How AI Search Is Changing the Way Customers Find Small Businesses

Google Isn’t the Only Search Engine Anymore. Here’s What That Means for Your Business.

People are searching differently in 2026. Instead of typing a query into Google, more and more people are asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Siri to recommend a business. And the results they get don’t look anything like a Google search page.

AI search tools pull from a mix of sources. Your Google Business Profile. Your website. Your reviews. Directory listings. They’re not ranking you the way Google does. They’re deciding whether you’re credible enough to mention at all. And right now, less than 10% of local businesses that rank well on Google are showing up in AI-generated recommendations.

That gap is going to close fast as more businesses catch on. But right now, the ones who are actively managing their online presence, keeping reviews fresh, making sure their info is consistent everywhere, publishing real content, are the ones getting recommended.

Here’s what you can do today.

Make sure your business name, address, and phone number match across every listing. Post to your Google Business Profile at least once a month. Respond to reviews. And make sure your website content answers the kinds of questions people are asking out loud, not just the keywords they’d type into a search bar.

The search landscape is splitting in two. Google still matters. But if you’re only optimizing for Google, you’re missing the other half. That’s the shift we’re helping businesses navigate right now at Eighty6.

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