AI Search is changing the way people find businesses, compare services and make
buying decisions online.
For many business owners, that sounds worrying. You may already feel that Google
changes often enough without adding ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity and AI
Overviews into the mix.
The good news is this: AI Search does not mean SEO is dead. It does not mean
your website no longer matters. It does not mean you need to chase every new
marketing trend.
What it does mean is that search is becoming more conversational, more
summarised and more spread across different platforms. Customers are no longer
always typing two or three words into Google and clicking through a list of websites.
Increasingly, they are asking full questions and expecting a direct answer.
For example, a potential customer might ask:
“What is the best digital marketing agency for a small business in North Wales?”
“Do I need SEO or content marketing first?”
“How can a local business appear in AI search results?”
“Which company offers Shopify SEO support in the UK?”
In the past, they may have looked through several websites to form a view. In AI
Search, they may receive a summary, comparison or recommendation before they
ever land on your website.
That makes your online presence more important, not less.
What is AI Search?
AI Search is a search experience that uses artificial intelligence to understand a
question, gather information and produce a helpful answer.
Traditional search usually gives you a list of results. AI Search can summarise the
answer, compare options, explain a topic and suggest next steps.
This does not mean AI tools invent everything from scratch. Many AI Search tools
still rely heavily on websites, search indexes, business profiles, reviews, videos,
product data and public information across the web.
In simple terms, AI Search looks for evidence.
It tries to understand:
What your business does
Who you help
Where you operate
Whether you can be trusted
What other sources say about you
Whether your content answers the question clearly
That is why your website, Google Business Profile, reviews, articles, videos,
directory listings and brand mentions all matter.
AI Search is not just looking for keywords. It is trying to understand your business as
a whole.
The main AI Search tools business owners should know
Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that can appear in Google Search
results. They are designed to answer more complex questions quickly, often with
links to supporting websites.
For business owners, this is important because AI Overviews can influence how
people understand a subject before they click on a website.
A customer might search for a service, read the AI Overview, compare a few
suggested options and only then decide which business deserves their attention.
This makes it more important to have clear, useful and trustworthy content on your
website.
ChatGPT Search
ChatGPT Search allows users to ask questions in ChatGPT and receive answers
supported by current web information.
Instead of searching in the old way, users can have a conversation. They might ask
a first question, then follow up with something more specific.
For example:
“Who can help with SEO for a small ecommerce business?”
Then:
“What should I look for before hiring them?”
Then:
“Can you compare SEO and content marketing for lead generation?”
This is a different journey. It is more advisory and more conversational. Your website
needs to answer real questions, not just contain a list of keywords.
Gemini
Gemini is Google’s AI assistant. It connects into the wider Google ecosystem and
can help users research, compare and make decisions.
Because Gemini is part of Google’s AI landscape, the same broad principles apply:
clear information, strong content, accurate business details and a trustworthy digital
footprint all help Google understand your business.
Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is closely connected to Bing and Microsoft’s wider tools. It can help
users search the web, summarise information and ask follow-up questions.
This matters because not all AI discovery happens through Google. Bing, Copilot
and Microsoft products are part of the search landscape, particularly for business
users.
A strong SEO foundation helps here too. Clean technical SEO, clear page structure,
crawlable content and helpful copy are still valuable.
Perplexity
Perplexity describes itself as an AI answer engine. It researches the web and
provides concise answers with cited sources.
For users, this feels less like browsing and more like asking a research assistant.
For businesses, it reinforces one important point: if your business is not clearly
represented online, AI tools have less to work with.
How AI Search differs from traditional Google Search
Traditional search is often keyword-led. A user types a phrase such as “SEO
consultant Wales” or “Shopify SEO agency UK” and receives a list of websites.
AI Search is more question-led. A user may ask:
“What should a small business do first: SEO, PPC or content marketing?”
That question has more context. The user is not just looking for a page. They are
looking for advice.
AI Search is also more likely to summarise. That means some users may get part of
their answer without clicking through to a website.
This can feel like a threat, but it also creates an opportunity. If your business is cited,
mentioned or reflected accurately in those answers, you can influence the decision
earlier in the buying journey.
The goal is no longer only to rank. The goal is to be understood, trusted and
recommended.
What is “fanning” in AI Search?
One of the important differences between traditional search and AI Search is
something often described as “fanning”, or more technically, “query fan-out”. In
simple terms, this means the AI does not always treat your question as one single
search.
