Last Tuesday, Larry’s Landscaping lost a $75,000 project.
She had the best reviews, the most experience, and ranked #1 in the San Francisco Bay Area on Google for “landscape design services.”
But the customer never even saw her website.
Here’s what actually happened: A homeowner searched “best landscape design for small backyard.” Instead of showing the familiar list of blue links, Google’s AI Overviews pulled information from six different sources—a design blog, a competitor website, a Pinterest board, and a YouTube video. It created a complete answer that mentioned competitive firms. Larry’s wasn’t one of them.
The customer got design ideas, pricing estimates, and contact information without clicking a single link. They called the contractor mentioned in the AI response and signed a contract that afternoon.
Larry had no idea he’d even been in competition.
This isn’t a story about the future. Google’s AI Overviews are already changing how customers find and choose service providers across every industry. While business owners focus on traditional rankings, their potential customers are getting answers—and making decisions—through an entirely different system.
What Just Happened?
Google’s AI doesn’t just search anymore. It thinks, synthesizes, and recommends. When someone asks a question, AI Overviews secretly generate dozens of related queries, pull information from multiple sources, and create personalized answers based on the searcher’s location, preferences, and search history.
Your website might inform the answer without getting any credit. Your competitor might get the referral based on a single sentence from their blog post. The customer gets what they need, makes their decision, and moves on.
“The shift from ‘search and click’ to AI’s ‘ask and receive answers’ represents the biggest change in how people find businesses since Google launched. Every business owner needs to understand what this means for their revenue.”
Google is also rolling out AI Mode—a more advanced conversational search experience that will gradually incorporate these same capabilities into an even more powerful system.
The Three Threats Already Hitting Your Bottom Line
Threat #1: The Traffic Vanishing Act
Studies show that AI-powered search results reduce clicks by 34.5%. That means more than one-third of your potential customers are finding what they need without ever visiting your website.
For a local restaurant, this might look like customers getting menu highlights, pricing, and reservation information directly in their search results. They decide where to eat based on AI-generated summaries rather than browsing individual restaurant websites.
For a home services company, potential customers might receive project timelines, average costs, and contractor recommendations without clicking through to any business websites. They’re making purchasing decisions with information that may or may not accurately represent your services.
The hidden cost isn’t just traffic—it’s qualified leads that never materialize because customers complete their research and decision-making process entirely within Google’s AI interface.
Threat #2: The Invisible Competition
You’re now competing against businesses you don’t even monitor. Google’s AI searches across hundreds of related queries simultaneously. When someone asks about kitchen remodeling, the system might also search for “cabinet installation costs,” “kitchen design trends 2025,” and “best appliances for small kitchens.”
A blog post about cabinet hardware could influence a major renovation decision. A social media post about design trends might get referenced alongside established contractors. A DIY YouTube video could impact how AI presents professional services.
Here’s a real example: A plumbing company ranked #1 for “emergency plumber” but wasn’t mentioned in AI responses for “water heater problems.” Their competitor, who ranked #7 for the main keyword but had written detailed guides about water heater troubleshooting, got cited consistently in AI answers and received most of the emergency calls.
The competition is no longer just other businesses in your category. It’s anyone who has created content that AI systems find relevant to your customers’ questions.
Threat #3: The Relevance Trap
Traditional SEO metrics don’t predict AI visibility. You can rank #1 for important keywords and still be functionally invisible to customers using AI-powered search.
Google’s AI selects content based on how well individual passages answer specific questions, not how well entire pages rank for keywords. A single paragraph from your “About” page might be more valuable than your entire services page.
A bullet point from your FAQ could be more influential than your homepage.
The system evaluates content quality differently than traditional search. It looks for complete, standalone answers that make sense without surrounding context. Content that performs well in traditional SEO—keyword-optimized pages with internal links and technical optimization—might not work well for AI systems that need clear, direct information.
Many businesses discover their carefully optimized service pages are being overlooked while their throwaway blog posts get cited in AI responses.
The Three Opportunities Smart Businesses Are Seizing
Opportunity #1: The Authority Advantage
Businesses that become go-to sources for AI systems gain massive advantages. When your content consistently gets cited in AI responses, you build authority and trust that translates into customer preference even when they don’t directly visit your website.
