Getting Found in AI Search: A Beginner's Guide (With Real Examples)

If you're a small business owner or startup founder, you've probably heard that "AI search is the future" – but what does that actually mean for your business today? More importantly, how do you get started without a massive marketing budget or technical team?

I've helped dozens of small businesses improve their AI search visibility, and the good news is that you don't need to be a Fortune 500 company to get found online. You just need to be strategic about it.

What AI Search Means for Your Business

When someone asks ChatGPT, "What's a good accounting software for small restaurants?", they're not looking at Google search results. They're getting a conversational response that might mention QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or your accounting software – if you've done the groundwork.

The opportunity is huge because most small businesses aren't thinking about AI search yet. Your competitors are still focused on Google SEO, which means there's less competition for AI visibility in many niches.

The 10 Core Queries Every Business Should Test

Before you can improve your AI search performance, you need to know where you stand. Here are 10 types of queries you should test with ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity:

1. Direct Competitor Comparison

"What's the difference between [your company] and [main competitor]?"

2. Solution Category Questions

"What's the best [your product category] for [your target customer]?" Example: "What's the best project management tool for creative agencies?"

3. Problem-Solving Queries

"How do I [solve the main problem your product addresses]?" Example: "How do I manage inventory for a small retail store?"

4. Use Case Specific

"What [product category] works best for [specific use case]?" Example: "What CRM works best for real estate agents?"

5. Budget-Conscious Questions

"What's a good affordable [your product category]?"

6. Feature-Specific Queries

"What [product category] has [key feature you offer]?" Example: "What email marketing platform has good automation features?"

7. Industry-Specific Questions

"What [product category] do [your target industry] companies use?" Example: "What scheduling software do restaurants use?"

8. Integration Questions

"What [product category] integrates with [popular tool in your space]?"

9. Local Business Queries (if applicable)

"What's a good [your service] company in [your city]?"

10. Getting Started Questions

"How do I choose a [your product category] for my business?"

Your action step: Test these 10 query variations with your business details. Note when you appear and when you don't. This is your baseline.

Real Examples: Small Businesses Getting It Right

Example 1: Local Marketing Agency

The Problem: A 5-person marketing agency in Austin wasn't appearing in any AI search results for local marketing services.

What They Did:

Created detailed case studies for each type of client (restaurants, law firms, fitness studios)
Wrote honest blog posts about common marketing challenges in Austin
Started answering questions in local business Facebook groups
Published a weekly "Austin Business Marketing Tips" newsletter

The Result: Within 3 months, they appeared in 40% of queries about "marketing help for Austin businesses" and saw a 25% increase in qualified leads.

Example 2: B2B SaaS Startup

The Problem: An inventory management software startup was invisible when people asked about inventory solutions.

What They Did:

Focused on one specific niche: food truck inventory management
Created a comprehensive guide: "The Food Truck Owner's Complete Inventory Playbook"
Interviewed 20 food truck owners about their biggest inventory challenges
Shared practical tips and templates, not just product features

The Result: Became the most-mentioned solution when AI assistants were asked about food truck inventory management.

Your Simple Weekly AI Search Workflow

Monday: Content Planning (30 minutes)

Review your list of core queries. Pick one question your customers ask frequently. Plan one piece of helpful content around that question for the week.

Wednesday: Content Creation (2 hours)

Create genuinely helpful content that addresses the question. Focus on being useful first, promotional second. Include real examples, specific tips, and actionable advice.

Friday: Distribution & Engagement (1 hour)

Share your content on relevant platforms where your customers spend time. Engage in conversations where you can add value without being salesy.

Sunday: Testing & Tracking (15 minutes)

Test your core queries again. Are you appearing in more AI responses? Take notes on any changes in how you're mentioned or positioned.

What Makes AI Search Different From Google SEO

Focus on Conversations, Not Keywords

Instead of optimizing for "best CRM software," create content that answers "How do I choose a CRM that my sales team will actually use?"

Be Helpful First, Promotional Second

AI systems favor content that helps people solve problems. Lead with value, not features.

Think Cross-Platform

AI systems pull from multiple sources: your website, social media, industry publications, forums. Be helpful wherever your customers spend time.

Quality Over Quantity

One really helpful, comprehensive resource beats 10 shallow blog posts. Go deep on topics where you have real expertise.

Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Trying to Be Everything to Everyone

Pick 2-3 specific customer types or use cases. It's better to dominate a small niche than be invisible in a large market.

Mistake #2: Only Publishing on Your Website

AI systems notice when expertise appears across multiple platforms. Share insights on LinkedIn, in industry forums, and in relevant communities.

Mistake #3: Being Too Promotional Too Quickly

Build trust first with genuinely helpful content. Save the sales pitch for after you've established credibility.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Local Opportunities

Many AI queries have local intent. If you serve local customers, create content that addresses local business challenges.

Measuring Your Progress Without Enterprise Tools

You don't need expensive software to track your AI search improvement. Here's a simple system:

Weekly Manual Testing

Test your 10 core queries every Friday. Keep a simple spreadsheet tracking:

Which queries mention you
How you're positioned (positive, neutral, negative)
Which competitors appear most often

Monthly Competitive Analysis

Once a month, test queries where competitors appear but you don't. Look for patterns:

What topics do they cover that you don't?
How do they position themselves differently?
What types of content get them mentioned?

Quarterly Deep Dive

Every three months, expand your testing to include 20-30 related queries. This helps you identify new opportunities and track broader improvements.

How Llumos Helps Small Businesses Get Found Online

Manual testing and tracking works, but it's time-consuming and easy to forget. Llumos automates AI search monitoring for businesses of all sizes, making it simple to track your progress and identify opportunities.

Our platform monitors your brand mentions across ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, tracks your competitors automatically, and sends you alerts when your visibility changes. You get professional-level AI search intelligence without enterprise complexity or pricing.

Instead of spending hours manually testing queries, you can focus on creating great content while Llumos tracks whether it's improving your AI search performance. Start your free trial and see where your business stands in AI search today.

Getting Started This Week

Today: Test your 10 core queries and document your baseline
Tomorrow: Identify the one question your customers ask most often
This week: Create one piece of genuinely helpful content addressing that question
Next week: Share that content across 2-3 platforms where your customers spend time
Two weeks from now: Test your queries again and measure improvement

The brands winning in AI search aren't the biggest or most well-funded – they're the most helpful. Start there, and everything else will follow.

Remember: You don't have to be perfect; you just have to be helpful. AI search rewards businesses that genuinely care about solving their customers' problems.