Customers are asking AI who to hire. Here's what that means for you

Not long ago, asking ChatGPT to recommend a plumber or an accountant was a novelty. Not anymore. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey, based on a panel of just over 1,000 US adults, found that 45% of consumers had used a generative AI tool to find a local business recommendation in the past year. The year before, it was 6%.

ChatGPT was the most-used AI tool for this in BrightLocal's data. The survey covers US consumers, and Canadian behaviour may differ somewhat, but the direction is hard to ignore.

Pew Research Center analyzed the real browsing data of 900 US adults in March 2025. When a Google search showed an AI-generated summary, people clicked a result link in about 8% of visits. Without a summary, they clicked in about 15%. More of the decision is happening on the results page itself, before anyone reaches your website.

AI tools don't invent opinions about your business. They summarize what they can find: your website, your reviews, directory listings and articles that mention you. If your own website is vague about what you do and who you serve, the AI has very little to work with. If different sources describe you differently, the summary gets muddy. And if a competitor explains themselves clearly, they're simply easier to recommend.

That's why we put clarity before any AI-specific tactics. A specific, consistent description of your services, your location and your ideal customer helps people and machines understand you.

1. 1Say exactly what you do and where. "Commercial HVAC repair in Calgary" is easier to match to a question than "comfort solutions."
2. 2Keep your details consistent. Use the same business name, services, address and phone number on your website, Google Business Profile and directories.
3. 3Answer real questions on your site. Add a questions section using the questions customers actually ask you.
4. 4Earn reviews that describe the work. A review that says what you did and where carries more information than "Great service!"
5. 5Publish proof. Case studies with real numbers give AI tools, and buyers, something concrete to point to.
6. 6Check what AI says about you. Ask a few AI tools the questions your customers would ask, and note who gets named.

For that last step, our free Picked by AI tool asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity the questions your customers ask and shows how often your business is recommended, and who gets picked instead.

Don't rebuild your whole marketing plan around AI overnight, and be wary of anyone who promises guaranteed placement in AI answers. AI responses change from one question to the next, and nobody controls them. The businesses that show up consistently tend to be the ones with clear, consistent, well-supported information about themselves. That's the same foundation that helps you win on Google, in referrals and in sales conversations.

The audit at the start of the Marketing Reset includes a look at how you show up in search and in AI answers, so your plan accounts for where customers are actually looking today.