AI Overview Just Changed SEO. Here’s What To Know to Stay Ahead.
Here’s how AI is changing the way local businesses show up on Google.
By Jaden Galinato
Google’s latest AI updates have sparked a massive change in the way home service businesses run their digital marketing. The hustle and grind for a page 1 Google ranking is being sneakily overthrown by a new artificial undertaker. Here’s what we know about Google’s AI overviews, ChatGPT searching, and how local service businesses are already seeing results using “Answer Engine Optimization”
Whether you’re tech-savvy or just getting into the digital side of your marketing, learning answer engine optimization can turn the tides for your business – or keep you stuck if you choose to ignore what’s going on. And at the end of this blog, we’ll show you how you can use Answer Engine Optimization to snag more customers for your business, and away from your competitors.
Table Of Contents:
What Is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
How AI Is Used In Home Service Search
How AI Is Generating More Search Traffic In The Home Service Industry
Why You Can’t Ignore Answer Engine Optimization
Will Answer Engine Optimization Replace SEO?
Answer Engine Optimization Won’t Work Unless You Do This…
What Can Happen If You Have A Solid Answer Engine Optimization Strategy
How To Market Your Business To Land On More AI Search Results
Here’s How We Make Your Website Answer Engine Optimized For More Traffic
What Is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Answer Engine Optimization is the next evolution of SEO — optimizing your website so it can appear in AI-generated results like Google’s AI Overview or ChatGPT citations.
Instead of fighting for clicks through organic rankings, AEO focuses on getting your business mentioned directly in AI summaries where millions of searchers now get their answers.
If traditional SEO helps you rank on Google’s first page, AEO helps you get quoted inside the answers themselves. Allow us to explain.
How AI Is Used In Home Service Search
There are 2 main ways AI is currently being used for home service digital marketing. The first is Google’s AI Mode, and generative AI like ChatGPT.
Google AI Mode: The Next Big Boom
You’ve probably already noticed Google’s AI Overview feature popping up in some of your search results. Debuting in May 2024, this artificial intelligence feature produces AI-generated summaries of search results. They added this feature to prioritize quick answers and instead of having you read multiple articles. After all, who doesn’t love fast answers? We’re still in the early stages of this new feature, but it’s already starting to cause a massive shift in the SEO industry, as well as local businesses that utilize SEO for customer acquisition.
Here’s how it’s changing home service marketing. Let's say a homeowner in Seattle searches for “kitchen remodel cost in Seattle.” They’re met with some articles, the “People also ask” tab, but most importantly, the AI Overview page, which gives them a price range of kitchen remodels in Seattle based on published blog articles.
What’s important to note here is that at the end of each bullet contains a link. This is called an “AI Citation” which is basically like when you would cite sources in your old school papers. These links take you to the blog article where that information was pulled from. Meaning if you have content on your website that answers common customer questions, Google will cite you in their AI Overviews – and more people will visit your site over time. Later we’ll explain why this is a huge deal for businesses.
AI Mode – which has launched more recently – is an extension of the AI Overview, giving you a bigger breakdown (if possible) with more citations, and other related search terms. It allows you to chat with Google AI, much like ChatGPT if you’ve used that before.
ChatGPT: The Secret Home Service Lead Acquisition Funnel
ChatGPT has been taking the world by storm since its initial release in 2022. Now, just 3 years later, it’s citing articles that are already out there. For a better understanding, let’s use the same example as we used for Google’s AI, now in ChatGPT.
When we asked ChatGPT, “how much does a kitchen remodel cost in Seattle?” We were met with this table that gave us price ranges, backed by AI citations to Seattle home remodeling companies. While many companies in Seattle answer this question, it’s important to note that only a few of them were actually cited in this AI search result.
Later in this blog we’ll reveal how you correctly use answer engine optimization to land on both Google and ChatGPT search results to drive more traffic to your website. It’s simpler and quicker than SEO…
How AI Is Generating More Search Traffic In The Home Service Industry
While there isn’t public data that shows exactly how many homeowners are using AI to search for home improvement businesses – here’s what we already know.
High AI use for customer questions
Most AI searches currently focus on informational questions, not commercial or service-related ones. “How much does a high end 2,000 sq ft home renovation cost” vs “home renovation near me”
Search behavior for home services is changing
Instead of clicking through multiple links, AI offers a summarized answer with citations, causing users to primarily interact with the AI-generated text and only click a link to dive deeper. This fundamentally changes how users discover and select services, as users are mainly looking for answers to their problems first, instead of services.
Impact on search behavior
A Semrush report from July 2025 noted that AI Overviews began impacting click-through rates for local home service businesses in 2025, with some estimates suggesting a traffic disruption of up to 40%. Meaning 40% of people are flocking to the AI citations instead of scrolling through Google and clicking on organic links.
AI search is growing among specific groups
Data from June 2025 indicates that parents, a demographic with a high likelihood of being homeowners, are more likely to use AI than non-parents, often for managing household tasks. A July 2025 report also noted a rising trend of U.S. homebuilders adopting AI. It’s becoming the next big boom of finding answers online.
Why You Can’t Ignore Answer Engine Optimization
As a home service business, finding leads can be unpredictable, especially with seasonal fluctuations. You might be working with an SEO agency to combat this – your top ranking competitors certainly are. In fact, your competitors who are already killing it in the SEO game will see this shift in AI as the next big opportunity to take up even more of the local market share and continue stealing your potential customers with Answer Engine Optimization. So should you.
When the internet first launched, businesses who didn’t have a website got flushed out. When Google became the main search engine, businesses who don’t use SEO are left behind by SEO-optimized competitors. Now, in the age of AI, businesses who aren’t optimizing their brand for answer engine optimization are going to get left behind by businesses who stay ahead of Google’s everchanging platform.
It’s not just a new trend, answer engine optimization is about to completely revolutionize the way we search online.
Will Answer Engine Optimization Replace SEO?
If you’ve been fighting for SEO results – you might be wondering – how does this affect me? Should I abandon my SEO strategy? The short answer is: No. SEO isn’t going anywhere. Here’s a look at the data we’ve compiled.
| Metric / Behavior | Previously (pre-AI, ~2023–2024) | Currently (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Consumers using Google for local business discovery | ~95%+ relied on Google/SE only | 78.7% still primarily use Google, but AI assistants now at 2%, with ~12.7% using both |
| Trust in Google vs AI for local search | ~100% trust leaned toward Google | 93.2% trust Google, only 2% trust AI assistants |
| AI Overview presence in local business queries | <5% (limited pilot tests in SERPs) | ~40.2% overall, and up to 68% depending on query type |
| AI Overviews in hybrid queries (e.g., cost + location) | Rare (<5%) | ~97% show AI Overviews, surpassing local packs |
| AI Overviews in straight local-intent queries (“near me”) | Almost never shown | ~15%, while local packs still appear 93% of the time |