SEO versus AI visibility: what changes for local businesses

If you run a business on the Costa del Sol, you’ve probably been sold SEO at some point. Now people are talking about “AI visibility”, “GEO” and “AI search”. Is it new? Is it the same thing with a new name? Do you need both?

Short answer: it builds on SEO, but it asks a different question.

The difference in one line

SEO asks: does my page rank in Google’s list of links?

AI visibility asks: when someone asks an AI who to use, does it name my business?

A page can rank on Google and still be absent from the AI answer. The reverse happens too.

What stays the same

AI engines read the web. ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity all search it, and Google’s AI Overviews are built on top of Google Search. So the basics of good SEO still help:

• A fast, mobile-friendly site that search engines can crawl.
• Clear pages that answer real questions.
• A Google Business Profile that is complete and accurate.
• Links and mentions from trusted, relevant sites.

If your SEO foundations are broken, fix them first.

What changes

You are optimising for a sentence, not a position

In Google, you want to be in the top three links. In an AI answer, you want to be named, with an accurate one-line description. That means the web needs to agree on what you are. “The estate agent for Scandinavian buyers in Mijas” is easier for an AI to repeat than “a leading real estate agency”.

Other people’s words matter more

AI engines lean heavily on third-party sources: reviews, directories, press, forums and guides. Your own site still matters, but the model wants corroboration.

Consistency is a ranking factor

If your name, address, specialism and languages are described differently on your site, LinkedIn, Google and the portals, AI engines are less confident naming you. Consistent descriptions help.

Rankings reports miss it

A monthly report of Google positions says nothing about whether ChatGPT recommends you. You need to track AI answers directly, question by question, across engines.

Keep, stop, start

Keep: a healthy, fast site; useful content; a well-maintained Google Business Profile; genuine reviews.

Stop: thin “SEO pages” stuffed with town names; chasing low-quality links; judging success only on Google rankings.

Start: asking AI engines your buyers’ questions every month; writing down who gets named and why; earning mentions in the sources those answers cite; describing your business the same way everywhere.

Where to begin

Pick ten questions your best customers would ask. Put them to ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. If you’re named, great. If a competitor is named instead, that’s your to-do list.

Or let us do it for you, free.