What Happened
Google’s AI-powered search features now pull information directly from business websites and Google Business Profiles when generating responses to user queries. These responses can include clickable links and citations, meaning businesses have a real opportunity to appear in AI-generated results, not just traditional blue-link listings. The way Google selects sources for these responses is shifting how local SEO audits need to be approached and what businesses should prioritise.
Why This Matters
- AI search results favour businesses that demonstrate unique, first-hand expertise. Generic content that could have been written by anyone is less likely to be cited or featured. If your website says the same thing as every competitor, you are less visible in AI results.
- Your Google Business Profile is now part of the source pool for AI responses. An incomplete or outdated profile is not just a missed opportunity on Maps, it is a missed opportunity in AI-generated search answers too.
- Technical basics still matter. Google’s own guidance points to readable website text, fast mobile performance, and working links as factors that affect how well AI systems can process and surface your content.
What to Do Now
- Review your Google Business Profile and make sure every section is complete: business name, address, phone number, categories, opening hours, services, and photos. Treat it as a live document, not a one-time setup.
- Look at your website content and ask honestly whether it reflects genuine expertise. Add case studies, staff knowledge, real examples, or process explanations that a competitor could not simply copy.
- Run a basic technical check: test your site on a mobile device, check that all internal links work, and make sure your page text is properly readable rather than buried in images or JavaScript.
- Carry out a local SEO audit with these priorities in mind. Work through your Business Profile, your website content, and your technical performance as three separate areas with their own checklists.
- Use AI tools to help structure and prioritise your audit findings, but make sure the content and information you publish reflects real knowledge from your business, not AI-generated filler.
Common Mistake to Avoid
One of the most common mistakes businesses make is completing a local SEO audit and then filing it away without acting on it. An audit is only useful if it produces a clear, prioritised list of tasks with someone responsible for each one. Another frequent error is assuming that because a Business Profile exists, it is doing its job. Profiles with missing information, no recent posts, and no responses to reviews are significantly less competitive than those that are actively maintained.
How Kraken Dev Co Can Help
Kraken Dev Co works with SMEs and e-commerce businesses to review their website performance, local SEO setup, and Google Business Profile, and to turn audit findings into a clear plan of action. If you are not sure where to start or what to prioritise, we can help you work through it in a way that fits your time and your budget. Get in touch to find out more.
