More of your customers now get answers before they ever click a website. Google's AI Overviews summarize the results at the top of the page, and a fast-growing share of people ask ChatGPT or other AI assistants which local business to call. For service businesses, the goal is shifting from "rank for the click" to "be the business the answer names, and be easy to contact."

What does the data say about AI answers and clicks?

Pew Research Center tracked the Google searches of 900 US adults in March 2025:

  • 18% of searches produced an AI summary.
  • When a summary appeared, users clicked a regular result on 8% of visits, versus 15% when there wasn't one.
  • Only 1% of visits included a click on a link inside the summary.
  • 26% of visits with a summary ended the browsing session, compared with 16% without.

On the local side, BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found 45% of consumers use AI tools such as ChatGPT when researching local businesses, up from 6% the year before. 40% said they trust AI platforms for business recommendations, and 82% read AI-generated review summaries.

Which searches are affected most?

Informational questions are where AI answers take the most clicks: "why is my AC blowing warm air," "how much does a new roof cost," "is a running toilet an emergency." Those used to bring visitors to blog posts and FAQ pages.

Searches with clear buying intent, "AC repair near me" or "emergency plumber Dallas," still lean on the map results and Google Business Profiles, where people call straight from the listing. That's why local SEO and your profile matter as much as ever.

How do AI assistants decide which business to mention?

They piece together what's consistent and verifiable across the web: your website, your Google Business Profile, review sites, directories and other sites that mention you. Our guide to answer engine optimization (AEO) goes deeper, but the short version is that AI tools favor businesses that are easy to understand and easy to trust.

  1. Answer real questions on your own site. Each service page should open with a direct, two- or three-sentence answer to the main question customers ask about it, followed by detail.
  2. Keep business details identical everywhere. Name, phone, address or service area, hours and services should match on your website, Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp and industry directories.
  3. Keep reviews recent. BrightLocal found 74% of consumers only consider reviews from the last three months, and AI summaries are built from those reviews.
  4. Add structured data. LocalBusiness, Service and FAQ schema help machines read your pages accurately.
  5. Publish what only you know. Real prices or price ranges, typical timelines, local details and photos of your work are harder to summarize away and more likely to be cited.
  6. Make contact effortless. If an AI answer names you, the next step is a search for your business. Your listing and homepage should show your phone number and booking options immediately.
  7. Watch where calls come from. Track calls and forms by source so you can see whether AI and Maps traffic is growing as clicks from regular results shrink.

What this means for your website

Your website is still the source AI tools read most closely, and the place people land when they want to book. Pages built around clear answers, real proof and fast contact work for both humans and machines. That's how we build lead generation websites and run SEO and AEO for service businesses.

Want to know how your business shows up in AI answers today? Get in touch and we'll include a quick check in your quote.

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