How to Show Up in AI Overviews: What Google Looks For in a Local Business

Search Google for furnace repair in Calgary and the first thing you’ll often see is an AI Overview: a short answer that names a few HVAC companies and links to the sources behind it. For a growing number of people, that answer comes before they scroll, click a website or pick up the phone.

An AI Overview works a lot like a referral. Google reads your website, your Google Business Profile (GBP) and what other sites say about you, then decides whether your business belongs in the answer.

A big ad budget won’t earn that spot. In Ahrefs’ study of 75,000 brands, ad spend had one of the weakest links to how often a brand appeared in AI Overviews. The strongest links came from things a local business can build over time.

A Website Google Can Read and Quote

Google’s guidance on AI features sets the starting point: a page has to be indexed and eligible to appear in regular search results before it can show up as a supporting link in an AI Overview. Google also recommends keeping important content in text form, so details that only live inside an image, a PDF menu or a video are harder for it to use.

Google doesn’t ask for special code or AI-specific files. It asks for clear, useful pages. A services page that lists “residential roofing” in one line gives Google very little to work with. A page that explains which roof types you install, which neighbourhoods you serve, how long a typical replacement takes, and what affects the price gives Google a complete answer to quote. Our post on how search has changed with AI goes deeper on page structure, including question-based content and the structured data that makes pages easier for AI to read.

Two types of pages give Google the most to work with:

• A separate page for each core service. A roofing company with one page for replacements, one for repairs and one for eavestroughs can match a search for any of the three. A single page that covers everything gives Google a weaker match for each one.
• An FAQ page built from the questions your team answers every week. Write each question the way customers ask it, such as “How long does a roof replacement take?”, and answer it in a short paragraph.

On those pages, spell out the details customers search for. Name the communities you serve, such as Airdrie, Cochrane or southeast Calgary. If you can share pricing, a typical range tells Google and your customers what to expect, even when every quote depends on the job scope.

Mentions of Your Business on Other Websites

Ahrefs looked at what the brands appearing most often in AI Overviews had in common. The strongest pattern was other websites talking about them. Being mentioned online was about three times more closely tied to showing up in AI Overviews than having links pointing to your website, and a mention counted even without a link. Mentions alone won’t guarantee a spot, but no other factor in the study came close.

For a local business, mentions tend to come from places you already have ties to:

• Local news coverage of an anniversary, an expansion or a community project.
• Your chamber of commerce, industry association and any awards or “best of” lists you’ve earned.
• Sponsorships, charity events and community groups you support.
• Suppliers, partners and referral sources who list the businesses they work with.

Most businesses already have stories worth sharing. A 20th year in business, a new location or a team member’s certification can all earn a mention on a site Google reads.

A Complete, Current Google Business Profile

Google’s guidance for AI Overviews and AI Mode specifically tells business owners to keep their Google Business Profile information up to date. Your profile is where Google confirms your hours, location, services and categories, so gaps or outdated details there weaken what it knows about you.

A quick profile review covers most of it:

1. Confirm your business name, address, phone number, hours and holiday hours.
2. Choose the most accurate primary category, then add secondary categories for other core services.
3. List each service you offer, with a short description in plain language.
4. Add recent photos of your work, team and location.
5. Match these details on your website and in the directories for your industry, such as HomeStars for home services or your provincial college’s directory for healthcare.

Consistency matters beyond Google too. In an October 2026 study of local answers from 8ight.AI, ChatGPT cited the Better Business Bureau in 38.7% of answers and government or licensing sites in 25.1%, so the same details should hold up wherever customers and AI tools look.

Reviews on Your Google Business Profile

Reviews are part of your GBP, and they give Google first-hand detail about the services you provide. The strongest review data so far comes from ChatGPT rather than AI Overviews. In the same 8ight.AI study, ChatGPT named 3.4% of businesses with fewer than 25 Google reviews and 22.2% of those with 1,000 or more.

Star ratings made far less difference. Named and unnamed businesses shared the same median rating of 4.9, so a 4.6 won’t hold you back on its own.

You don’t need 1,000 reviews to benefit. Moving out of the low-review group is the first milestone, and a steady pace builds faster than an occasional push. Send a review link within a day of finishing a job, while the experience is fresh. Customers who write soon after tend to name the service they received, which adds detail to your profile. Replying to reviews also shows the next reader that someone at your business pays attention.

How to Check Whether You Show Up in AI Overviews

A 15-minute check shows how Google describes your business today and what to work on first.

1. Write down three questions customers ask before they hire you. Use their phrasing, such as “Who’s a good orthodontist in south Calgary for adults?”
2. Search each question in Google. Look at the AI Overview at the top of the results, or switch to AI Mode, and note which businesses appear and which sites are linked as sources.
3. Search your business by name. Check whether the AI Overview or AI Mode answer gets your hours, services and location right.
4. Run the same questions in ChatGPT. Compare its shortlist with Google’s. You can also compare Claude or Perplexity if those are your preferred platforms.
5. Turn each gap into a task. A missing service page, an incomplete profile or a directory you’re not on yet each becomes a clear next step.

Google only shows an AI Overview when its systems decide one will help, and the answers shift from day to day. A monthly check gives a more accurate picture than a single search.

How We Help Businesses Show Up in AI Overviews

Through our AI SEO services, we run this same check for our clients in much greater depth and track how often they appear in AI Overviews and other AI answers month to month. Then we build what’s missing: service pages and FAQs written around the questions their customers ask, complete Google Business Profiles, frequent GBP updates, consistent directory listings, review programs that keep new reviews coming in, and opportunities to earn mentions on local and industry sites.

If you want help getting your business into AI Overviews, book a call with our team. We’ll talk through how your business shows up today and where we’d start.