AI search is when someone asks a question in plain language and gets a written answer instead of a list of links. ChatGPT does it. So do Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity. When the question is "who can fix a leaking hot water system in Marrickville", the answer can name a business, and it may not be yours.
This guide is for owners of Sydney trades, clinics, cafes, salons and service businesses who have heard about AI search and are not sure what, if anything, to do about it. You do not need to be technical. Every term is explained as it comes up.
We cover how people now use these tools, what the tools seem to rely on, how it all relates to the local SEO you may already be doing, and a practical checklist. Where the evidence is thin, we say so.
What AI search means for a local business
A few terms first, because they get used loosely.
- AI assistant: a chat tool such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Perplexity that answers questions in sentences.
- AI Overviews: the AI written summary that appears above the normal results for some Google searches. Google rolled it out across Australia in October 2024.
- AI Mode: a separate tab in Google Search for longer, back and forth questions. Google launched it in Australia, in English, in October 2025.
- Grounding: when an AI tool searches the web while answering, then bases its answer on the pages it found. This is why your website and listings matter.
- Citation: the link an AI answer shows to the page it used. Being cited is how AI search can send you visitors.
For a local business, the change is simple to describe. Some customers who once scrolled through ten Google results now read one written answer that names two or three businesses. Being one of those names is the goal.
How people now use AI tools to find local services
AI tools are now mainstream in Australia. Roy Morgan's data for the March quarter 2026 found 58 percent of Australians aged 14 and over used AI tools in an average four weeks. ChatGPT was the most used at 45 percent, followed by Google Gemini at 21 percent and Microsoft Copilot at 17 percent.
How many of those people use AI to find a local business is less clear. We could not find an Australian survey that measures it. The best data we found is from the US: BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults found 45 percent had used ChatGPT or another AI tool for local business recommendations, up from 6 percent the year before.
- ChatGPT led: 31 percent of US consumers had used it for business recommendations in the past 12 months, followed by Google's AI Mode at 23 percent.
- People still check: 97 percent of those AI users said they sometimes double-check AI recommendations against real reviews.
- Reviews still matter: 97 percent of all consumers in the survey read reviews for local businesses.
Australia is not the US, so treat these as a direction, not a local measurement. The direction is clear enough: more people ask AI, and they still look at your reviews and your website before they call.
What AI assistants seem to rely on
Here is what the companies themselves say, kept separate from what is still guesswork.
What is documented
- Google: its AI Overviews and AI Mode are built on its normal search ranking and index. Google says Business Profile details can help a business appear in AI responses, and that there is no special markup or file you need to add.
- ChatGPT: OpenAI says sites that block its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, are not shown in ChatGPT search answers. Its help centre says ChatGPT search may send search queries to Bing, and may share a rough location with providers of local business listings.
- Copilot: Microsoft says Bing and Copilot search rely on the same crawling, indexing and ranking.
- Perplexity: its crawler, PerplexityBot, is what surfaces and links websites in its answers.
What is not known
None of these companies publishes how it decides which plumber in Parramatta or which physio in Chatswood to recommend. OpenAI does not name every provider of its local listings. Claims that one trick gets you into ChatGPT are guesses. The safe reading is that AI tools reward the same things a careful customer would check: a clear website, accurate listings and genuine recent reviews.
How AI search relates to classic local SEO
Local SEO is the work of showing up when people nearby search for what you do, especially in Google Maps and the map results in Google Search. Google says local results are mainly based on three things: relevance, distance and prominence. Prominence includes your reviews and how well known you are across the web.
Google's own position is that optimising for its AI features is still SEO. So if you have already done your local SEO, you are most of the way there. The differences are mainly about reach:
- More than Google: ChatGPT and Copilot draw on Bing, so a Bing listing and Bing Webmaster Tools matter more than they used to.
- More crawlers: your website has to let in OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot, not only Googlebot.
- Plainer facts: AI answers repeat what your pages say. Prices, hours and service areas written clearly on the page are easier to repeat correctly.
Our guide to ranking higher on Google Maps covers the map side in more detail.
A practical checklist for Sydney businesses
Work through these in order. Most take under an hour.
- Google Business Profile: complete every field, choose the most accurate primary category and list the suburbs you serve. Our guide to setting up a Google Business Profile covers each step.
- Bing Places for Business: search for your business on Bing Maps, then claim or add it. Microsoft lists it as free.
- One set of details everywhere: the same name, address and phone number on your website, Google, Bing, Facebook and industry directories.
- Let AI crawlers in: check yourdomain.com.au/robots.txt does not block OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot or Bingbot, and ask your host whether a firewall blocks bots.
- Service pages in plain words: one page per main service, saying what you do, where and for whom. "Emergency plumber for the Inner West, including Marrickville, Newtown and Leichhardt" says more than "Quality you can trust".
- Structured data: a short block of code that states your business details for search engines. It must match what is on the page.
- Reviews that say something: ask customers to mention the job and the suburb. Our guide to getting more Google reviews has wording you can use.
One warning. Do not create a separate page for every Sydney suburb with the same text and a different name swapped in. Google's AI guidance says making content for every variation of a search, mainly to influence results, breaks its scaled content abuse policy. List the areas you genuinely cover, and give a suburb its own page only when you have something specific to say about it.
How to tell whether it is working
You do not need paid tools to start. Three free checks cover most of it.
- Ask the assistants yourself: once a month, ask ChatGPT, Google, Copilot and Perplexity the questions your customers would ask, naming your suburb, and note who gets named.
- Google Search Console: the Generative AI performance report shows how often links to your site appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: the AI Performance report shows which of your pages are cited in Copilot and in Bing's AI summaries.
And keep asking new customers how they found you. If someone says "ChatGPT told me about you", write it down. It is the most direct evidence you will get.
Where to start this week
AI search for a local business comes down to being easy to find, easy to read and easy to trust, across Google, Bing and the assistants built on them. If you only do three things this week, update your Google Business Profile, claim your Bing listing and check your robots.txt. Then test what ChatGPT says about you, and work through the rest of the checklist from there.
Key takeaways
- (01)
58 percent of Australians aged 14 and over used AI tools in an average four weeks in early 2026, led by ChatGPT.
- (02)
Google's AI answers run on its normal index, and ChatGPT and Copilot draw on Bing, so cover both.
- (03)
Nobody publishes how AI tools pick a local business. Clear pages, accurate listings and real reviews are the safe bet.
- (04)
Classic local SEO is still the base. Add Bing, let AI crawlers in and state your facts plainly.
Frequently asked questions
Does AI search replace Google for local businesses?
No. Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode are part of Google Search and use its index, and many people still use normal results and Maps. AI search adds more places to be found. The groundwork is the same.
Do I need a separate page for every Sydney suburb?
No. Google warns that pages made for every search variation mainly to influence results break its spam policies. List the suburbs you really cover, and only give a suburb its own page when you have something specific to say about working there.
Is it worth listing my business on Bing?
Yes, it is free and quick. OpenAI says ChatGPT search may send queries to Bing, and Microsoft says Copilot relies on Bing's index. A Bing Places listing and Bing Webmaster Tools help keep your details right in both.
How do I know if AI tools are sending me customers?
Check Google Search Console's Generative AI performance report, Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report, and referrals from chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai in Google Analytics. Then ask new customers how they found you.
More answers on price, hosting and timing in our FAQ.