There’s no doubt about it, AI search is having a moment.

Platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity are changing how people look for information online. They’re excellent for learning, summarizing, and research-style queries.

Things like:

“What are the best ways to improve team efficiency?”
“Explain how solar panels work.”

But here’s the key takeaway for local business owners:

AI search is gaining traction, but it’s not the main path consumers take when deciding which local business to contact or buy from.

Local Intent Search Is Still Dominated by Google

When someone needs an HVAC technician, dentist, roofer, or salon near them, they’re not asking ChatGPT, they’re searching on Google.

The data is clear:

• 46% of all Google searches have local intent.  Meaning, people are looking for something nearby.

• 76% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours.

• 28% of those local searches lead to a purchase.
  (Sources: Think with Google, SearchAtlas)

That’s an incredibly strong intent signal and a reminder of just how much opportunity still lives within Google Search and Maps.

AI & LLM Traffic: Interesting, But Still Small

While AI search tools are evolving quickly, they’re not yet moving significant traffic for small and local businesses.

Current research shows:

• According to Ahrefs’ 2025 AI Traffic Research, AI engines account for just 0.1% of total website traffic across more than 35,000 sites.

• Google drives 345× more visits than all major AI engines combined.

To put it plainly:

AI search traffic is growing,  but it’s still only a fraction of what Google delivers every single day.

And this is especially true for local businesses, where the majority of conversions come from nearby searches on Google Search, Google Maps, and GBP listings.

What This Means for Your Business or Clients

It’s easy to get swept up in the buzz about “ranking on ChatGPT.”

But if you’re a local business or agency serving SMBs, that’s not where your customers are searching and will not move the needle on ROI (today).

AI platforms are fantastic at answering questions; Google is still unmatched at driving local discovery and customer action.

Focus your energy where it matters most:

✅ Google Business Profile optimization:  accurate info, posts, and reviews
✅ Local SEO: geo-focused keywords, city-specific content, and maps visibility
✅ Strong on-page signals:  structured data, FAQs, and high-quality content that also help AI engines understand your brand

What AlphaSEO Does For Your Clients

You don’t need a separate “AEO agency” or a new AI-search strategy.

AlphaSEO  is already optimizing for AI discovery. The same best practices that make websites perform well in Google are what allow them to appear in AI search engines today.

Many agencies are using fear-based marketing to sell “AI optimization” as something new or urgent,  but the reality is we’re already ahead of it.

Our clients are being surfaced and cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews right now because we’ve been preparing for this evolution for years.

Here’s how we’re doing it:

• We’ve been leveraging AI in our operations for over a decade, from content strategy to performance insights.
  
  

• We implement structured, natural-language content through our Discovery Chat tool and ongoing FAQ optimization.
  
  

• We deploy llms.txt files to guide AI crawlers and ensure proper attribution.
  
  

• We track and report AI Overviews and AI-driven traffic directly within our white-label dashboard.
  
  

• And we continue to follow the core fundamentals of SEO:  powerful backlinks, clean code, and authoritative content, that both search engines and AI systems trust.
  
  

In short: we’re not reacting to AI search; we’re building for it.

👑 Google Is Still King

Artificial intelligence is transforming how people consume information. AI Overviews and generative answers are now visible in Google itself, and LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini increasingly rely on trusted, structured, and up-to-date sources.

The opportunity isn’t to “rank on ChatGPT” in a traditional SEO sense. It’s to make your content intelligible to AI by:

• Implementing structured data and schema markup

• Creating FAQ and conversational content

• Building topical authority and trust signals

• Reinforcing local relevance through GBP optimization and consistent reviews

These are the same fundamentals that power Google rankings today and they’re the building blocks for AI visibility tomorrow.

So yes,  Google is still king when it comes to traffic, leads, and local conversions.
But those who are already adapting to how AI reads, cites, and summarizes content are the ones quietly future-proofing their websites for the AI era and that’s where the next competitive advantage begins.

Traffic Share Snapshot (2025)

Note: AI traffic volumes remain statistically small across all SMB verticals (HVAC, plumbing, retail, health, beauty). Local discovery continues to be powered primarily by Google organic and Maps visibility.