A few weeks ago I started working with a Liverpool-based business. The goal was simple: make sure that when people ask Google about the services they offer, this business is part of the answer, including in Google’s new AI-generated results.
The early numbers from Google Search Console are already encouraging.
The results so far
Google Search Console now reports how often a site appears in its Generative AI features, such as AI Overviews. Comparing the last 28 days with the 28 days before:
- 1,840 AI search impressions, up from 579, an increase of 218%
- Daily impressions rose from around 20 to over 140
- Consistent upward growth rather than a single spike, a sign Google increasingly sees the site as a trusted source
In the previous period, the business barely registered in AI results apart from one brief one-day jump. Since the work began, its visibility has climbed almost every week.
Why AI search visibility matters
More and more people get their answers directly from Google’s AI summaries without scrolling through a list of links. If your business isn’t mentioned in those answers, you can lose out on customers even when you rank well in traditional search.
For local businesses in Liverpool, that makes AI visibility the new page one. The businesses Google trusts enough to cite are the ones customers see first.
What made the difference
There’s no single trick behind these results. The focus has been on making the website genuinely useful and easy for Google to understand: clear content that answers the questions customers actually ask, strong local signals for Liverpool, and a technically sound site that search engines can crawl and trust.
It’s still early days, and I expect these numbers to keep growing as the work continues.
Advanced strategies for winning in AI search
Once the basics are in place, these are the more advanced tactics I use to push AI visibility further.
1. Build topical authority, not just pages. AI Overviews favour sources that cover a subject in depth. Rather than one page per service, I build clusters: a main service page supported by detailed guides, FAQs and comparison pages, all interlinked. This tells Google the site is an authority on the whole topic.
2. Write in answer-first format. AI systems pull short, direct answers. Each key page opens with a clear one or two sentence answer to the main question, followed by supporting detail. Headings are phrased as the questions people actually type or speak.
3. Strengthen entity signals. Google’s AI relies on understanding who a business is. Consistent name, address and phone details across directories, a fully optimised Google Business Profile, and detailed schema markup (LocalBusiness, Service, FAQ, Review and Organization) help Google connect the dots.
4. Show real experience (E-E-A-T). Original photos, case studies, named authors with credentials, and specific local details are hard for competitors to copy and signal genuine expertise. Generic content rarely gets cited.
5. Earn mentions, not just links. AI models learn from what the wider web says about a brand. Local press coverage, Liverpool business directories, industry associations, podcasts and partner websites all build the reputation that makes Google comfortable citing a business.
6. Turn reviews into content. Encouraging customers to mention specific services and locations in their reviews gives Google fresh, relevant language to associate with the business. Responding to every review adds even more context.
7. Target conversational and long-tail queries. People ask AI tools full questions like “who’s the best emergency plumber near Liverpool city centre open on Sundays?” Content that answers these detailed, specific queries is far more likely to be surfaced than pages built around single keywords.
8. Keep content fresh. Regularly updating key pages with new information, prices, stats and examples signals that the site is current and reliable, which matters for AI answers.
9. Track and iterate. Search Console’s Generative AI report shows which pages and queries are gaining AI impressions. I double down on what’s working and update pages that aren’t being picked up.
Is your business showing up in AI search?
If you run a business in Liverpool or the North West and want to know how visible you are in Google’s AI results, get in touch. I’ll run a free AI visibility check and show you where the opportunities are.
