Imagine someone looking for a business like yours. They might type a few words into Google. They might also ask a question: “Who can help me with this, and what should I look for before choosing someone?”
Google can show an AI-generated answer alongside search results. Tools such as ChatGPT give people another place to ask questions while they research a purchase or service.
For a business owner, the practical question is pretty simple: when someone is looking for what you offer, is there clear, useful information about your business for them to find?
That is where I would start with AI search optimization.
What does AI search actually mean?
Think about the difference between searching “travel agency” and asking, “Can someone help me plan a family trip, handle the bookings, and explain what happens if our plans change?”
The second question gives more detail about what the customer needs. An AI search tool may put together an answer using information it finds and provide links to relevant sources. Different tools handle this differently, and the answers can vary.
Your website has a useful job here. It can explain which trips you help with, what your planning service includes, and how you support a customer before they book.
That information is helpful to someone comparing businesses, whether they arrive through an AI answer, a regular search result, or a link a friend shared.
What would I look at on your website?
I would start with the questions your customers already ask.
What do you do? Who do you help? Where do you work? What does the process look like? What would someone need to know before contacting you?
Those answers should be easy to find and specific to your business. A visitor should be able to understand your offer without having to piece it together from a slogan, a photo, and three different pages.
Here is a fictional example. A training business might describe its offer as “professional solutions for your team.” That leaves a lot unanswered.
A clearer description could explain the type of training, who it is designed for, whether it takes place at the customer's location, and how to arrange a session. A separate section could answer the questions people ask before booking.
That gives customers more useful information to work with. It also gives search systems a clearer description of the service.
What else matters besides the wording?
I would review whether important pages are accessible to search engines, whether the business details are accurate, and whether the site shows real experience behind the offer.
That could include examples of completed work, a useful explanation of your process, or customer feedback you have permission to share. For a local business, I would also look at how the website and business listings describe the services and the area you actually serve.
There is a technical side to this work, but you do not need to learn every technical term to understand the recommendations. You should be able to see what needs attention and why it matters.
Google's guidance for its AI search features says the same SEO foundations still apply. SEO means search engine optimization: helping search engines find and understand your website. Google does not require special AI markup for its AI Overviews or AI Mode.
What would working on this with Viking look like?
First, we would talk about the business and the customers you want to reach. Then I would review the agreed parts of your website and available search information.
The recommendations might include making a service page clearer, answering a missing customer question, correcting conflicting business details, or fixing something that prevents a page from being found.
We would decide what deserves attention first and who will carry out the work. The scope should fit your business, your resources, and what the review actually finds.
AI answers change, and no one can promise that a tool will recommend your business. A review gives us a starting point for making useful improvements and checking what happens over time.
How do you know whether it is helping?
I would look at available evidence in stages: where your business appears, which sources send visitors to your website, and whether those visitors make enquiries, book, or buy.
Those are different things. Being mentioned does not automatically mean someone visited, and a website visit does not automatically mean a new customer. The reporting available also varies by tool, so a few test questions cannot tell us the whole story.
One thing you can check today
Open one important service page on your phone. Could someone who has never heard of your business tell what you do, whether you can help them, and how to take the next step?
If the answer is unclear, you have a practical place to begin.
If you would like help, request a Free Visibility Snapshot for an initial look at your online visibility. You can also read about AI Search Optimization to see what a more focused review can involve.