Book · Ebook
When Customers Ask AI Who to Call
How Local Businesses Get Found in the Age of AI Search
By Danielle Lemons. Coming soon.
Coming soon
Want the free companion webinar now? Watch How AI Search Is Changing the Way Customers Find Your Business.
About the book
More and more customers no longer scroll through a page of search results. They ask an AI assistant a question like “Who’s a good plumber near me?” and get back a short answer with a few businesses named in it. If your business is not one of them, you were never part of that conversation.
This short, practical guide shows local business owners what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews look for before they recommend a business, and exactly what to do about it. It is based on Danielle Lemons’ webinar, How AI Search Is Changing the Way Customers Find Your Business, and on her articles for small business owners.
You do not need a bigger budget than your competitors or a new website. You need three things done right:
- Structured data: a hidden label in your website’s code that states plainly what you are, where you are and when you are open
- One consistent set of facts: the same name, address and phone number, word for word, everywhere your business appears
- Real answers instead of ads: content that answers the questions your customers actually ask
Every chapter ends with a short “Do this this week” checklist, so you finish each one with something specific to do.
Who it’s for
This book is written for owners of plumbing companies, bakeries, dental practices, law firms, landscapers, restaurants and every other local business that customers find by searching for a kind of business in a place. You do not need to write code. You need to know what to look for, what to ask, and when to pass the work to someone else.
Table of contents
An introduction, twelve chapters and a closing chapter.
Contents
- Before You Start
- 1The Question Changed
- 2Two Doors
- 3What You Can Control
- 4Pillar One: Structured Data
- 5Pillar Two: One Consistent Set of Facts
- 6Your Google Business Profile Is a Second Website
- 7Pillar Three: Real Answers, Not Ads
- 8A Site a Stranger and a Machine Can Read
- 9Reviews That Say Something
- 10Five Mistakes I See Constantly
- 11The Fifteen-Minute Self-Check
- 12Keeping It True
- Stop Hoping to Be Found
Watch the free webinar
The book is based on the free webinar How AI Search Is Changing the Way Customers Find Your Business. Watch it on YouTube, then read the book to put each step into practice.
More videos from Danielle are at daniellelemons.com/videos.
About the author
Danielle Lemons is Vice President of Operations at DirecTech Connect, where she builds websites and the digital systems behind them for small businesses. Her work centers on one question: when a customer asks an AI assistant who to call, does your business come up?
She works hands-on with business owners on the structured data, consistent listings and plain-answer content that AI search tools reward. She also writes plain-spoken articles for small business owners at daniellelemons.com/writing.
More about Danielle · All books
AI disclosure: Written with the help of AI tools (Claude) from Danielle Lemons’ webinar and articles.