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AI is changing the way people search for products and businesses online. As customers increasingly turn to sources like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude for information, prepping your site for local search and AI is critical to keep your site up to date.
Making sure you’re visible on the web is at the heart of incorporating AI local seo. If you’re a business owner, it can be helpful to gain visibility to customers in your local area using these new tools, giving buyers a greater chance of finding you.
Read on for a guide on optimizing AIO and GEO for local businesses.
What is local search?
Local search is search intent from customers in your local area. Your buyers may need items or services in a specific location; an example might be a remote worker searching for a “coffee shop near me” to work from, or a visitor looking for “the best knitwear store in New York City.”
This is especially relevant if your business has a physical or in-person element, like cosmetic treatments or baked goods. Improving local search results is a good way to gain repeat customers and build a strong local reputation.
Even if you don’t have an in-person business, there are benefits to confirming you appear in search results for customers close to you. Some people prefer to invest in local businesses whatever the service. It may also be easier to market your business to customers in your area if you’re familiar with your local market.
What is AIO and GEO?
AIO and GEO is search engine optimization for AI-powered discovery. This means optimizing your website to ensure you are featured in AI search platforms and results.
AIO stands for AI Optimization. The goal of AIO is to make sure your content is easily understood by AI systems like chatbots and assistants, and appears in AI Overview summaries.
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. This helps AI tools summarize, recommend and cite your business when people search for relevant queries.
How does AI affect local search?
With local search, AI is changing how results appear and are generated for people searching the web in a number of ways:
Rankings and visibility: What affects rankings in regular local SEO differs from what AI considers when compiling responses. AI often draws from longform content, third-party sources, and FAQ sections to build feedback.
Changing search responses: Generative AI typically replies to search queries with more detailed information in a question-and-response format. It often highlights a single store, business, or product recommendation rather than a traditional search engine list where users have the option to scroll through several.
Shorter responses and snippets: Some search engines have built-in AI headers or summaries that may link to your page as snippet text to provide a quick answer.
Use of images and speech requests: AI tools often receive more conversational, longer-phrased requests from customers, such as voice search where a user might query an AI chatbot, or visual searches where they might use image search to find things as an alternative to typed searches. These might be questions like “What Thai restaurants are open now?” or doing a reverse image search for a shirt seen online.
Information sourcing: AI search often pulls from sources like reviews, your Google Business Profile and site information like FAQ sections to generate responses, as well as other platforms like Reddit and Yelp, Trustpilot, or Tripadvisor.
How can I rank for local AI search results?
It’s important to rank well in both traditional local search and AI driven searches. Here are some best tools and practices that will help your business rank online.
Ensure your core local SEO is optimized: Confirm your site’s SEO is on point. Always include general business information, like your business name, address, phone number plus location details or embed Maps location. Squarespace offers built-in tools to help your local SEO, as well as the option to add tools like SEOSpace to improve visibility in both traditional and AI-driven search.
Keep your site mobile-friendly: Many generative AI local searches happen on a phone, like spoken requests or image searches. Check that your site is mobile friendly and optimized for customers searching without a computer, such as monitoring for faster load times and having AI crawl enabled. Use our checklist for designing an online store for mobile.
Optimize for visual search: Make sure your site can handle visual search by including alt text on images for better scanning and selecting images that are high quality and clear.
Write in line with natural speech, conversation, and voice search: Using text on your website that reads as conversational can increase the likelihood of being pulled for an AI snippet answer. It’s helpful to include things like longform content and an FAQ section with questions related to your business, making text clear, free of jargon and easy to read so it’s scannable by AI systems. With Squarespace, you can add blog pages and other longform content.
Incorporate content that performs well in AI search: AI search favors information that answers questions. Content such as location pages, how-to guides, and evergreen blog posts that answer common customer problems can help. Increasing a local perspective on content, such as writing about local events or incorporating backlinks from news sources in your area can help AI crawlers associate your brand with your intended audience.
Pre-empt prompts from your customer base: Think ahead about relevant prompts and questions that could help users find your site. For example, a vegan restaurant could include an FAQ section that answers, “Where’s the best vegan dining spot in Los Angeles?” That helps AI search reroute audiences back to their site. It’s also helpful to include copy or headings with local, specific titles like “London wedding photographer,” which can be featured as snippet text.
Claim and update your third party and business profiles: Make sure your business information and profile is consistent across platforms. Claim and check your Google Business profile and other trusted platform information is up to date. This can include general information about hours, business info and more. It’s also helpful to include specific details that are included in search queries, such as “pet friendly” or “based in Connecticut.”
Include reviews to build trust: Your site can appear more trustworthy to AI scanners if you incorporate reviews and third-party data into your website. Large review platforms like Yelp can be good for sourcing up to date and ongoing feedback from customers. It’s also good to quote and link to any local press.
Track and monitor your results in AI local search: Just like there are tools for SEO, you can use plugins that track your presence in AI search. Keyword monitoring trackers like Ahrefs can give you up-to-date recommendations on improving your visibility. Also try out your own AI testing: Ask questions relevant to your business and see what appears. If you spot competitors, see what they’re doing differently to get an idea of where you can optimize further.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is traditional SEO still important with AI search?
Traditional SEO is changing as a result of AI, but this doesn’t mean it should be ignored. Consider AIO and GEO an evolution of SEO rather than a separate system; the former largely uses traditional search engines to accomplish tasks when sourcing info. And while search is evolving from keyword matching to AI-driven recommendations, many customers still use traditional search independently or alongside AI, while others prefer it to newer search options.
Local SEO is still essential for maintaining online relevance, clarity and good web hosting practices for your business—make sure you are maintaining this alongside AI optimization to help your business online.
Do I need to write completely differently for my business to be picked up by AI?
The same principles that help you in SEO can help you with AI visibility, especially when incorporating GEO for local businesses. But there are specific elements that move the needle when it comes to AI, like FAQ sections, maps and location services, and adding your business profile or reviews from third-party sites.
What factors are most important in helping AI visibility?
Remember that AIO and GEO focus on making your site understandable to humans, not just machines. To help AI visibility, think about including information and content that answers real human phrasing and questions. With local search and AI, your customers are searching with sentences, speech and images unlike a typical search engine.
AI search also rewards freshly updated content. Make sure information on your site is recent and updated periodically. It could be useful to set reminders, such as once a month, to keep your content fresh, scannable, and relevant for AI.