What Happens When People Ask ChatGPT About Your Business?
Many Australian business owners notice something puzzling: website traffic stays steady, but enquiry quality seems different. Prospects who seemed perfect simply never make contact, despite good traffic and strong Google rankings.
The reason: customer research behaviour is fundamentally changing.
The Invisible Traffic Problem
Your analytics show visitors you're getting, not prospects you're missing. While you celebrate Google rankings, ideal customers discover competitors through channels that don't appear in Google Analytics.
The shift is significant:
78% of organisations use AI in business functions¹
77% of companies explore AI implementation²
These decision-makers use AI to research service providers
How Customer Research Is Evolving
Traditional Approach:
Google search for services
Browse multiple websites
Compare options manually
Contact several providers
AI-Assisted Pattern:
Ask AI for recommendations with specific requirements
Receive curated suggestions with explanations
Research recommended businesses specifically
Contact preferred options from AI recommendations
Key difference: Traditional search burdens customers with evaluation. AI provides pre-filtered recommendations with reasoning.
Why Service Businesses Are Particularly Affected
High-Consideration Purchases
When needing accountants, lawyers, or construction companies, people prefer trusted recommendations with reasoning over long option lists.
Trust-Based Decisions
AI recommendations provide a form of third-party validation that traditional advertising may not match.
Complex Requirement Matching
Service customers have specific needs. AI tools can excel at matching detailed requirements to appropriate businesses that clearly communicate their capabilities.
Warning Signs of Changing Customer Behaviour
Analytics Patterns to Watch:
Traffic steady but enquiry patterns shifting
Visitors spending less time on service pages
Lead quality or conversion changes
Market Indicators:
Prospects saying they "hadn't heard of you" despite local presence
Competitors winning unexpected business
Changes in how prospects discover your business
What AI Systems Actually Evaluate
Unlike Google's ranking factors, AI systems evaluate businesses based on different criteria:
Google Ranking Factors:
Keyword relevance and density
Backlink authority and quality
Technical website performance
User experience signals
AI Recommendation Factors:
Clarity of expertise and specialisation
Structured data and schema markup that identifies credentials
Semantic content that AI can confidently parse and cite
Authority signals that build confidence in recommendations
The gap: Most Australian websites are optimised for Google but lack the structured technical infrastructure that AI systems require for confident recommendations.
The Technical Infrastructure Reality
Most websites were built for Google SEO and human visitors, not AI comprehension. Without proper structured data and schema markup, your content might be excellent for humans but unclear to AI systems.
What AI Systems Need:
Schema markup that identifies what services you provide
Structured data about your location and credentials
Semantic content that clearly explains your expertise
Authority indicators that build AI confidence
What Most Websites Have:
Content optimised for keyword rankings
Technical performance for Google crawling
User experience design for human visitors
Minimal structured data implementation
This creates a significant opportunity for businesses that implement proper AI-readable technical infrastructure.
The Australian Opportunity Window
Most local businesses haven't recognised this shift. Companies understanding AI-assisted research will capture prospects trusting AI recommendations over traditional search.
Industries Where This Matters Most:
Professional services (accounting, legal, consulting)
Healthcare practices (specialists, allied health, wellness)
Construction and trades (builders, contractors, architects)
Financial services (advisers, planners, brokers)
Why Australian Businesses Have an Advantage:
Local market focus makes authority easier to establish
Professional qualifications create clear differentiation
Relationship-based sales align with AI recommendation approach
Complex service requirements match AI's detailed matching capabilities
Your AI Discoverability Assessment
Content Evaluation:
Does your website clearly communicate your specialisation?
Are your credentials and qualifications prominently displayed?
Do you provide specific examples of results and outcomes?
Does your content answer questions people ask AI tools?
Technical Infrastructure:
Do you have structured data and schema markup implemented?
Can AI systems easily identify your services and credentials?
Is your expertise clearly defined in machine-readable formats?
Are your authority signals structured for AI comprehension?
Market Position:
When someone asks AI for providers in your industry, are you mentioned?
Do prospects using AI research find and contact you?
Are you losing opportunities to AI-discoverable competitors?
The Cost of AI Invisibility
Immediate Impact:
Missing high-intent prospects who trust AI recommendations
Losing market share to AI-discoverable competitors
Reduced effectiveness of traditional marketing investments
Long-Term Consequences:
Competitors establish dominant AI recommendation positions
Market perception shifts toward AI-recommended businesses
Recovery becomes increasingly difficult as AI adoption grows
Why DIY AI Optimisation Often Fails
The complexity means most business owners who attempt this themselves:
Focus on content changes while missing critical technical infrastructure
Over-optimise for keywords while neglecting semantic clarity
Attempt schema implementation without understanding AI evaluation criteria
Create content volume without the structured precision AI requires
The technical challenge: Proper AI optimisation requires both content strategy and technical infrastructure that most businesses lack the expertise to implement effectively.
Your Next Step
If your analytics show steady traffic but enquiry patterns are changing, the AI research shift might be affecting your business.
The businesses thriving in this environment don't wait for traditional marketing to adapt—they position themselves as the ones AI tools recommend with confidence.
Ready to discover how your business appears when prospects ask AI for recommendations? At Soren IQ, we help Australian businesses implement both the content strategy and technical infrastructure needed for AI discoverability.
Don't let AI-optimised competitors capture the prospects you should be winning.
Soren IQ specialises in helping Australian professional services, healthcare practices, construction companies, and financial services implement the comprehensive approach needed for AI discoverability—combining proper technical infrastructure with content strategies that build AI recommendation confidence.
References:
McKinsey & Company, March 12, 2025 - "The state of AI: How organizations are rewiring to capture value"
National University, January 2025 - "131 AI Statistics and Trends for (2024)" URL: https://www.nu.edu/blog/ai-statistics-trends