I Tried to Find My Own Business in AI Search

Generated with the help of AI by Sandy Rowley, human AI vs 1.0

After spending a few days testing how AI tools answer questions, I got curious about something a little more personal.

So I decided to try a simple experiment.

I asked a few AI platforms about my own business.

I own a handful of businesses that I run online and chose the one with the most traffic and reviews, Reno Web Designer... surely my business would be listed in Chat GPT, Claud and Grok?

Not in an obvious way — just the kinds of questions someone might naturally ask if they were looking for help.

Things like:

“Who offers SEO services near me?”

“Best way to improve website rankings for a small business”

“How do I fix low traffic on my website?”

I wasn’t expecting much.

But I also wasn’t expecting what I found.

At First, It Felt… Neutral

The answers weren’t bad.

They were clear, structured, and generally helpful.

But something stood out almost immediately.

I wasn’t there.

Not directly. Not indirectly. Not even close.

And that was interesting — because I’ve been doing this work for a long time. I have the best reviews in the state of Nevada for SEO, Web Design and E Commerce stores... been in business since 1999... enough trust signals to really matter online.

The Answers Were General, Not Specific

What I started noticing was that most responses leaned heavily toward:

broad advice

well-known sources

generalized explanations

There wasn’t much room for:

smaller businesses

independent professionals

or localized expertise

It made me realize that AI isn’t necessarily finding the best answer.

It’s often assembling the most available one.

I Tried Again (Different Questions)

So I adjusted the approach.

I asked more specific questions. More detailed ones.

That helped a little — but not in the way I expected.

The answers became narrower, but they still didn’t consistently surface real providers or strong independent sources.

In some cases, the answers felt like summaries of summaries.

Accurate enough.

But not especially useful if you were trying to make a real decision.

That’s When It Clicked

This isn’t just about whether a business shows up or not.

It’s about how AI decides what to include in the first place.

And right now, that process still has gaps.

Not small ones, either.

What This Means for Businesses

If someone is relying on AI tools to:

• find services
• compare options
• or learn how to solve a problem

Then visibility starts to shift.

It’s no longer just about showing up in search results.

It’s about being part of the information those systems are using.

And many businesses — even experienced ones — aren’t positioned for that yet.

What I Started Doing Differently

After running this experiment, I began looking at things from a different angle.

Instead of asking:

“How do I rank for this keyword?”

I started asking:

“How would an AI system answer this question… and what would it need to see to include me?”

That’s a different process.

It involves:

testing questions

reviewing responses

identifying where the answers fall short

And then creating something stronger.

A Simple Way to See It for Yourself

If you’re curious, this is actually something you can test on your own.

Take a few questions related to your business and run them through different AI platforms.

Pay attention to:

• what shows up
• what doesn’t
• and how the answers are structured

In many cases, you’ll start to see the same patterns.

And once you see them, it’s hard to unsee them.

Final Thoughts

This wasn’t a complicated experiment.

But it changed how I think about visibility.

AI isn’t replacing search — it’s reshaping how information is surfaced.

And right now, there’s still a noticeable gap between:

what AI provides

and what people actually need

For businesses paying attention, that gap may be one of the most important opportunities available.

About the Author

Sandy Rowley is an SEO expert and web designer with over 25 years of experience helping businesses grow their online visibility and generate revenue through search. Since 1999, she has worked with a wide range of clients, specializing in search engine optimization, website strategy, and digital marketing.