5 things that make your business AI-ready

Have you ever asked AI about your own business?

Does AI know what you do? What products you sell? Or what services you offer? And more importantly, do you know where AI is getting that information from?

The way customers find businesses is changing fast!

They might still search Google and visit a few websites but they are also asking AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini for recommendations and making decisions based on AI-generated answers.

This means your website might not be the first, and only place, a potential customer gets to know your business anymore.

Your reviews, Google Business Profile, social media, business directories and other websites can all contribute to the bigger picture and what AI knows about you.

What does AI know about you? Here are five things worth checking now.

1. Think about how your customers are searching

Search isn’t just about Google rankings anymore.

Customers can now ask AI tools questions in much the same way they might ask a friend for advice. Instead of searching for a few keywords, they can explain what they’re looking for and ask for ideas, comparisons or recommendations.

They might ask:

• “What’s the best kitchen layout for a small space?”
• “Which brands sell colourful children’s clothing?”
• “Where can I find a kitchen showroom near me?”

They may get useful information before they ever click through to a business website.

Your website and SEO still matter, but think about the questions behind your customers’ searches too. What are they looking for? What are they comparing? What are they worried about? What do they need to know before they buy?

Make those answers clear and easy to find.

2. Check your information is correct and consistent

If your website says one thing, your Google Business Profile says another and an old directory has a description from five years ago, which one gives the right picture?

Outdated information can confuse customers and if an AI tool finds it online, it could also give them an inaccurate picture of your business.

Take a look at the main places you appear online. Is your information accurate and up to date? Does it describe the business you are today?

Check your website, Google Business Profile, social media and any important business or industry listings.

You don’t need to use exactly the same words everywhere, but the important facts should match.

3. Take your reviews seriously

Reviews are much more than stars next to your business name. They tell potential customers what it’s actually like to buy from you or work with you.

They can also tell you a lot about what your customers really value.

Perhaps you talk about the quality of your products but your customers repeatedly mention how helpful your team is. Or you focus on your experience while customers keep talking about how easy you made the whole process.

Your website tells people what you say about your business, but reviews add your customers’ experiences.

So don’t just collect reviews and forget about them. Ask for honest feedback, respond to it and pay attention to the words and phrases customers use. You might learn something useful about why people choose you.

4. Give people reasons to talk about your business

Your website tells your story, but what does the rest of the internet say about you?

When AI tools search the web, they may also find information from other websites and sources. That could be an industry publication featuring your business, a journalist quoting your expertise, a partner recommending your services or someone talking about a product they’ve bought from you.

You don’t need to suddenly try to be everywhere.

Instead, think about where your customers and industry already spend time and what you could contribute. It could be an interesting project, a useful piece of advice, a new product, an expert opinion or an answer to a question customers ask all the time.

Over time, those mentions can help build a clearer picture of what your business does, knows and stands for.

5. Make your business ridiculously easy to understand

This might be the simplest one, but it’s also easy to get wrong.

Can someone quickly work out what you do, what you sell, who you help and why they might choose you?

If you sell colourful children’s clothing, say that. If you design and install kitchens in Cumbria, say that. If you provide accounting services for small businesses, say that.

You don’t need clever marketing language to explain your business. Sometimes it just gets in the way.

Clear beats clever everytime.

Ask someone outside your business to look at your homepage and tell you what they think you do. If they struggle to explain it, there’s probably some work to do.

The easier your business is for customers to understand, the clearer the information is for AI tools to work with too.

So, what does AI know about your business?

This isn’t about finding the latest trick to “rank in ChatGPT” or starting your SEO strategy again.

Good marketing is still good marketing.

Clear messaging, useful content, good reviews, accurate information and a website that properly explains what you do still matter. What’s changing is how and where your customers might find that information.

Try this today

1. Search like a customer.
Open a fresh AI chat and ask a question someone might use when looking for a product or service like yours.

2. Ask AI about your business.
Try asking: “What can you tell me about [your business name]?” Is the information accurate? Does it understand what you offer? Is any important missing?

3. Spot the gaps.
If something isn’t right, fix it! It could be your website, Google Business Profile, social media or an old business listing you’d forgotten about.