What it is
Customers search before they call, and more of them now ask an AI assistant instead of scrolling a list of links. Search engines and AI answers read your site in the same basic way: they crawl the pages, work out what each one is about and pick the most useful answer to the question asked.
So the basics still win. Give each service its own page, with the question in the title and a two-line answer at the top. Add a short list of the questions customers ask on the phone. Keep the site fast on a phone. Fill in your business profile on the maps apps with hours, photos and real reviews. Mark up each page with structured data so machines know your name, area and hours.
Google says its AI features use the same signals as regular search, so there is no secret trick for AI answers. Newer ideas such as an llms.txt file, a plain summary of your site for AI tools, are cheap to add but optional. Write for the customer first; the machines are looking for the same thing.
Try this week
- Search your main service and town and note who shows up, in search and in an AI chat.
- Check that each service has its own page with a plain two-line answer at the top.
- Run your home page through a speed test on a phone.
A plain-English overview to get you started, not legal or financial advice.