Are You Showing Up Where Customers Now Search? How AI Changed Local Business Visibility

AI usage for local search has surged, changing how customers find businesses. This episode explains how AI tools like ChatGPT and Bing AI choose which businesses to recommend, what signals matter, and what steps you can take to make sure your business is found where customers are now looking.

In this episode

• Why AI is now a key source for local business recommendations
• How AI tools decide which businesses to name
• Common mistakes that make businesses invisible to AI
• Steps to check and improve your AI visibility
• How The Jordan Insurance Agency adapted to these changes

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Talia: If your next customer asked AI who to call in your industry, would your business come up? Or would it name somebody else?

Billy Jordan Jr.: AI tools are where your customers are looking now. If you’re not showing up there, you’re invisible to a big chunk of the market.

Talia: Okay. That's the episode. Let's get into it.

Talia: Welcome to The BreakPoint Brief, practical conversations about getting found, earning trust, and putting AI to work in a real business. I'm Talia. My job is to ask the questions a busy business owner would ask, and to not let anybody off the hook. Across the table, as always, is the founder of BreakPoint Systems, Billy Jordan Jr.

Billy Jordan Jr.: Good to be here, Talia.

Talia: Today, we’re tackling the big shift: customers using AI to find local businesses. If you’ve always depended on Google, what’s changing? And how do you make sure your business is still the one that gets called?

Talia: Billy, let’s cut to it. Why should a local business owner care about getting found by AI, not just Google?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Because the way people search has changed—fast. MarTech just reported AI usage for local search has jumped six times. That means more of your customers are asking tools like ChatGPT and Bing AI who to call, instead of typing into Google. If those tools recommend someone else, you’re missing out, even if you rank high on Google.

Talia: Are people really making decisions based on what AI tells them? Or are they just playing around with it?

Billy Jordan Jr.: eMarketer reported that shoppers now use AI to find local businesses, then double-check on Google. So AI is the first filter. If you’re not in that first answer, you may never get the second look.

Talia: Give me an example. What kind of business is seeing this?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Any local business can be affected. If AI recommends other businesses first, you may not get noticed, even if you have good Google rankings.

Talia: What’s the most common mistake owners make here?

Billy Jordan Jr.: They assume if their SEO is good, they’re covered. But AEO, or AI Engine Optimization, needs different signals. If you’re invisible to AI, you’re invisible to a growing group of buyers.

Talia: Let me push back. Isn’t this just another tech fad? Should a small business really shift focus from what’s already working?

Billy Jordan Jr.: It’s not about abandoning what works. But when forty-five percent of U.S. consumers have used AI for local recommendations, according to BrightLocal, you can’t afford to ignore it.

Talia: So, what actually makes a business show up when someone asks AI for a local recommendation?

Billy Jordan Jr.: AI tools pull answers from trusted sources—your website, but also third-party sites, reviews, and industry directories. If your business is mentioned and trusted in the places AI checks, you’re more likely to get recommended. If not, you’re skipped.

Talia: Is that typical? Do these tools really pull from anything beyond your website?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Yes. For The Jordan Insurance Agency, we saw Bing AI citing industry sites, customer reviews, and even podcasts. It’s not just about your own website anymore—it’s about your footprint across the web.

Talia: What does that look like for other local businesses?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Any business can benefit from being mentioned consistently on their own site and on trusted third-party sites, directories, and review platforms. If AI sees that pattern, it treats you as credible.

Talia: So, if I’ve ignored my online profiles for years, that’s a problem.

Billy Jordan Jr.: That’s the common mistake. If your business info is out of date, or your presence is thin outside your own site, AI might not recommend you at all.

Talia: What’s one thing a business owner can check, right now?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Search your business name plus your main service in AI tools like ChatGPT or Bing AI. See what comes up. If it’s not you, or worse—if it’s outdated or wrong—you’ve got work to do.

Talia: Once you know you’re not showing up, what’s the process to actually get recommended by AI?

Billy Jordan Jr.: There’s a clear set of steps. First, fix your website: make sure it’s fast, modern, and answers the real questions people ask. Second, build out your content so AI sees you as an authority. Third, get mentioned and reviewed on trusted sites AI pulls from.

Talia: How long does this take before you see anything change?

Billy Jordan Jr.: For The Jordan Insurance Agency, we saw measurable results in about sixty to seventy-five days. But that’s early, and it depends on your market, your effort, and your starting point. It’s not instant.

Talia: What about cost? Is this something an owner can do themselves, or do you need to hire a team?

Billy Jordan Jr.: You can start yourself—update your site, claim your profiles, get listed in industry directories. Keeping it going is a lot of work. For my agency, doing it by hand was nearly a full-time job, so I built systems to handle it.

Talia: What’s the biggest thing people underestimate here?

Billy Jordan Jr.: They underestimate how fast the search landscape is fragmenting. The old habits don’t guarantee you’ll be found where people are actually looking now.

Talia: Okay, Billy. Somebody's listened this far. What should they do Monday morning?

Billy Jordan Jr.: First, search your business in an AI tool—see if you come up and what it says. Second, audit your online presence: update your website and your business info everywhere you can. Third, check where your industry is cited online—get yourself listed and reviewed there.

Talia: And if they'd rather run their business?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Go to breakpointsystems.com and get your free AI visibility report. We'll show you whether AI tools are recommending your business, and your clearest first step.

Talia: That's The BreakPoint Brief. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.

Talia: The BreakPoint Brief is produced by BreakPoint Systems. The Jordan Insurance Agency and BreakPoint Systems are separate businesses, both owned by Billy Jordan Jr. The results discussed are specific to The Jordan Insurance Agency and don't guarantee results for any business. AI search visibility plans run on a technology partner's platform under its own agreement, and BreakPoint Systems receives compensation when clients sign up. This episode is general information, not legal, financial, or insurance advice.