Whitmark Digital

Generative artificial intelligence in Google’s search engine is now recommending who you should hire to repair your furnace or provide lawn services.

And even if you haven’t seen it, it’s easy to imagine that Google’s AI tool, Gemini, will soon recommend lawyers, doctors, dentists, plumbers, roofers, and other local professionals and home service businesses.

This means local business owners need to consider how generative AI tools like Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude will describe them.

AI growing way faster than I expected

I’ll be honest. Even though I’ve been paying some attention to how quickly generative AI is being integrated into our lives, I was stunned to discover local business recommendations while researching for a client.

I first encountered it while reviewing Google search results for real estate agents in Murrysville, Pa. At one point, I searched for “real estate agent Murrysville reviews.”

The results included a response generated by Gemini that, honestly, shocked me.

Here’s the full text of the response:

“Murrysville, PA real estate agents are generally rated highly for their responsiveness, communication, and market knowledge, with many clients praising their ability to navigate the buying and selling process smoothly. Several agents consistently receive positive feedback, including Tony Molnar-Strejcek, Kristin Buckwalter, and Lauren Klein. 

“Here’s a more detailed look at the reviews:

• “Tony Molnar-Strejcek:
• “Howard Hanna is frequently praised for his responsiveness, thoroughness, and ability to go above and beyond for clients, often described as ‘awesome, honest, and professional,” says Howard Hanna. 
• “Kristin Buckwalter:
• “Howard Hanna is highlighted for her marketing skills and ability to make the selling process relatively painless, with one client noting that she “drummed up a buzz” about their house before it officially went on the market, leading to a quick sale. 
• “Jen Mascaro:
• “Zillow is praised for her responsiveness, helpfulness, and ability to guide clients through the entire process, including finding the best possible price for their property. 
• “Lauren Klein:
• “Zillow is known for her commitment to client satisfaction and her ability to make clients feel like her top priority, even with a busy schedule. 

“Overall, Murrysville agents are praised for: 

• Responsiveness: Agents are consistently described as being quick to answer questions and provide updates. 
• Communication: Clients appreciate clear and effective communication throughout the buying and selling process. 
• Market Knowledge: Many reviews mention agents’ strong understanding of the Murrysville market, allowing them to provide informed guidance. 
• Professionalism: Agents are often described as professional, knowledgeable, and dedicated to their clients’ needs.”

Found similar results for other contractors

To test a little more, I did similar searches for reviews of local home service providers like contractors, kitchen remodelers, furnace repair, and roofers. The results named several businesses with good reviews from sources like Angi, Yelp, Reddit, and the Better Business Bureau.

I also searched for “best furnace repair Monroeville” and “best landscaper Monroeville.” Gemini produced AI responses for both searches and named five HVAC businesses and three landscapers.

Here’s the Gemini response to a search for “best landscaper Monroeville:”

“Several highly-rated landscaping companies in Monroeville, PA are available through Angi and HomeAdvisor. J.N. Lawn Care, Beys H.D.M.C., LLC, and TJ’s Landscaping are consistently recommended for their high-quality work and customer satisfaction. Lawn Love also lists several top-rated lawn care and landscaping services in the area, including L&Js and AV Landscaping. For more comprehensive landscaping services, Betschart Lawn and Landscape, LLC offers specialized services including landscape design and commercial maintenance.”

My thoughts and observations:

1. Generative AI is encroaching on “normal” Google search results faster than I expected.
2. Some of the usual features of Google search results pages were still there. Sponsored results (ads) were on top. A three-pack with a map of local real estate agents or agencies appeared below the Gemini response. Other organic results showed up below the three-pack.
3. When I searched again for real estate agents as I was writing this newsletter,  the Gemini response listed four different agents with good reviews.
4. The AI response says the named agents “consistently receive positive feedback,” but fails to mention that many other agents in Murrysville also consistently get positive feedback.
5. In the real estate example above, clicking on the agents’ names takes you to a search results page about each one.
6. In the same example, the links to Howard Hanna’s website and Zillow take you to reviews on those sites.
7. Based on the links in the AI response, we can extrapolate where Gemini got some of its information, but we have no idea how it “decided” to highlight just those four agents (or how it decided to highlight four other agents on a different day).
8. Each Gemini response also included “AI responses may include mistakes” as a disclaimer.
9. Marketers have already been wondering how businesses can improve their chances of being included in AI responses to queries. This will be similar to the search engine optimization scramble to appear at the top of search results.
10. In my limited sample, the businesses recommended by Gemini were not the same businesses that appeared in the organic (unpaid) search results in Google, suggesting the criteria for being mentioned by Gemini are different from those for top positions in search results.

According to Gemini itself, it relies on results provided by Google Search, so the quality and completeness of its responses depend on the available information and effectiveness of the search query. Sometimes, Gemini generates inaccurate responses.

The good news is that Google Search is one of the tools used by Gemini, so efforts you make to improve search ranking should also carry over to Gemini results. There’s more to it, though, and we’ll all have to watch for clues that lead to AI learning more about our businesses.