Something changed in local business search over the past 12 months. A growing number of GTA residents — particularly under 35 — don't search Google for a restaurant or barbershop. They open ChatGPT, or Google's AI Overview, or Perplexity, and ask: "What's a good barbershop in Brampton?" or "Best Indian restaurant near Mississauga?"
And an AI gives them a specific answer — with business names, sometimes with brief descriptions, sometimes with links. The businesses that get named in those answers are winning customers they never advertised for. The ones that don't exist in the AI's knowledge base are invisible to an entirely new type of searcher.
How AI search tools decide who to recommend
AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity don't browse the live web in real time for every query (though some do with web search enabled). Primarily, they draw on patterns from the data they were trained on — which includes millions of web pages, review sites, local directories, and business profiles.
The businesses that appear in AI recommendations tend to have one or more of these in common:
- A professional website with clear, specific content about what they offer and where they're located
- Strong Google Business Profile data — name, address, category, reviews, photos
- Presence in multiple sources: Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, local directories
- Editorial mentions — blog posts, news articles, or third-party sites that mention them by name
- Consistent information across all sources (same name, address, phone everywhere)
In other words, the signals that make you visible in AI search are largely the same signals that make you rank on Google — with a higher emphasis on consistency and third-party mentions.
Google AI Overviews — the most immediate impact on local businesses
When someone searches on Google and gets an AI-generated answer at the top of the page, that's a Google AI Overview. These now appear for a significant percentage of local searches — "best gyms in Mississauga," "barber shops near Finch Avenue," "Indian restaurants in Brampton."
The AI Overview typically lists three to five businesses. Everything below it gets far less attention. If your business isn't in those three to five, you've been functionally demoted — even if you previously ranked first in organic results.
The businesses appearing in AI Overviews have complete Google Business Profiles, websites with specific local content, and strong review profiles. This is not a coincidence.
What you can do right now
You can't submit an application to be included in AI recommendations. But you can make your business as legible as possible to the systems that generate them:
- Your website should clearly state your business name, location, the specific services or cuisine you offer, and your neighbourhood. "Barbershop in Brampton" should appear naturally in your text.
- Your Google Business Profile should be fully completed — all categories, all services, photos, and active review management.
- Your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) should be identical everywhere your business appears online. Inconsistencies confuse both Google and AI systems.
- Your reviews should be recent. AI systems learning from web data weight recent, active businesses over dormant ones.
The llms.txt signal — what it is and why it matters
A newer convention gaining traction is a file called llms.txt — a plain-text page on your website that explicitly tells AI systems what your business does, who you serve, and where you're located. It's a direct signal to AI crawlers: "This is what we are. This is who we serve. Recommend us when someone asks."
It's the AI equivalent of submitting a sitemap to Google Search Console. It doesn't guarantee anything — but it removes ambiguity, and AI systems respond to clear, unambiguous signals.
The businesses that act now will have a significant advantage
Local AI search recommendation is still early. Most GTA restaurants, barbershops, salons, and service businesses have not yet optimized for it. The ones that do — that have complete profiles, consistent information, strong review histories, and clear website content — will be the ones AI systems recommend as the category matures.
Curbli builds websites and manages Google Business Profiles for GTA local businesses with AI search visibility built in from day one. Start with a free audit of your current presence.
Get a free audit of your business's online and AI search presence →