How can a local business prepare its website for AI recommendations?
Give AI accessible, specific information that supports a relevant recommendation: services, service area, customer eligibility, verified qualifications, contact details and booking process. Put important answers on the relevant service page and link to fuller details. Use an audit to check whether the publicly reachable pages actually contain that information.
Illustrative scenario, not an actual AI response: someone asks Meta AI for a mechanic near their suburb who services hybrid cars. A page naming the workshop location, supported vehicle types and verified technician qualifications offers more usable evidence than ‘quality servicing for everyone’. Publish only facts the business can substantiate.
01
Explain who you can help
A list of services is useful, but customers may also need to know who a service is for, which locations you cover and whether there are requirements before booking.
- Name the locations you genuinely serve.
- Explain important service limits and eligibility.
- Use the same business name consistently across the site.
02
Back up the reason to choose you
Trust needs substance. Explain the experience behind your service, name relevant qualifications you can verify and make contact and business details consistent. Useful evidence helps a reader—and an AI system using the page—understand the basis for your claims.
- Describe specific expertise instead of claiming to be the best.
- Publish genuine, attributable customer evidence where you have permission.
- Keep qualifications, service details and availability current.
03
Make the first step obvious
Contact details alone do not explain the process. State whether a new customer should call, complete a form, request a quote or book a consultation, and what information they should provide.
- Include hours or availability where relevant.
- Explain the quote process when a fixed price is not appropriate.
- Keep the instructions consistent across service pages.
04
Check what the sampled pages actually say
Use answer-coverage findings to spot questions that your checked pages did not resolve. If the answer exists elsewhere, make it easier to reach and consider a fuller report before rewriting the site.
- Start with the report's pages-checked list.
- Fix inaccurate business details before polishing metadata.
- Re-run after your changes are public.