The shift is measured, not assumed

68%of local searches now show an AI Overview; only 39% show the old local pack

45%of US consumers use AI to choose a local business, up from 6% a year earlier

4engines checked every month with the same 20 customer questions, so you see a trend, not a screenshot

Why most businesses are not in the answer

Engines build an answer from what they can cite. Three gaps keep a good business out

The offer is not written down anywhere quotable

Price, who it suits, who stands behind it. Price is the most common unanswered question, and the engines skip businesses that skip it.

The details disagree across sources

Directories, registers, review sites and your own site each say something slightly different. Engines discount what they cannot reconcile.

Nobody measures whether it is working

One answer on one day is not a measurement. Without the same questions asked every month, there is no trend to move.

Engines

The four we check every month, with the same customer questions in the same order

Where most customers ask first. Names businesses directly, from reviews, credentials and pages it can quote. The first place we get you named.

Rewards sourced, structured pages and credentials that match across the web. Where consistency work shows first.

Shares Google’s sources: Business Profile, reviews and local signals decide who is named. This is where the SEO work pays twice.

Shows its sources. Being cited here is the clearest proof your pages are quotable.

What we fixed. What changed

Hotels · SEO and AI visibility

Luxury inn, 34 rooms, Lake District

8 of 20tracked travel questions where AI assistants name the hotel, up from 1

The hotel ranked well for its own name but had limited content around parking, dogs, walking routes, dining and nearby attractions. We rebuilt the key amenity pages, published detailed local guides and standardised property information across major travel listings.

The hotel appeared in 8 of 20 tracked recommendation questions after six months. Non-brand organic bookings increased 19%.

Software · SEO and AI visibility

Data infrastructure platform, US

11 of 25tracked comparison questions where AI assistants name the product, up from 3

The documentation worked well for existing users, but there was little content explaining how the platform compared with established alternatives. We published technical comparison pages, migration guides and public benchmark methodology, then improved the structure of the documentation for crawlers.

The product appeared in 11 of 25 tracked comparison questions after seven months. Organic demo requests increased 18%.

Professional services · SEO and AI visibility

Commercial law firm, Birmingham

+29%qualified organic enquiries, eight months

The website focused heavily on the firm and its lawyers but answered few of the questions business owners searched before contacting a solicitor. We built question-led pages around shareholder disputes, contract issues and fee expectations, with partner review before publication.

Qualified organic enquiries increased 29% over eight months. Several of the new pages also began appearing in AI-generated answers for commercial legal questions.

See all cases

Market changes

What is changing in the markets we work in, and what it means for your numbers

Couple walking along a wooden jetty towards a boat on calm water

Hotels

Travellers now plan with AI before they search, and the shortlist is written from sources you do not own

More than half of travellers plan with AI tools. An answer names two or three properties, mostly from guides and reviews rather than hotel websites.

News · 6 min read

Analyst laying a printed chart on a standing desk, colleague handing her a coffee

Clinics

Patients now ask an AI before they search

In June 2026, AI tools overtook Google search as an influence on US patients choosing a doctor. The numbers, the sources, and the three things a clinic should change first.

News · 7 min read

Founder holding up a printed chart and grinning at a colleague

Software

Half of B2B software buyers now start their research with an AI assistant, not Google

By March 2026, 51 percent of B2B software buyers started research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google. The numbers, the caveats, and what a software vendor should change first.