Nobody is talking about this with enough urgency.
AI search is not "the future."
It's happening right now and most local businesses are completely unprepared.
Thread:
1/ Go to ChatGPT right now.
Type: "best roofing company in [your city]"
Or: "most trusted solar installer in [your area]"
You'll get a direct answer. 1-3 specific recommendations with reasons.
Not 10 blue links. A recommendation.
2/ This is the new search behavior for discovery queries.
And the number of people using AI for local discovery is growing every month.
3/ How does AI decide who to recommend?
It synthesizes from: Google Business Profile data, reviews that mention specific services, website content structured as direct answers, consistent NAP (name, address, phone) across directories, authority signals like press mentions and local citations.
4/ If your business isn't structured for this, you're invisible in AI results — even if you rank on Google page 1.
They're not the same algorithm.
They're not the same signals.
5/ What to fix right now:
— Complete your Google Business Profile fully. Every field. Real photos. Regular posts.
— Accumulate reviews that mention specific services and your city. "Great roofing company" is weak. "Fixed our storm damage on the north side of [city] in 48 hours" is what AI cites.
— Create content on your site structured as direct answers: "How much does roof replacement cost in [city]?" answered directly and completely.
— Get consistent citations across Yelp, Angi, HomeAdvisor, BBB, and industry-specific directories.
6/ The window to be early here is closing fast.
The businesses doing this in the next 6 months will have the same advantage early Google SEO adopters had in 2005.
The ones who wait will pay 3-4x more in Google Ads to compensate for organic traffic they're losing to AI.
7/ This is one of the highest-leverage moves a local business can make right now.
Low competition. High impact.
Compounding over time.
And most competitors haven't started.