AI search has made a familiar business problem more visible: can someone quickly work out what you do, who you help and why they should trust you? Before buying a new “AI optimisation” package, audit the information a prospective customer can actually find on your website. This checklist is designed for a small service business with limited time and an existing site.

Start with the answer your customer needs

Choose one important service page. Ask a colleague who does not know the business to read it for thirty seconds, then describe the service, service area and next step. If they cannot, rewrite the opening paragraph before adding anything technical. A small business should explain the services it provides and the customers it helps. A Melbourne studio should explain its deliverables and who the service suits.

Google’s guidance on AI features points website owners back to established search foundations. There is no special AI schema or machine-readable file required for inclusion. Being technically eligible also does not guarantee that a page will be selected or cited.

Add information only your business can supply

Build a short evidence section around actual work: the initial problem, what you delivered, an approved photograph and any outcome you can substantiate. If you have no measurable result, explain the decisions rather than inventing a percentage improvement. For example, describe why you separated emergency enquiries from routine quote requests. That detail gives readers something more useful than another list of marketing promises.

Answer the awkward buying questions too. What is excluded? Who supplies content? What happens after launch? Where do ongoing costs arise? Specific answers help someone compare you with alternatives and decide whether to enquire.

Check the page as a visitor would

Open it on a phone using a normal connection. Confirm that service information is readable text, navigation links work, and the enquiry route is obvious. A critical explanation trapped inside a decorative image is harder for people to use. Keep essential information available without requiring a visitor to open a chat window or download a brochure.

Then check consistency across your service page, business profile and contact page. Fix conflicting hours, outdated names and old telephone numbers. This is an information-quality exercise, not a reason to repeat the same keyword in every heading.

Use a simple monthly review

Keep a log with four columns: customer question, page answering it, evidence available and next improvement. Review enquiries for questions that keep recurring. Add a useful answer where it belongs instead of publishing another generic article. Measure whether relevant visitors reach the contact stage, alongside search visibility.

Your first action can be small: improve one service explanation and add one verified project example. A clear, maintained page is a more defensible investment than an untestable promise that a particular wording will make an AI system recommend your company.

Put this into practice

CodeMax can help turn your service knowledge into clear pages and useful supporting articles. Explore how CodeMax can help, or send us your website and the problem you want to solve.

Sources and further reading

Google Search Central: AI features and your website. Checked 30 September 2026.