Google's AI Overviews now show up on somewhere between one in six and six in ten searches, depending on which 2026 study you trust (demandsage.com). Ask an AI assistant a "who should I call" question and it doesn't hand back ten blue links, it names two or three businesses and moves on. That's the whole game now: fewer slots, and the ones AI picks come from somewhere specific. Usually a website.
A Facebook page or a Google Business Profile is still worth having. But neither one gives an AI assistant much to work with. There's no service list to quote, no pricing structure to describe, no FAQ answering "do you do same-day calls" in plain text. A website is the one place you control that AI can actually read and summarize accurately, instead of guessing from a photo caption or a three-star review.
What a website gives AI that a profile doesn't
Google Business Profiles and social pages are built for browsing, not for reading. There's a name, a category, some photos, maybe a review or two. A well-built website has actual sentences: what you do, who you do it for, what it costs (roughly), and how someone books you. That's the raw material AI Overviews and chat assistants pull from when they answer a question instead of just listing results.
| Social profile / GBP only | Website | |
|---|---|---|
| AI can quote your services in detail | No, just a category | Yes, if the page says it plainly |
| AI can answer "do you serve [city]?" | Rarely, unless it's in the bio | Yes, if you have a page for it |
| You control what gets shown | No, algorithm decides | Yes, you write it |
| Shows up when someone asks a follow-up question | Almost never | Often, if the FAQ covers it |
| Costs to maintain | Free, but limited | A domain, hosting, and some upkeep |
None of this means delete your Google profile. It means the profile gets people curious and the website is what actually convinces the AI, and the person, that you're the right call.
The one page most small business sites are missing
We look at a lot of client sites before we touch them, and the same gap shows up constantly: a homepage, a contact page, and nothing that answers a specific question a customer (or an AI model summarizing an answer) would actually type. No page that says "yes, we do emergency calls" or "here's what a kitchen reno actually costs in London." Just a paragraph about the company's "passion for excellence."
That's the fix that matters more than a redesign: write pages that answer real questions in plain sentences. A short FAQ section on your homepage or service page, with the question as a heading and a direct two- or three-sentence answer underneath, does more for AI visibility than almost any other single change. It's cheap, it's fast, and unlike a lot of SEO advice, you can do it yourself this afternoon.
Do this today, no developer required
- Open your website and read your homepage out loud. If it doesn't say what you do, who you do it for, and how to contact you within the first two sentences, rewrite it now.
- Add three FAQ questions to your main service page using your actual customers' words: "Do you [service] in [your city]?", "How much does [your main service] cost?", "How fast can you [book/respond/deliver]?"
- Check that your business name, address, and phone number match exactly across your website, your Google Business Profile, and Facebook. Mismatches confuse both search engines and AI models about which business is which.
- If you don't have a dedicated page for your main service, write one. Even 300 honest words beats a single homepage paragraph trying to cover everything you do.
None of that needs a web developer. It needs twenty minutes and a willingness to write like you talk.
Where DIY stops making sense
A single page you write yourself in an afternoon is genuinely fine for a one-person operation testing an idea. Where it falls apart is structure: getting the technical bones right so search engines and AI crawlers can actually read the page (proper headings, fast load times, working mobile layout, schema markup that tells Google what kind of business you are) is not a fifteen-minute job, and most site builders don't do it by default. We've taken over sites where the owner wrote great copy that never got indexed because the page took nine seconds to load or the whole thing was one image with no real text on it.
If you're comfortable in a website builder and your business is simple, build it yourself and revisit this list. If you're spending more time fighting the builder than writing content, or you've had a site for years that's never generated a lead, that's the point where paying someone to fix the structure is worth it. Check our web design work in London if you want to see what that actually looks like, or start with our digital marketing services if you're not sure whether the problem is the site or the traffic reaching it. We've also written more specifically about getting recommended by ChatGPT, Copilot, and Google AI if that's the piece you want to go deeper on.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need a website if I'm active on social media and Google?
Yes. Social profiles and Google Business Profiles are discovery tools, they get you noticed. A website is what gets you understood, by customers and by AI, because it's the one place you can explain your business in full sentences instead of a bio field.
Will AI search replace the need for a website eventually?
Unlikely anytime soon. AI Overviews and chat assistants have to pull their answers from somewhere, and right now that's mostly websites with clear, well-structured content. No website usually means no source to cite.
How much does a basic small business website cost?
Market rates in Canada run from a few hundred dollars for a template you build yourself up to several thousand for a custom site with SEO built in. We've broken down real ranges in our website cost guide.
What's the fastest way to make my site more AI-friendly?
Add a clear FAQ section with real questions and short, direct answers. It's the single highest-value change for how AI assistants read and quote your site, and you can write it yourself today.
Can I just use a free website builder instead of hiring someone?
For a one-page presence while you're starting out, sure. Once you need the site to actually generate leads, the technical setup (speed, structure, schema) usually needs more attention than free builders provide by default.