You rank first. Right at the top, above everyone else in your category.
But here’s the thing. That might not drive the same sales anymore.
Being Ranked First Used to Be the Answer
For years, ranking well on Google was the whole game. Get to position one, and you were the business people saw first. Simple.
But in 2026, that rule is breaking down. Google’s AI Overviews, the AI-generated summary that now appears above the normal list of website results, show up in close to half of all Google searches. A lot of people get their answer straight from that summary and never make it down to the blue links we’ve all spent years trying to rank.
So what does that mean for your business? Does it mean SEO is dead? That rankings no longer matter? Let’s dig into it properly.
Different search intent triggers different results
There are two main pillars of search intent on Google:
I’m looking for information, or
I’m looking for a business or product.
Informational searches, like “how do I fix a leaking tap” or “what causes a roof to sag,” currently trigger a Google AI Overview close to half the time.
Service or product based searches behave differently. “Plumber near me” or “best electrician Christchurch” trigger a full AI Overview far less often, somewhere in the range of one in ten to one in five searches, depending on the study. These figures come from multiple independent 2026 studies tracking AI Overview trigger rates by query type. The exact numbers move around depending on who’s measuring, but the gap between informational and local queries holds consistently across all of them. Most of the time, what a searcher sees for those queries is the classic Google Map Pack: three local listings (and sometimes a paid listing), star ratings, and a phone number.
After the Map Pack and any AI Overview, Google Ads typically get priority, then the standard organic listings. On plenty of local searches now, that first page might only show a handful of genuine organic results now.
So if you’re trying to rank your website, how do you actually compete with that?
The good news
Here’s the good news. SEO is still relevant. Still effective. Still important.
It’s just picked up a new, extremely high-leverage platform. And it’s free. It doesn’t cost you anything to set up, doesn’t cost you anything to host, and doesn’t cost you anything to optimise, if you’re doing it yourself.
That platform is your Google Business Profile.
Most of us have used Google Maps to find a local business, get directions, click through to their website, read their reviews. If you haven’t set one up for your business yet, stop everything you’re doing and fix that first.
If you’ve already got one running, this is where the SEO work actually starts. Like your website, your Google Business Profile needs to be accurate, relevant, and regularly updated. And most of all, it needs reviews. Regular ones.
AI tools, Google’s own and others like ChatGPT, lean on your Google Business Profile to work out:
- Whether you’re a genuine local business
- Whether you look trustworthy
- How relevant you are to the person searching
Where to Actually Start
Accurate, relevant, and regularly updated is easy to say and vague to act on, so here’s what it actually looks like:
- Claim and verify your profile, if you haven’t already
- Fill in every category, service, and product field, not just the basics
- Add real photos regularly, not just your logo
- Post updates at least weekly.
- Most businesses post once a month, if that
- Respond to every review, good or bad
- Keep your name, address, and phone number identical everywhere you’re listed online
None of it is complicated. Most of it just isn’t being done consistently, which is exactly why it’s such a high-leverage lever right now.
What This Means for Traditional SEO
The game is the same. The methods have changed.
It’s harder for a business to just say they’re the best. Now, you need other people saying it for you, which is exactly what reviews do. Reviews are doing more work in this system than almost anything else on your profile, and that’s worth its own post.
You still need a well-designed, professional website, optimised for your key services and locations. That part hasn’t gone anywhere. But for local searches specifically, your Google Business Profile is doing at least as much of the heavy lifting now, and it’s the one lever most businesses still haven’t taken seriously.