When an AI assistant answers a question, it reads a few pages and lifts the parts that answer it. It can’t quote what isn’t there. And most small business websites, for all their nice photos, say surprisingly little that’s specific enough to repeat.
Google’s own guidance says you don’t need to write in a special way for AI. We agree. You don’t need a new style. You need the old advice that most sites never followed: say what you mean, give the details, and put the answer where people will see it.
The fastest way to show this is with rewrites. The “before” examples below are typical of what we see on sites we’re asked to rebuild. The businesses in the “after” versions are made up, but the patterns are real.
1. The about page that says nothing
Before:
With years of experience and a passion for excellence, our dedicated team delivers quality outcomes for every client. We pride ourselves on our customer service and attention to detail.
There’s not a single fact in that paragraph. An AI tool asked “who is this business?” gets nothing it can use.
After:
Coastline Electrical is a family owned electrical business in Ballina, run by licensed electrician Sam Ryan (NSW licence 123456C). We’ve worked across the Ballina Shire since 2011, mostly on residential rewiring, switchboard upgrades and solar battery installs. Sam and a team of three electricians cover Ballina, Lennox Head, Alstonville and Wollongbar.
Who, where, since when, what kind of work, who does it, which towns. Every sentence could be lifted into an answer.
2. The service page that buries the answer
People ask AI tools questions like “how long does a bathroom renovation take?” The tool looks for a page that answers it clearly.
Before:
Every bathroom is unique, and timelines depend on many factors. We work closely with you through every stage of the process to ensure your renovation is completed to the highest standard. Contact us to discuss your project.
After:
A full bathroom renovation usually takes us three to five weeks from demolition to handover. A simple refit that keeps the existing layout is closer to three weeks. Moving plumbing, waterproofing a new shower area or waiting on custom vanities pushes it towards five. We give you a written schedule before we start.
The answer comes first, then the reasons it varies, then what the customer gets. That’s useful to a person skimming on their phone, and it’s precisely what an AI tool can quote.
Notice it doesn’t overclaim. “Usually” and the reasons for the range are accurate, and caveats like that make content more trustworthy, not less.
3. Vague places versus named places
Before:
Servicing the local area and surrounds.
After:
We service Lismore, Goonellabah, Casino and Kyogle, and travel to Ballina and Byron Bay for larger jobs.
AI tools match businesses to locations in the question. If someone asks for “a concreter near Casino”, the second version gives the AI something to match. The first doesn’t.
The same applies to brands and products. “We service all major brands” is weaker than “We service and install Rinnai, Rheem and Dux hot water systems.” Named things are easier to match and quote than categories.
4. Prices: the thing everyone wants and nobody writes
Price is one of the most common questions people ask AI tools about local services. If you never mention price, the AI either says nothing or quotes a figure from somewhere else.
You don’t need a full price list. A range with what affects it does the job:
Most switchboard upgrades we do in older Ballina homes cost between $1,800 and $3,500 including GST. The lower end is a straight swap. The higher end includes moving the board, adding circuits or bringing old wiring up to standard.
Only publish figures you’re happy to stand behind, and update them when your pricing changes. (The figures above are illustrative, not a guide to what switchboards cost.)
5. FAQs that answer real questions
FAQ sections are useful when the questions are ones customers really ask, and the answers are short and specific.
Before:
Why choose us? We offer unbeatable service and quality workmanship.
That’s not a question anyone asks.
After:
Do I need to be home during a hearing test? Yes. The full assessment takes about 45 minutes in our clinic, and we go through the results with you straight after.
Do I need a GP referral? No. You can book directly. If you’re claiming through a health fund or a government program, bring your details and we’ll check what applies.
Pull these from your real enquiries. What do people ring up and ask before they book? Each of those is a question someone is also asking an AI tool.
6. Make the facts match everywhere
AI tools trust facts they can confirm in more than one place. If your website says you’re open Saturday mornings and your Google Business Profile says you’re closed Saturdays, the tool has to pick one, and it may pick wrong.
Keep these identical across your website, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Facebook and any directories:
- Business name (exactly the same, including “Pty Ltd” or not)
- Phone number and address
- Hours, including public holiday changes
- Service areas
- The core list of services
When something changes, update all of them in the same week.
7. Credentials in plain text
Qualifications, licences, memberships and registrations are exactly the kind of checkable detail that customers look for and AI tools can repeat. Write them out as text, not just as logos in the footer.
“Member of Master Plumbers NSW” in a sentence can be read and quoted. A logo image can be ignored. For health practitioners, include registration details where the relevant rules allow, and keep within the AHPRA advertising guidelines on how you describe qualifications.
Patterns to avoid
- Hiding key information in images. Price tables, opening hours and service lists saved as graphics can’t be read reliably. Use real text.
- Clever headings. “Our story” and “What we do” tell a reader less than “Electrician in Ballina since 2011” and “Switchboard upgrades”.
- Walls of qualifiers. One clear caveat helps. Five in a row makes it impossible to tell what you actually do.
- Writing for keywords. Repeating “plumber Ballina” twelve times on a page doesn’t help AI tools or Google. Write one clear statement of what you do and where.
- Generic AI written filler. If a page could belong to any business in your industry, it gives an AI tool no reason to choose you. Our view on using AI to draft copy is that it’s fine for structure and terrible for the facts that make you distinct.
Where to start
Pick your three most important pages, usually the homepage, your main service page and the about page. For each, ask: if someone read only the first paragraph, would they know who you are, what you do, where, and one specific thing that sets you apart? If not, rewrite the first paragraph before touching anything else.
Getting content written is usually the slowest part of any website project, so we’ve written a whole guide on getting website content done. Once the words are right, structured data can label the key facts for machines.
When we build sites, through our web design service or tradie.agency for trades, we work through these questions with you before a single page is designed. If the site is already built and you want to know how AI tools currently describe you, that is where an AI search audit starts.