One accounting firm started creating detailed guides answering common tax questions. Their content began appearing in AI responses for hundreds of tax-related queries. Even though website traffic initially decreased, phone consultations increased by 40% because potential clients recognized the firm’s name from AI recommendations.
The key is creating content that AI systems trust and cite. This means focusing on factual, well-structured information that directly answers customer questions. Instead of trying to rank for “best accounting services,” create content that answers “how to depreciate business equipment” or “when to file quarterly taxes.”
Authority in AI systems builds differently than traditional SEO. It’s based on content usefulness and accuracy rather than link building and keyword optimization.
Opportunity #2: The Context Edge
Local businesses have unique advantages in AI-powered search because AI systems value authentic, specific context. Generic, templated content gets filtered out in favor of information that demonstrates real local knowledge and personal experience.
A local contractor who writes about specific challenges in their area—like dealing with clay soil conditions or local building permit requirements—becomes invaluable to AI systems serving local customers. This type of content can’t be easily replicated by national competitors or generated artificially.
One HVAC company started documenting unique issues they encountered in their service area, including specific problems with local housing developments and seasonal considerations. Their detailed, location-specific content began dominating AI responses for local heating and cooling questions.
The personal touches that make your business authentic also make your content valuable to AI systems. Customer stories, local project examples, and area-specific advice create content that AI systems recognize as genuinely useful and hard to fake.
Opportunity #3: The First-Mover Benefit
Most businesses haven’t adapted their content strategy for AI systems yet. Early adopters gain significant advantages by optimizing for AI visibility while competitors remain focused on traditional SEO tactics.
The businesses succeeding in AI-powered search are those that create answer-focused content, cover related topics comprehensively, and structure information for easy AI extraction and citation.
One financial advisor restructured their content to directly answer client questions rather than optimizing for search keywords. They created detailed explanations of investment strategies, retirement planning steps, and financial decision frameworks. Within six months, they were being cited in AI responses for dozens of finance-related queries, leading to a 60% increase in consultation requests.
The window for easy wins is still open. As more businesses adapt to AI-powered search, the competition for AI citations will increase. Early movers can establish authority and visibility before their markets become saturated.
Unlock your business potential with our expert digital marketing services.
Your Action Plan: From Threat to Opportunity
Begin by auditing your current content through an AI lens. Instead of asking “Does this page rank well?” ask “Does this content answer complete questions that customers actually have?”
Look for opportunities to expand thin content into comprehensive answers. If you have a services page that lists what you do, expand it to explain how you do it, why it matters, and what customers can expect.
AI systems prefer detailed, complete information over brief, keyword-optimized pages.
Create content that covers the full scope of customer questions in your industry.
If you’re a dentist, don’t just write about teeth cleaning—cover everything from preparation to recovery, cost considerations, and what makes a good candidate for different procedures.
Building topical authority becomes even more important when AI systems are evaluating the depth of your expertise.
Structure your content for easy extraction. Use clear headings, bullet points, and direct answers to common questions. AI systems work best with content that’s organized logically and scannable. Make sure individual paragraphs can stand alone as complete thoughts.
Monitor your mentions in AI responses, even when they don’t drive clicks to your website. Being cited builds authority and brand recognition that influences customer decisions later in their journey. Set up Google Alerts to track when your business name appears in various contexts.
Consider working with professionals who understand these new systems. The difference between traditional SEO and AI optimization requires specialized knowledge that most generalist marketing providers don’t yet possess.
The Bottom Line
Let’s return to Larry’s story. What could he have done differently?
Instead of focusing solely on ranking for “landscape design services,” he could have created comprehensive content answering the specific questions homeowners ask:
- “How much does small backyard landscaping cost?”
- “What plants work best in shaded areas?”
- “How long does a typical landscape project take?”
He could have documented her local projects, explained his design process, and shared insights about landscaping challenges specific to her area. This type of detailed, authentic content would have made his valuable to AI systems serving local customers.
The choice every business owner faces isn’t whether to adapt to AI-powered search—it’s whether to adapt now or wait until competitors have already captured the opportunities.
The businesses that thrive in this new environment will be those that help AI systems understand and recommend them. The businesses that don’t adapt risk becoming invisible to an increasing number of potential customers who are getting their answers—and making their decisions—without ever seeing traditional search results.
Your customers are already using AI to find businesses like yours.
The question is whether they’re finding you.
Ready to grow your visibility in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and other LLMs? Give us a shout!
