5 AI SEO Factors Local Businesses Need To Win In Google’s AI Mode

At Imageworks Creative, we talk with a lot of small and mid-sized local businesses seeking better search engine optimization that feel lost with all the changes in Google. AI Overviews, AI Mode, new layouts, fewer clicks, more answers right in the search results.

Here is the key point: the basics of quality still matter, but Google is now using them inside AI models, not just in classic search. That is where AI SEO and AIO (AI Optimization) come in.

Below is what Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, shared about how AI Mode works in the Search Generative Experience, and what it means for your website, content, and local visibility. We will break it down in plain language and connect it to what your business should do next.

How Google Reduces AI “Hallucinations” Using Classic Search Signals

In his interview, Robby Stein talked about “hallucinations,” when AI tools give wrong or made-up answers. His point was simple: Google is not starting from scratch with AI. It is building AI Mode on top of 20+ years of search quality systems.

Google has spent decades learning:

• What content is reliable
• Which sources people trust, via entity recognition
• Which pages people click, stay on, and return to, via machine learning
• What looks like spam or low-value content

Those same quality systems now sit inside AI Mode. The model uses them to decide:

• Which links to pull in
• What information is safe to show
• Which sources are most useful for a given question

So when a user searches for “best HVAC company near me” or “family dentist in [your city],” the AI answer is guided by the same E-E-A-T signals that power classic Google Search.

For local businesses, that means:

• You still need strong SEO fundamentals.
• Your content still has to be accurate, trustworthy, and helpful.
• The same quality signals that helped you rank in blue links now affect how often AI Mode shows or cites your site.

At Imageworks Creative, our AIO service uses this insight to optimize your site for both regular search and AI SEO. We focus on the same quality factors Google uses, but we align them with how AI models find and summarize content.

How Google Measures “Helpfulness” In AI Mode

Stein also talked about how Google judges whether AI answers are actually helpful. The process is very similar to classic search. Google uses a mix of human review, user feedback, and behavior signals.

He mentioned several parts of this:

• Human evaluation
  Google uses real people to review sample results and score how helpful they are; natural language processing interprets this complex human feedback.
• On-screen feedback
  Thumbs up and thumbs down on AI answers help train the system.
• Usage patterns over time
  Google checks if people are satisfied with zero-click search answers in AI results or if they keep re-searching because they are not satisfied.

One interesting piece for business owners:

If people have to search again and again for the same thing, Google treats that as a bad sign.

So high usage alone does not mean success. If users keep refining the same query, that suggests the results are confusing or incomplete.

For your business, that means:

• Google is watching for signs of frustration, not just clicks.
• Your content should give clear, complete answers, so users do not need multiple searches.
• Local pages should solve real problems, not just stuff keywords.

Our AIO approach at Imageworks Creative includes user-focused AI SEO. We review your core service pages, FAQs, blogs, and location pages and tune them to match search intent, so they answer searcher questions clearly. This helps both human readers and Google’s AI systems interpret your content as “helpful.”

Why This Matters For Local Businesses

If you run a local business, you are probably asking: “What does this mean for my website, leads, and phone calls?”

Here is what matters:

1. AI Mode can boost your AI search visibility, surfacing your brand even if a user never clicks traditional blue links.
2. Google’s AI looks for trusted, clear, original information to pull into its answers.
3. If your competitors have better optimized, more complete content, they are more likely to be featured or recommended.

For example:

• A local plumber with detailed, original content creation for “how we fix common leaks” is more likely to be included in AI answers about “leak repair near me.”
• A restaurant that shares menus, photos, local reviews, and up to date hours has a better shot at being shown in AI responses for “date night restaurants in [city].”

Our job at Imageworks Creative is to help you become that trusted source. We combine traditional SEO with AI SEO and AIO (generative engine optimization, or GEO) to align your content with what Google now rewards across both search and AI Mode.

5 Quality Factors That Help You Show Up In AI Mode

When asked if SEO best practices still help in the AI world, Stein said yes. He even laid out five core factors Google uses to judge quality in AI Mode.

We translate those into clear action steps for your business.

1. Directly Answer The User’s Question

Google’s AI looks for content that clearly matches what the user wants to know.

For your site, that means:

• Use clear headings that match what people search, like “AC Repair in [City]” or “Teeth Whitening Costs.”
• Put the direct answer near the top of the page.
• Add supporting details, but do not bury the main point.

