Your Next Customer Might Ask AI, Not Google. Will It Recommend You?
Australians are starting to ask AI for a recommendation before they ever see a list of websites. Here is what that means for your trade business, and the proven basics that decide whether AI puts you forward.
The way Australians find a tradie is changing. More people now ask an AI assistant for a recommendation, and get an answer before they ever see a list of websites.
This matters for your business. When someone asks AI instead of scrolling Google, your name either comes up or it does not. There is no page two to save you.
Here is the reassuring part. Getting found in AI search rewards the same basics that have always won local work. A complete Google Business Profile. Genuine reviews. Consistent business details. A clear website that answers real questions.
You do not need clever new tricks. You need the fundamentals done properly. The difference now is that the stakes are higher, because AI often gives one answer, not ten options. That is what getting found in AI search comes down to.
If you take one thing from this article, take these four moves
- Claim and complete your Google Business Profile.
- Build a steady stream of genuine Google reviews.
- Keep your name, address, and phone identical everywhere online.
- Put plain answers to common customer questions on your website.
Everything below is optional depth. Read on if you want to understand the shift, and exactly how to put the basics in place.
Digging Deeper
Below sits the supporting case. It covers what is changing, why it matters more for a local trade, and the practical, proven steps that help you get found, in Google and in AI search alike.
What is actually changing in AI search
For twenty years, search worked one way. You typed a few words, Google showed a list of links, and you chose one. That is no longer the only path.
Two changes matter. First, Google now places AI Overviews, short AI-written summaries, at the top of many results. They reached Australia in late 2024. Second, Google AI Mode arrived here in October 2025. It turns search into a conversation, more like ChatGPT inside Google.
Plenty of Australians also skip Google entirely. They ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or another assistant directly. McKinsey’s research found that half of consumers now use AI-powered search, across every age group, not only the young. Among those who have tried it, more now prefer it to the traditional kind.
The common thread is simple. People increasingly receive an answer, not a list. Often they act on it without clicking a single website. AI search is not a fad. It is the new front door, and it is already open.
Why this matters more for a local trade
Trades work is local and high intent. When someone searches for an emergency plumber, they are ready to call. They are not browsing. They want a name they can trust, fast.
Picture a burst pipe on a Sunday night. The homeowner grabs a phone and asks for the nearest emergency plumber. AI search returns one or two names with strong reviews and clear details. The work goes to whoever it trusts.
AI search compresses that moment. Instead of comparing five businesses, the customer may be handed one or two. If your trade is not in that short answer, you are not in the running. For a local trade, AI search is quickly becoming the new shopfront window.
There is early evidence of the shift. After AI Overviews arrived, some large Australian websites reported steep falls in search traffic, with analysis pointing to declines of up to 35 per cent for certain news publishers.
Commentators have raised a fair concern. As AI filters and summarises before the customer sees a list, smaller operators can struggle to be discovered through unpaid search. That is the real risk. The rest of this article is about managing it.
The reassuring part: the basics still decide it
Here is what cuts through the worry. AI does not invent businesses. It draws on the same public information that already shapes local search.
To recommend a plumber in your suburb, an AI tool reads business profiles, reviews, directories, and websites. The trade with clear, consistent, well-regarded information is the one it can confidently put forward.
This levels the field. A focused local trade with genuine reviews can be chosen ahead of a large national brand. The groundwork for AI search is groundwork many tradies have already started.
This is good news for a busy tradie. The work that wins the Google map results also helps you get found in AI search. You are not starting again. You are reinforcing the same foundation.
Australian guidance on AI Overviews makes the same point. There is no secret submission form. A complete Google Business Profile, strong local signals, and a clear website are the clearest path to being chosen.
Your Google Business Profile is your shopfront
If you do one thing this week, complete your Google Business Profile. It is free, and it carries more weight than almost anything else you can control.
A strong profile does several jobs at once. It feeds the Google map results, it answers the customer’s first questions, and it gives AI tools clean information to quote. A complete profile is the single biggest lever for getting found in AI search.
Make it count:
- Claim and verify the profile using your ABN.
- Fill in every field: services, hours, service area, and contact details.
- Add real photos of your work, and refresh them each month.
- Post short updates so the profile looks active.
- Reply to every review, good or bad.
A complete, active profile can quietly generate steady enquiries each month, at no extra cost. Few tradies do it properly, which is exactly why it works for the ones who do.
Reviews are a ranking signal now, not just social proof
Reviews have always reassured customers. Today they also help decide who appears first, in both Google and AI answers.
The pattern is clear. Research by BrightLocal found that the large majority of Australians, around 87 per cent, read online reviews before hiring a local service. Review volume is also one of the strongest signals linked to local ranking position.
