When's the last time you Googled something and actually clicked through to a website?
Here's what's happening: Google brought AI to a knife fight, and your local SEO is still using a butter knife.
AI answers searchers' questions right on the results page. No click. No visit. No lead for the business that worked hard to rank.
This isn't temporary. It's the new normal.
40% of local searches now trigger AI overviews. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overview — they're answering "best plumber near me" or "landscaper in [city]" without sending anyone anywhere.
The clicks that used to go to your Google Business Profile? Declining.
The traffic that used to hit your website from local searches? Shrinking.
Most businesses have no idea it's happening. Their phone's a little quieter than last year, but they chalk it up to the season or the economy.
They're not connecting the dots.
Meanwhile, their competitor who adapted early is getting recommended by AI tools every single day to people ready to buy.
Here's what makes this particularly tricky: Your Google rankings might look completely fine. You could be sitting in the top three of the map pack and still be losing ground because people never scrolled that far. They got their answer from AI and moved on.
Your visibility looks good on paper. Your phone tells a different story.
Here's what people get wrong. They think AI is just Google with a different interface.
It's not.
Google ranks pages. AI recommends businesses.
That's a completely different game.
When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity to find them a reliable HVAC company in Mississauga, it's not pulling up a list of websites to browse. It's synthesizing information from across the web and giving a direct answer.
The businesses that show up in that answer have something in common: their online presence is clear, structured, and rich with the kind of information AI can actually read and trust.
The question isn't just "how do I rank on Google anymore?"
It's "how do I become the business an AI recommends?"
Let me show you what this looks like in practice.
Ken from Keen 2 Klean came to us after working with three previous SEO agencies. He was ready to give up on digital marketing entirely.
His problem? Despite paying for SEO for years, he was barely visible in local search for his core services: pressure washing, window cleaning, gutter cleaning.
Here's what we did:
We consolidated his bloated website content into strategic, entity-rich pages that AI could actually understand. We implemented proper LocalBusiness schema. We optimized his Google Business Profile with the right signals.
The result?
In just 60 days, his average ranking for "pressure washing Waterloo" jumped from position 7.27 to position 2.19.
Even more dramatic: 81% of the search grid now shows Keen 2 Klean in positions 1–3. Zero "out of pack" results across his entire service area.
His phone started ringing again. Not because we gamed the system. Because we aligned with how AI search actually works.
We've been deep in this with our local SEO clients. Here's what's moving the needle:
LocalBusiness schema on your website: Structured data that tells AI tools what your business does, where you're located, your hours, your services. Without it, you're invisible to the machines doing the recommending.
Service pages that actually answer questions: Not keyword-stuffed garbage. Real, detailed content that answers what customers are asking. If someone asks "what's involved in a full kitchen renovation in Toronto?" your page should answer that completely. That's what AI pulls from.
Active Google Business Profile: Weekly posts, updated photos, accurate service descriptions, responses to reviews. This signals to Google and AI tools that your business is alive and relevant. A stale profile is a red flag.
We're seeing results from these changes faster than any traditional SEO approach we've run before. Implement the right structure and businesses start showing up in AI recommendations within weeks.
Most agencies are still selling you a 2020 SEO strategy. More blogs. More backlinks. More keywords stuffed into pages nobody wants to read.
That playbook isn't dead, but it's not the whole story anymore.
If your current marketing partner isn't talking about AI search optimization and structured data, they're behind.
The businesses winning right now stopped treating SEO as a checkbox and started treating it as the foundation of how they get found — by humans and by AI.
The ones who haven't made that shift yet are going to keep watching their traffic quietly erode and wonder what changed.
You know what changed. Now you know what to do about it.
Want to hear more on this? I covered this topic in depth on Drop The Mic: ▶ Watch the Full Video
Ready to find out where you stand? Book a strategy session with my team and we'll audit your search visibility — including how you're showing up in AI search results.
Co Founder of Merged Media & Co Owner of Chatello.ai
He is the co-founder of Merged Media, an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in AI-powered strategies. A sought-after speaker and educator, Jason teaches "Leading Change in Digital Tourism" at George Brown College and has presented at major events like Affiliate World and AdWorld. From his unique journey as a Japanese rockstar to building a successful agency, Jason combines creativity and innovation to help businesses worldwide scale their growth and achieve transformative marketing results.