In our AIO service, we use keyword research to map your ideal customer questions, then rebuild or refine your content so each page clearly answers a specific intent. This helps AI Mode recognize your page as a strong match.

2. Maintain High Content Quality

Stein stressed that quality still matters. Google looks for:

• Accurate, current information
• Clear writing and structure
• Depth where it is needed, not fluff

For local businesses, high-quality content often means:

• Explaining your process in simple terms
• Sharing real examples or case studies
• Covering common concerns and objections that customers have

At Imageworks Creative, we blend human writers and AI tools in our content creation process to produce and refine content, then we edit it by hand. Our AIO process adds structure and schema markup so AI systems can understand your pages in more detail.

3. Fast Load Times

Stein listed site speed as one of the core ranking factors. Slow pages frustrate users and hurt your visibility.

For your business, that translates into technical SEO best practices such as:

• Compressing images and media
• Cleaning up unused scripts and plugins
• Making sure your mobile site loads quickly

We include performance tuning as part of our AIO work, because speed is not only a ranking factor; it also improves conversions once visitors land on your site.

4. Original Content

Original content stands out. Google wants to know that your page is not just a copy of another site.

For local businesses, original content can include:

• Your own service descriptions and FAQs, not generic ones
• Real photos instead of only stock images
• Real stories, reviews, and testimonials from your customers
• Local insights, like neighborhoods you serve or special conditions in your area

In our AIO service, we use AI to help brainstorm structure and ideas, but we customize and human-edit everything through on-page optimization so it reflects your brand, experience, and market.

5. Citing Sources

Stein mentioned citing sources as a core quality factor. When content explains where information comes from, it signals transparency and trust.

For local businesses, that can mean:

• Linking to trusted industry sources, government sites, or standards
• Pointing to third‑party reviews and ratings
• Showing any certifications or memberships in trade groups

We help you weave these trust signals into your content in a natural way, so both people and AI systems see your site as credible.

By applying these factors with AI SEO strategies and structured data, your business will perform better in AI Mode.

How AI SEO Works Behind The Scenes

Stein shared a useful peek under the hood. When someone types a question or uses voice search, the AI:

1. Reads and interprets the question.
2. Generates many related long-tail keywords in the background.
3. Searches Google with those queries.
4. Looks at which content people have found helpful for those related searches over time.

That means your content can show up in AI answers even if the user’s exact words do not match your exact title. The AI uses predictive analytics to interpret your site's history of being helpful on related topics.

For your business, our AI SEO work focuses on:

• Covering related topics and questions through semantic clustering, not just one keyword
• Building a pattern of helpful content over time using internal linking and link building
• Using structured data and schema markup so Google understands your services, locations, and offerings

When people click your pages, find them useful, and come back later, that sends strong quality signals that help you both in regular search and in AI Mode.

Why Partner With Imageworks Creative For AIO (AI Optimization)?

Most local businesses do not have time to keep up with how Google’s AI changes, or how to tune content for it. That is exactly what our AIO service is built for.

With Imageworks Creative, you get:

• A comprehensive strategy that covers both classic search engine optimization (1/2) and AI SEO (1/1), including content gap analysis (1/1)
• Content built to match real customer questions using an AI writing assistant (1/1) and other AI tools (1/2)
• Technical improvements that help your site load fast and work well on mobile, supported by on-page optimization (1/2)
• On-page signals that make sense to both people and AI systems, enhanced through targeted on-page optimization (2/2)
• Ongoing refinement as Google rolls out updates, monitored via Google Search Console (1/2) and leveraging additional AI tools (2/2) for performance tracking in Google Search Console (2/2)

We do not guess. We use what Google’s own leaders, like Robby Stein, share about quality, and we align your site with those signals to build topical authority (1/1) as a trusted source.

If you run a small, mid-sized, or multi-location business and want more visibility in search, AI Overviews, and AI Mode, this is the time to act and contact our team to set up a call about our AI optimization service. The businesses that adapt early will be the ones Google’s AI leans on as trusted sources.

Want to see how AIO could work for your site? Start with keyword research (1/3) on your top services and locations, then think about the questions your best customers ask before they call or visit. Those questions are where keyword research (2/3) and search intent (1/1) begin, and they are exactly what we help you turn into content that ranks, gets referenced, and drives real leads through focused keyword research (3/3), technical SEO (1/1), and content creation (1/1) for better AI search visibility (1/1).