How to get found in AI search

A number from HubSpot's 2026 research reframes how customers find you: 42 percent of software buyers now use AI search as part of their evaluation, and 72 percent of consumers plan to shop with AI more this year. The question is no longer just where you rank on Google. It is whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI answers mention you at all.

Why AI search changes how you get found

A Google result gives you a chance to win the click. An AI answer often replaces the click: the assistant reads a handful of sources, summarizes them, and names two or three businesses. If you are not one of them, the buyer never sees you, and never knows they didn't. Being un-citable is the new being un-rankable.

What it means for a small business

The good news: this is winnable while it is early. The work is not exotic. It is making your pages easy for a model to read and cite, which is the same structure that helps Google too: answer-first content, real FAQ sections, clear facts in plain text, and consistent details everywhere a model might read them.

• Check your baseline first: ask ChatGPT and Perplexity what they say about your business and your category.
• Restructure your top pages answer-first, with real FAQ sections and facts in plain text.
• Keep your name, services, and proof consistent everywhere a model might read them.

Bring me your site and the questions your buyers ask, and I'll tell you what I'd make quotable to AI first.