Last year, Google started showing AI-generated summaries at the top of search results for 15% of queries. By early 2026, that number hit 30%. For some local searches, the AI answer is the only thing people read.
This isn’t a future prediction. It’s happening right now, and it’s changing which businesses get phone calls.
What’s Actually Changing
Google AI Overviews
Google now shows an AI-generated answer above the traditional search results for many queries. When someone searches “best plumber in San Antonio for a slab leak,” Google’s AI might recommend 2-3 businesses directly — bypassing the usual list of 10 blue links.
According to research from Authoritas, AI Overviews reduced click-through rates on traditional search results by 18-64% for affected queries. If your business used to get clicks from those results, the traffic is evaporating.
ChatGPT and Perplexity
These AI assistants don’t show Google results at all. They generate their own recommendations based on the information available about your business across the web. If you have thin content, few reviews, and inconsistent citations, these AI tools literally cannot recommend you — even if you’re the best at what you do.
Voice Assistants
“Hey Siri, find me a good electrician nearby” returns one result, not ten. Voice search is growing 20% year over year according to Demand Sage. When there’s only one recommendation, you’re either the one — or you’re invisible.
Three Things to Do Now
1. Build Content That Answers Specific Questions
AI pulls from your website content when generating recommendations. The more specific, detailed answers you have on your site, the more likely AI will cite you.
Create pages that answer the exact questions your customers ask: - “How much does [your service] cost in [your city]?” - “How long does [specific job] take?” - “What should I look for when hiring a [your trade]?” - “What’s the difference between [option A] and [option B]?”
Each page should be 500+ words with real numbers, timelines, and your professional opinion. AI values specificity — vague content gets ignored.
2. Get to 50+ Google Reviews
Review volume is one of the strongest signals for AI recommendations. A 2025 GatherUp study found that businesses with 50+ reviews were 3x more likely to be recommended by AI assistants than businesses with fewer than 10.
The math is simple: if you ask every customer for a review and 30% leave one, you need to serve about 170 customers to hit 50 reviews. Most service businesses serve that many in 6-12 months.
3. Get Mentioned on Third-Party Sites
AI tools don’t just read your website. They lean heavily on places other people talk about you. Roughly 60% of the local sources behind Google’s AI answers come from third-party sites like Yelp and Reddit. When a real person on r/sanantonio names your company, or you show up in a “best [your trade] in [your city]” roundup, that’s the kind of signal AI weighs most.
Two things help here. First, spread your reviews beyond Google — a presence on Yelp and BBB adds the third-party validation AI looks for. Second, get into the “best of” lists. When a local blogger or news site publishes “Best Roofers in San Antonio,” that page becomes a source AI cites. You can’t always control it, but a visible, well-reviewed business is far easier for those writers to find.
What This Means for Your Marketing Budget
The businesses that adapt to AI search now will have a structural advantage for years. Traditional SEO won’t disappear, but it’s no longer sufficient. You need both traditional SEO and AI search optimization.
The good news: most of what helps you in AI search also helps in traditional Google search. Better content, more reviews, cleaner data — these improve everything.
The businesses that wait will find themselves competing against entrenched AI recommendations that are hard to displace once established.
Start With a Baseline
Before you can improve your AI search presence, you need to know where you stand. Run a free Google presence audit — it checks the factors that matter for both Google and AI search in 30 seconds.