Google’s AI Overviews started appearing in Australian search results in 2024. If you’ve searched for almost anything recently, you’ll have seen the AI-generated summary block sitting above the regular results - pulling together answers from multiple websites before you’ve even had a chance to click. It looks different. It feels different. And a lot of Sunshine Coast business owners are quietly wondering whether local SEO as they’ve known it is about to become irrelevant.
The short answer is no. The longer answer is more interesting: AI is actually making your Google Business Profile more important than it’s ever been, not less. But the way people search is genuinely shifting, and ignoring that shift is a mistake. Here’s what you actually need to understand.
What Are Google AI Overviews and Where Do They Appear?
AI Overviews are Google’s AI-generated summary responses that appear at the top of some search results pages. They pull content from multiple sources and present a synthesised answer. They’re most common for informational queries - “how does X work”, “what is Y” - and appear far less frequently for local, transactional, or service-based searches.
If someone searches “plumber Maroochydore” or “best electrician Sunshine Coast”, they are not getting an AI Overview. They are getting the Google Maps pack - the three local business listings that appear with a map - followed by regular organic results. The Map Pack is not being replaced by AI. It is still the most valuable piece of real estate on the page for any local service business, and it operates on exactly the same factors it always has: review volume, profile completeness, proximity, and relevance.
Does AI Change Anything for Local Search on the Sunshine Coast?
For purely local, transactional searches - “plumber near me”, “electrician Caloundra”, “cleaner Buderim” - AI Overviews are largely absent. Google’s own data shows that for queries with clear local intent, the Map Pack continues to dominate the visible page. This is deliberate. AI is good at synthesising general information; it is not well suited to recommending a specific local business for an urgent job.
Where AI is changing things is in informational searches that might previously have driven traffic to blog posts and service pages. A query like “how much does it cost to re-roof a house on the Sunshine Coast” might now get an AI-generated answer that reduces clicks to individual websites. This is real and worth being aware of. But it affects content marketing more than it affects local Maps visibility - and for most tradies, the Map Pack is the primary battleground anyway.
Why Your Google Business Profile Matters More Now, Not Less
Here is the thing that most people are missing in the AI conversation: Google’s AI systems - both in AI Overviews and in the emerging AI-powered search experience - are fed by structured, verified data. Your Google Business Profile is one of the most structured, verified pieces of data about your business that exists. Google trusts it. AI trusts it. And when AI systems do recommend local businesses - in conversational search, in Google’s Gemini AI, in voice search - they are pulling heavily from Business Profile data: your categories, your reviews, your service descriptions, your photos.
A thin, incomplete, or neglected Google Business Profile is not just a Maps ranking problem anymore. It is an AI visibility problem. A business with 60 detailed reviews, updated photos, accurate service listings, and regular posts is far more likely to appear when AI systems surface local recommendations than a business with 8 reviews from 2023 and a profile that hasn’t been touched since it was first claimed.
What Do AI Tools Like ChatGPT and Gemini Know About Your Business?
When someone asks ChatGPT to recommend a plumber on the Sunshine Coast, it draws on its training data - which includes web content, review platforms, and business directories. It cannot access real-time Google Maps data in its standard form, but it does have knowledge of businesses that appear frequently and consistently across the web. A business with strong review presence on Google, a well-maintained website, and consistent NAP (name, address, phone) data across directories is more likely to be known to AI tools and more likely to be mentioned in a recommendation.
This is a longer-term signal than the Map Pack - it builds over months and years - but it is real. The businesses that will benefit most from AI-powered recommendations are those that have been consistently building their digital presence. There is no shortcut that works specifically for AI visibility; the same things that make you visible on Google Maps make you visible to AI systems. Reviews. Profile completeness. Website credibility. Consistent directory listings. We look at exactly how customers are using AI to search for tradies, and what they see, in our post on how Sunshine Coast customers use AI to find tradies.
What Should a Sunshine Coast Tradie Actually Do About AI Search?
The practical answer is: keep doing what works, and do it better. There is no AI-specific tactic that replaces the fundamentals. The businesses that will be most visible in the AI search era are the ones that built strong Google foundations in the years before AI became dominant. If you are behind on that, now is the time to catch up - not because AI has changed the rules, but because the stakes for having a strong profile have increased.
Specifically:
- Keep getting reviews - consistently, monthly, with specific detail. Review text is read by AI. “Sam fixed our burst pipe in Maroochydore at 10pm on a Saturday” tells AI exactly what your business does and where.
- Keep your profile fully updated - accurate categories, complete service list, recent photos, correct hours. Structured data is AI fuel.
- Maintain a credible website - even a simple, well-written site signals legitimacy to both Google and AI systems. A business with no web presence beyond a profile is less visible to AI than one with even a basic site.
- Keep consistent contact details across the web - your name, address and phone number should match across Google, your website, Facebook, and any directories you appear in.
The bottom line: AI is not replacing Google Maps for local service searches. It is making the quality of your Google Business Profile more important, not less. The businesses that invest in reviews, profile completeness, and digital consistency will win in both the current Map Pack and the AI-powered future.
The business owners who are panicking about AI search are often the same ones who haven’t dealt with their Google Business Profile yet. The two problems have the same solution. If you want to understand where your profile stands and what the fastest path to visibility looks like for your trade, read our guide on how to reach the Google Maps top 3 or get a free audit from Haylo. And if you are considering bringing on a marketing agency to help build that presence, read our guide on how to test any Sunshine Coast marketing agency before you sign. We also dig into a related issue many businesses are running into: AI-built websites that look great but do not rank on Google - and what to do if yours is one of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are AI Overviews pushing local businesses out of Google search results?
No - not for local, transactional searches. AI Overviews appear most frequently for informational queries. When someone searches for a specific local service (“electrician Sunshine Coast”, “plumber near me”), the Google Maps pack continues to appear prominently and AI Overviews are typically absent. The Map Pack is not being displaced by AI.
Will ChatGPT recommend my business to someone looking for a tradie?
Potentially, if your business has a strong and consistent digital presence. AI tools draw on training data that includes web content, review platforms, and business directories. Businesses with many Google reviews, an active profile, and a credible website are more likely to be known to AI systems. However, most local service searches still happen on Google Maps rather than ChatGPT, so Map Pack visibility remains the priority.
Do I need to do anything different for AI search versus regular Google SEO?
No. The same fundamentals apply: complete Google Business Profile, consistent reviews, accurate directory listings, credible website. There is no separate AI-specific tactic that works independently of these things. AI systems favour structured, consistent, and well-reviewed businesses - which is exactly what good local SEO produces.
Is local SEO still worth investing in with AI changing search?
More than ever. The shift to AI makes the quality of your digital presence more consequential, not less. A well-managed Google Business Profile with strong reviews is now the foundation for both traditional Map Pack visibility and AI-powered recommendation. Businesses that neglect their local digital presence will find themselves invisible across an increasing range of search surfaces.
