buyer questions first, then keep the same set for the test. Run them across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity to create a time-stamped baseline.
03 路 Diagnose why
Compare the answers with confirmed business facts to find what is missing, inconsistent or unsupported.
04 路 Prioritize and improve
Focus first on the changes most likely to improve how clearly and consistently your business can be understood and recommended.
05 路 Re-measure
Run the same agreed questions again and compare the results with the original baseline. Because AI answers can vary, the results are treated as a time-stamped comparison, not a permanent ranking.
Services & Pricing
Two ways to start: a C$350 Snapshot for a quick read, or a C$600 Check for the full diagnosis. Optimization does the fixing. Care keeps it that way.
AI Search
Snapshot
C$350
Best for
You want a quick baseline before spending more.
Scope
10 agreed buyer questions across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, plus one competitor.
Includes
- AI Search Snapshot Report
- Screenshot evidence
- Key visibility findings
- Suggested next step
Timeline
3 business days
Start here
AI Search
Check
C$600
Best for
You want a full diagnosis before changing anything.
Scope
A full buyer question set built around your business and customer decision journey, agreed before testing and kept fixed for the test.
Includes
- AI Search Diagnosis Report
- Competitor & source analysis
- Prioritized implementation checklist
- What to prioritize now
- What can wait
Timeline
5 business days
AI Search
Optimization
From C$3,000
Best for
You know what needs fixing and want it implemented.
Scope
The priorities from your Check. If you have a recent assessment from someone else, bring it to the call and I'll tell you whether it's enough to start.
Includes
- Website content improvements
- Technical SEO & structured data
- Google Business Profile & key listings
- Business information across public sources
- Supporting third-party evidence
- Re-testing against the baseline
Timeline
4+ weeks
AI Search
Care
From C$750/month
Best for
You've done the fixing and want it to stay fixed.
Scope
Continuous monitoring of priority buyer questions, with monthly findings and agreed updates to content, business information, profiles and listings.
Includes
- Monthly visibility monitoring
- Competitor & source tracking
- Agreed content and profile updates
- Supporting content when gaps recur
- Monthly findings & priorities
Timeline
Ongoing, monthly
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you guarantee that ChatGPT or Google AI will recommend my business?
No. AI answers can vary by question, user, location, date and platform.
I can measure how your business appears, improve the facts, content, profiles and evidence you control, then re-test the same agreed questions.
I cannot control which answer an AI platform generates or guarantee a particular recommendation.
Is AI Search the same as traditional SEO?
They overlap, but they are not identical. Strong technical access, useful content and clear business information help both.
AI Search also measures how your business appears in AI answers, how it is described, which competitors appear and which sources are cited.
How long does it take for AI Search changes to show up?
There is no fixed timeline. Some factual updates may be reflected relatively quickly. Other changes take longer to be crawled, trusted or picked up by the sources AI systems use.
That is why the work starts with a time-stamped baseline and uses re-measurement instead of promising a result by a specific date.
Do I need a new website for AI Search Optimization?
Not necessarily. Many improvements can be made to an existing website, Google Business Profile and public listings.
New pages or larger website changes are recommended only when there is a clear gap they need to solve.
What if my business already ranks well on Google?
Strong Google visibility is a useful foundation, but it does not guarantee that ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity will describe or recommend your business in the same way.
A Snapshot or Check shows whether there is actually an AI Search gap before you invest in fixing one.
What do you need from me?
Access to edit your website, or the person who does; your Google Business Profile; and about an hour of your time across the project to confirm facts and approve copy.
What's not included?
Rebuilding your website, paid ads, and writing ongoing content. Care covers updates; a full content programme is a separate conversation.
Do you offer a bundle discount?
Yes. When you combine services (AI Search and AI Automation together), or more than one tier in the same engagement, I offer a discount on the combined price.
Ask on a call and I'll put a package together for what you're considering.
Not sure where to start?
Snapshot gives you a quick baseline. Check gives you the full diagnosis. Optimization implements the priorities. Care keeps your AI Search presence monitored and up to date.
Let's Talk
Find out how your business shows up
before you invest in changing it
Start with evidence, then decide what is worth fixing.