A growing share of buyers skip the search results page. They ask an AI assistant, get a short answer naming a few businesses, and contact one of them. If you are not in that answer, you are not in the running.
What assistants look for
Assistants build answers from sources they can read and trust. In practice that means clear pages that answer a specific question, consistent facts about your business across the web, and mentions on other reputable sites.
- Answer real questions. A page titled "Services" says little. A page titled "How much does a small business accountant cost?" with a straight answer is quotable.
- Be consistent. Your name, address, services and prices should match everywhere they appear.
- Make it readable. Fast pages, clean headings and structured data help machines understand what a page is about.
Where to start this month
List the ten questions customers ask most before they buy. Search each one in two or three assistants and note who gets mentioned. Then write one clear, accurate page per question, starting with the ones closest to a purchase.
If an assistant cannot find a clear answer on your site, it will quote someone else's.
Measure it
Re-ask the same questions every month and record whether you are mentioned. Alongside organic enquiries, it is the most direct signal that the work is landing.