So a steady flow of genuine reviews does double duty. It builds trust with the customer, and it tells both Google and AI tools that your business is active and reliable. Strong reviews lift you in ordinary search and in AI search at the same time.
Build a simple system:
- Ask every happy customer, every time, the moment the job is done.
- Make it effortless, with a direct link or a QR code on your invoice or van.
- Respond to each review, mentioning the suburb and the job.
- Never argue with a poor review. Stay calm and offer to fix it offline.
One caution. Keep reviews genuine. The ACCC treats fake or incentivised reviews as a breach of Australian Consumer Law. Honest feedback is both the right approach and the effective one.
Write your website for the questions customers actually ask
AI tools favour clear, well-structured content that answers a real question directly. This is where many trade websites fall short. Clear, structured pages are exactly what AI search draws on.
A vague line like quality plumbing services tells an AI very little. A page titled blocked drains in your suburb, with a plain explanation of the service, tells it exactly what you do and where.
A few practical habits help here:
- Name your service and your suburb together, in plain words.
- Create simple pages for your main services and main areas.
- Add a short questions and answers section covering what customers ask.
- Keep sentences short and direct, so people and AI can both read them.
Keep your details identical everywhere. Your name, address, and phone number should match across your website, your Google profile, and every directory. Inconsistent details confuse the systems that decide who to recommend, which makes getting found in AI search harder than it needs to be.
What to ignore, and what to measure
You will see a flood of advice about AI search, much of it selling complexity you do not need. Most of it reduces to the basics already covered. No one fully controls AI search, and anyone claiming otherwise is selling something.
Ignore anyone promising to game the AI or guarantee the top spot. No one can. Google itself says there is no way to submit your way into an AI answer.
Do this instead. Once a month, search for your own trade and suburb in Google and in an AI assistant. See whether you appear, and how you are described. That simple check tells you more than any paid dashboard.
Be honest about the unknowns too. AI search is new, and the tools change often. The businesses that stay visible will be the ones with strong, consistent foundations, not the ones chasing each new trick.
Where to from here
Getting found in AI search is not a mystery, and it is not a reason to panic. It is the same local reputation work that has always mattered, now with higher stakes and a shorter answer.
Start with your Google Business Profile. Build genuine reviews. Keep your details consistent. Answer real questions on your website. Do those four things well, and you give every search tool, human or AI, a clear reason to put you forward. Treat AI search as one more reason to get the basics right, starting today.
If you would like help getting your business found, online and in AI search, SBAAS can set you on the right path. We help Australian trades and small businesses build practical systems that bring in steady, quality work. To learn more about how we work, visit https://sbaas.com.au/about-us/ or call (07) 3916 9896 to talk it through.
Sources
ADM+S Centre. (2025). Google’s AI Mode: Is AI changing what we see online? https://www.admscentre.org.au/googles-ai-mode-is-ai-changing-what-we-see-online/
BrightLocal. (2024). Local consumer review survey. https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
Google Australia. (2025). Introducing AI Mode in Australia. https://blog.google/intl/en-au/products/explore-get-answers/ai-mode-in-australia/
McKinsey & Company. (2025). New front door to the internet: Winning in the age of AI search. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/new-front-door-to-the-internet-winning-in-the-age-of-ai-search
McKinsey & Company. (2025). The agentic commerce opportunity: How AI agents are ushering in a new era for consumers and merchants. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-agentic-commerce-opportunity-how-ai-agents-are-ushering-in-a-new-era-for-consumers-and-merchants
SmartCompany. (2025). Google’s AI Mode lands in Australia as search wars heat up with OpenAI. https://www.smartcompany.com.au/artificial-intelligence/what-is-google-ai-mode-australia-launch-search-openai-perplexity/
Eric Allgood is the Managing Director of SBAAS and brings over two decades of experience in corporate guidance, with a focus on governance and risk, crisis management, industrial relations, and sustainability.
He founded SBAAS in 2019 to extend his corporate strategies to small businesses, quickly becoming a vital support. His background in IR, governance and risk management, combined with his crisis management skills, has enabled businesses to navigate challenges effectively.
Eric’s commitment to sustainability shapes his approach to fostering inclusive and ethical practices within organisations. His strategic acumen and dedication to sustainable growth have positioned SBAAS as a leader in supporting small businesses through integrity and resilience.
Qualifications:
- Master of Business Law
- MBA (USA)
- Graduate Certificate of Business Administration
- Graduate Certificate of Training and Development
- Diploma of Psychology (University of Warwickshire)
- Bachelor of Applied Management
Memberships:
- Small Business Association of Australia –
International Think Tank Member and Sponsor - Australian Institute of Company Directors – MAICD
- Institute of Community Directors Australia – ICDA
- Australian Human Resource Institute – CAHRI
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