In her session, “Is AI Talking About Your Business?” Tanya unpacked a simple reality for small business owners. The way people search has changed, and it is no longer “just Google.” AI tools are now answering questions directly, often before someone ever clicks through to a website.
Tanya explained why businesses can still be “doing the right things” online, yet not appear when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity for a recommendation. Different AI platforms are trained differently, behave differently, and prioritise different information. She compared it to asking six tradies to quote the same job. Same question, different answers.
The session was hands-on and phone-first. Attendees were polled on what AI/LLMs they were using and for what. They also tested a real prompt live to see whether their business (or a competitor) showed up in AI-generated recommendations, and whether the information was accurate.
From there, Tanya outlined practical steps businesses can take immediately to increase their chances of being referenced, correctly, across AI systems.
The phone prompt to check if AI Is Talking About Your Business:
“Can you recommend a [their industry] in [their area]?”
Check whether your business appears, and if it does, whether the details are correct.
Five practical actions to take this week to increase AI visibility:
- Make your Google Business Profile complete and current
- Add FAQ content that answers real customer questions clearly
- Be findable across multiple sources like directories and associations
- Build and respond to reviews, because AI now summarises them
- Implement schema markup to help machines understand services, locations, and business details
Missed it or want to revisit the key points? You can download Tanya’s presentation file here.