AI Is Already Changing How Customers Find You, Agents Are Next
ChatGPT, Gemni, and other AI tools are already helping your customers find and select service-providers. As we’ve previously discussed, these AI tools are not just writing emails and spitting out dinner recipes. They’re researching options, comparing reviews, and suggesting the top 1-5 best matches to the user (Sorry, no more top-10 game).
Soon, the user will no longer need to be involved. That’s because of what’s called “AI agents.” In short, it means a user just has to make his/her wishes known, and the AI will find, book, and pay for the desired service…all by itself! We’re not talking about 2035. This is going to start affecting you as soon as next year!
Gartner Inc. predicts that:
- Search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026
- 40% of enterprise apps will integrate task-specific AI agents by 2026.
- 15% of all routine business decisions will be autonomously made by AI agents by 2028.
- 50% of all business decisions will be AI-augmented or automated by 2027.
If your business isn’t AI-ready, you’re about to be invisible. But there’s a low-cost, low-effort way to avoid being slammed by this tidal wave…’
How AI Tools Work Now, and What Agents Will Demand
Today, customers ask AI like ChatGPT or Grok, “Find me a plumber in Dallas.” It scans:
- Reviews: High ratings (4.5+ stars, 50+ recent) win trust. Stale or fake reviews? You’re out.
- Google Business Profile (GBP): Your digital signpost. Missing hours or photos? AI ignores you.
- Website Structure: Vague “services” page? AI can’t parse it. Clear pages like “Emergency Plumbing in Dallas” with schema markup? You’re in.
- Trust Signals: FAQs answering “Are you licensed?” or “How fast can you fix my AC?” build credibility.
When agents arrive (likely next year), they’ll lean harder on these signals, prioritizing structured data and trust. Early adopters (e.g., a Seattle electrician with service-specific pages) report 35% more AI-driven leads already.
It’s important to remember that AI Agents don’t care about non-quantifiable, real-world things like reputation and word-of-mouth. They don’t have the discernment and wisdom of a human so they rely on things that can be calculated. They care only about the signals, the hard numbers, that it’s trained to calculate a decision on. Your hard-earned reputation in the community, built over decades, will be meaningless to the numbers-driven machine.
So how do you prepare? Scratch that. How do you prepare WITHOUT putting more on your plate?
Your 5-Step Plan to Win Now and Later
You’re slammed, so here’s the fast track to prep for AI tools today and agents tomorrow. Build on what you’re already doing… no overhaul needed.
- Stack Reviews Relentlessly: After every job, ask clients to rate you on Google. Aim for 10/week.
Check out this past article for ideas. - Own Your GBP: Claim it (free). Update services, add 10+ weekly photos, answer all reviews in 24 hours. Post offers there too.
Easy Mode: Get your marketing company to help with this. They can likely take most of the load off your plate. - Make Your Site AI-Friendly: One page per service, per location (e.g., “Roof Repair in Austin”). Use clear headings, bullets, and schema.org markup.
Easy Mode: We do this stuff all day, every day. We’ll take care of it so you can get back to doing actual work. - Use Prospect Genius’s AI QuickStart: Built for busy business owners. It delivers:
- LLMs.txt File: This is the AI version of the old site map. It’s just a special file that tells AI bots where to find the important stuff on your site. It helps make sure you’re actually showing up in AI search results and not getting skipped over.
- AI-Optimized FAQ Page: We’ll give you a pre-written page with the exact questions AI looks for. Plus, it’s got the techie coding (schema) baked in to make AI trust and understand it better.
The Result? As we proved last week, our clients are already getting hundreds of page views, every month, from these AI tools. Better still, none of them had to lift a finger because we handled it all.
- Test Your Visibility: Ask ChatGPT, “Recommend a [your service] in [your town].” Not listed? Time to get to work or call in the experts!
The Stakes: Leads Today, Survival Tomorrow
AI tools are already steering customers. Agents will soon close the deal, picking pros for them. Nail these steps to dominate both. Prospect Genius’ AI QuickStart can be your quick and easy edge.
Act now! When AI agents start booking, will they call you, or someone else?