Is Paying for Leads Still Worth It When AI Sends Customers to Competitors?

Billy Jordan Jr. shares why The Jordan Insurance Agency stopped buying leads and focused on being found in AI and search. Learn the risks of relying on paid leads and what to fix before quitting lead-buying. Get practical steps to make your business show up where customers now look.

In this episode

• Why AI recommendations matter more than paid leads
• How The Jordan Insurance Agency shifted to inbound calls
• Common mistakes when quitting lead-buying
• Steps to get named by AI and search tools
• What to check on your website and listings today

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Talia: How much of your marketing budget is going to lead-buying, and how many of those leads actually become customers?

Billy Jordan Jr.: If AI is recommending your competitors and not you, it doesn't matter how many leads you buy—you're missing out on the best calls.

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 see you, Talia.

Talia: Today we're looking at a question a lot of business owners are asking: If AI is sending customers to my competitors, is it even worth paying for leads anymore?

Talia: Billy, you've run a business that bought leads for years. What shifted for you?

Billy Jordan Jr.: The short answer is, when AI started recommending local businesses, it changed the whole game. We used to buy leads for The Jordan Insurance Agency—fresh and aged—and chased every referral partner. But starting summer twenty-twenty-six, we stopped buying leads altogether and quit ads. Every call we get now is inbound.

Talia: So what changed?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Customers aren’t just searching Google anymore. They’re asking AI tools for who to call, and those tools are recommending businesses—sometimes not yours. If you’re not showing up in those answers, you’re not getting the best calls, no matter how much you spend on leads.

Talia: Give me an example.

Billy Jordan Jr.: Think of a local business that buys leads every month. But when someone asks AI for the best provider in their area, a competitor gets named instead. That’s a missed call they can’t buy back.

Talia: But let me push back. Is that typical? What if you’re in an industry where word of mouth is still strong?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Word of mouth helps, but AI is becoming the new word of mouth. BrightLocal’s two-thousand-twenty-six survey found forty-five percent of U.S. consumers have used AI tools for local business recommendations. You can’t count on referrals alone when almost half of your next customers are asking a machine.

Talia: What’s the biggest mistake you see here?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Waiting too long to fix your online presence. If you’re not visible in AI or search, you’re invisible to new customers.

Talia: Let’s talk numbers. What did you see at The Jordan Insurance Agency when you stopped buying leads?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Results were early and specific to us, but here’s what happened: in about sixty to seventy-five days, our inbound calls and website appointments grew to five to seven new-lead conversations a day, all without paying for leads or ads.

Talia: Five to seven a day, just from being found?

Billy Jordan Jr.: That’s right. And those calls close at a higher rate than the bought leads we used to chase. One call can turn into more than one policy—like when someone needs both Medicare and Health Insurance, or Home and Auto.

Talia: How much work did it take?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Keeping it going by hand is almost a full-time job. That’s why I built systems to help create and publish content, optimize the website, and make sure calls get answered.

Talia: What’s a mistake an owner might make if they just stop buying leads?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Stopping lead-buying without fixing your website, content, and presence first. You need a solid foundation or your phones will just go quiet.

Talia: So, for someone listening who’s thinking about quitting leads, the first step isn’t just to cancel the contract.

Billy Jordan Jr.: Exactly. You need to get found in the places customers now look—and that means showing up in AI and search, not just relying on old-school ads.

Talia: So, if AI is recommending your competitors, how do you actually get named instead?

Billy Jordan Jr.: You need to build trust where AI looks for answers. For us, that meant eight steps. We fixed the website, added a calendar for direct bookings, published what customers actually ask, filled content gaps, and built trust on the sites AI cites in our industry.

Talia: Let me push back again. That sounds like a lot. Does every business need to do all eight steps?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Not all at once, but you can’t skip the basics. Most businesses need a modern website, clear answers to real customer questions, and proof beyond their own site—like reviews or being listed in reputable directories.

Talia: Can you give a real-world example?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Any local business can update their website, answer the common questions customers ask, and get mentioned on trusted sites in their field. When someone asks AI for a provider in their area, those businesses are more likely to get named than competitors who haven’t done the work.

Talia: What’s something owners can check today?

Billy Jordan Jr.: Search for your business in an AI tool or Google’s AI Overviews. If you’re not showing up, neither are your phone calls.

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

Billy Jordan Jr.: First, search your own business in Google and an AI tool to see if you’re named. Second, check your website speed and make sure it answers the top questions your customers ask. Third, claim and update your listings on the main business directories in your industry.

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

Billy Jordan Jr.: Then that's why BreakPoint Systems exists. Book a free thirty-minute discovery call with me at breakpointsystems.com, or call (980) 842-6595.

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.