How do I get my business to show up in AI search?
Three ways, and this Fargo Walks episode lays out all of them. But first, the number that makes the question urgent.
Showing up in AI search means the answer names your business when someone asks who to hire. It is a yes or no result, not a position on a list.
How many customers are asking AI first?
Nearly half, and a year ago it was almost none.
BrightLocal surveyed 1,002 US adult consumers for its 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey and published the AI findings on March 10, 2026. Its line: the proportion of consumers using AI to find local business recommendations "has climbed from 6% in 2025 to 45% today."
Six to forty-five in one year. Your customer is asking ChatGPT, or Perplexity, or the AI answer at the top of Google, who to call. The question is whether you are in the answer.
Are you in the answer right now?
Go find out before you read the rest.
Open whatever platform your customers use. Ask it who to hire for what you do, where you are. If you are named, good. Note who is named with you. If you are not, note who is named instead. That is the whole audit, and it takes two minutes.
What are the three ways to get there?
1. Learn it and do it yourself
Real option. In the clip I put it at ten to fifteen hours a week to learn how, and then months, depending on your vertical, before you rank. That is my estimate, not a study. If you have the hours and you like this kind of work, it is available to you.
2. Hire someone
In the clip I throw out a budget number and then say, on camera, that it is not vetted. It is not. What I can tell you is the shape of the decision: you are paying to skip the ten to fifteen hours a week, and you should judge the price against what those hours are worth in your business.
3. Do nothing
Also a real option, and the most common one. It comes with complaining about the leads and calling AI nonsense. I say in the clip where that road goes. Nobody has to take it.
Why is the barrier lower than it was for Google?
Because AI search rewards the thing you already have.
Google's own guidance on AI features, last updated July 10, 2026, says the best practices for SEO "continue to be relevant" because its AI features are "rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems." It then separates commodity content, which "is often based on common knowledge," from non-commodity content that "provides unique expert or experienced takes."
Traditional Google SEO rewarded volume. AI search is asking for the experienced take, which an established owner has by definition and a content farm does not. That is what I mean when I say the barrier to entry has never been lower. It is my read of the guidance, not a guarantee, and your vertical sets the pace.
What this does not mean
It does not mean Google is finished. Google says otherwise, and the people who still click are still worth having.
It does not mean the do-it-yourself path is easy. It means it is possible, and it costs hours.
The decision
Run the two-minute audit today. Then pick one of the three ways and say it out loud. Learn it, hire it, or accept that you are choosing to stay out of the answer. The opportunity is there. The question is when and how you take it.
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, AI and trust findings, published March 10, 2026. 1,002 US adult consumers. Use of AI for local business recommendations rose from 6% in 2025 to 45%.
- Google Search Central, "AI features and your website," last updated July 10, 2026.
- Jeff Fargo, Fargo Factor Insight: Why AI Recommends Your Competitor When You Know More
- Jeff Fargo, Fargo Factor Insight: Stop Using AI as a Search Engine
Transcript
Verbatim from the Fargo Walks clip, as recorded.
45% of people are currently using AI when searching for local business. Last year that number was 6%. Your customer is using ChatGPT to find you. The question is, are you there? Look, see where you rank right now on whatever platform you think your clientele is using. There's one of three ways you can rank. Number one is put in the time to learn how to do it and do it yourself. You're looking at about ten, probably more like 15 hours for a week to learn how to do it, and then within months, hopefully, depending on your vertical, you can rank. Number two, you hire somebody. You have the budget. Call it 10% of your monthly gross income. And that's my number. That's not vetted. That's just what I say you should be doing. Or third, you do nothing. You bitch and moan and complain. Oh, woe is me. I'm overwhelmed by the online leads and AI is bullshit and I don't know what to do. Woe is me. And if you're in that lane, Amazon is hiring. Go work in a distribution center. But I'm telling you, the good news is this: the barrier to entry has never been lower for you to be recognized for online search. It will take you, depending on your vertical, but the odds are it will take you sooner to get recognized through AI search with a proper program and strategy over traditional Google SEO. The opportunity is there. The question is when and how are you going to take advantage of it. Go forth.
Jeff Fargo is the founder of Fargo Factor and host of Fargo Talks. Fargo Factor advises established businesses on AI Search Authority, AI Decision Systems, and selective AI-enabled implementation.
WHEN THE DECISION MATTERS
Nearly half your customers are asking AI first.
Fargo Factor helps established businesses get named in AI answers, with a program built on the experience you already have rather than content volume.