Instead, it can break the question into several smaller related searches, gather
information from different places, and then bring those findings together into one
answer.
For example, if someone searches:
“What are the best 14 day holidays in Japan?”
A traditional search engine may look for pages that match that phrase closely.
An AI Search system may approach the question more broadly. It might look at:
Japanese holidays
10 must see sites in Japan
cherry blossom holidays in Japan
Japanese tourist information
LinkedIn profiles for holiday companies
Google Business Profiles
case studies or articles from travel influencers
That is fanning.
The AI is effectively spreading the search out across several connected angles before forming a response.
This matters because it changes how businesses need to think about visibility. You are not only trying to rank for one keyword on one page. You are trying to make sure your business is clearly understood across a wider set of signals.
Your service pages matter.
Your location information matters.
Your Google Business Profile matters.Your reviews matter.
Your articles and guides matter.
Your brand mentions matter.
Your social and professional profiles matter.
AI Search is looking for evidence, not just a keyword match.
For small business owners, this is actually a helpful way to think about modern SEO. The aim is not to stuff pages with search terms. The aim is to build a clear, consistent and trustworthy digital footprint, so that when AI tools fan out across the web, they find the right information about your business.
A good example would be a business that wants to be found for SEO support. It should not rely on one page saying “SEO services”. It should have a strong SEO service page, supporting articles that answer common questions, clear proof of experience, client examples where possible, reviews, local information and consistent business details.
When these pieces connect, AI Search has more confidence in what the business does and who it helps. This is why SEO still matters in the age of AI. In fact, it may matter more, because AI Search needs well-structured information to work from.
The practical takeaway is simple: do not think of your website as a collection of isolated pages. Think of it as part of a wider information network about your business. The clearer that network is, the easier it becomes for search engines, AI tools and potential customers to understand why your business is relevant.
Why SEO still matters
Despite the noise around AI Search, SEO is still one of the most important foundations for online visibility.
Search engines and AI tools still need to find, crawl, understand and evaluate content. They still use websites as evidence. They still need clear page titles, headings, internal links, structured information and useful content.
Good SEO helps your website explain itself.
It helps Google understand your services.
It helps AI tools interpret your expertise.
It helps customers find the right page.
It helps your content support sales conversations.
It helps your business appear credible across search platforms
It is not enough to write one keyword-focused page and hope for the best. Your website needs to show depth, authority and usefulness around your subject.
For The Digital Can, that means explaining digital marketing in a way that helps business owners make better decisions. It means producing clear content around SEO, content marketing, digital strategy, ecommerce, local visibility and AI Search.
That is how topical authority is built.
Your digital footprint matters more than ever
Your digital footprint is everything that helps the web understand your business.
That includes:
Your website
Your Google Business Profile
Your reviews
Your social profiles
Your YouTube videos
Your directory listings
Your case studies
Your press mentions
Your supplier or partner mentions
Your articles and guides
Your author profiles
AI Search systems look for patterns. If your business is clearly and consistently described across the web, it is easier for search engines and AI tools to understand who you are and what you do.
If your website says one thing, your Google Business Profile says another and your directory listings are outdated, you create confusion.
For small businesses, this is often where the biggest opportunity lies. You may not need hundreds of new pages. You may need clearer pages, better structure, stronger proof and more consistent information.
What business owners should do next
The right response to AI Search is not panic. It is a practical review of your current online presence.
Start with the basics:
Does your website clearly explain what you do?
Do your main service pages answer real customer questions?
Are your business details consistent?
Do you have recent reviews?
Do you show evidence of expertise?
Are your pages technically accessible to search engines?
Do you have helpful articles that support buyer decisions?
Are you building brand mentions beyond your own website?
AI Search rewards clarity. It needs evidence. It needs confidence.
That means the businesses most likely to benefit are not necessarily the loudest.
They are the ones that are easiest to understand and easiest to trust.
Final thoughts
AI Search is not a separate universe from SEO. It is the next stage of how people find information online.
Customers are asking better questions. Search platforms are giving more complete answers. Businesses need to provide clearer evidence.
Your website is still the centre of that work. But it now sits within a wider digital footprint that includes reviews, local listings, video, brand mentions and helpful content.
The businesses that prepare now will be in a stronger position as search continues to change.