Google AI Mode, AI Overviews and ChatGPT: one plan for a local business.

The short answer

AI Overviews are short AI summaries at the top of some normal Google results. Google AI Mode is a separate, conversational search for longer questions, and it runs many related searches behind the scenes before it answers. ChatGPT searches the web on its own and only shows sites its search crawler is allowed to read.

They work differently, but one plan covers all three: a site every crawler can read, a clear page for each service, a complete Google Business Profile, steady reviews and the same facts everywhere.

Three AI answers, side by side

Google AI Overviews

A summary that sits above the regular results on some searches, with links to the pages it drew from. Google shows one only when its systems judge it adds something, so many searches never get one. In Pew Research Center’s study of March 2025 browsing, 18 percent of Google searches did.

Google AI Mode

A separate, conversational search that Google opened to everyone in the U.S. on May 20, 2025. It is built for nuanced questions, comparisons and follow-ups. Google’s AI features documentation says AI Mode can use a technique called query fan-out: it runs several related searches across subtopics and data sources, then writes one answer with supporting links. It can also use different models from AI Overviews, so the two may cite different pages for the same question.

ChatGPT

OpenAI’s assistant searches the web when a question needs current information, turning it into one or more targeted searches. OpenAI’s crawler documentation says sites that block its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers. Its crawler for training AI models, GPTBot, is a separate bot with a separate purpose.

How a local question plays out in each

Take a real question: ‘who can replace a water heater in Louisville this week, and roughly what will it cost?’

• AI Overviews may or may not appear. When one does, it summarizes what Google found and links to a few pages.
• AI Mode, with query fan-out, can treat it as several questions at once: who does the work locally, typical costs, availability and reviews. Each of those is a chance for your website or Business Profile to be the page it reads.
• ChatGPT turns the question into web searches, reads what it finds and may name a few businesses, with links to its sources.

Google has also started doing some of the legwork itself. Google Search can call certain kinds of local businesses to ask about pricing and availability on a customer’s behalf, and Google says businesses stay in control through their Business Profile settings. It is worth opening those settings and deciding whether you want the calls.

What all three have in common

Strip away the branding and all three do the same job: they read the web and summarize what they find.

Google states it plainly in its documentation for site owners. There are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special files or markup are needed. A page has to be indexed and eligible to show a snippet in normal Search, the same as always. Eligible is not the same as chosen: the same documentation says indexing and serving are not guaranteed, so no one can promise a citation. Google’s best practices for AI features read like a good local SEO checklist: let crawlers in, link your pages together, keep important content in text, make structured data match what the page says, and keep your Business Profile current.

ChatGPT adds one requirement of its own: its search crawler has to be allowed through.

One plan for Google AI Mode, AI Overviews and ChatGPT

1. Let the crawlers in. Googlebot, Bingbot and OAI-SearchBot should all be able to read your site. Check robots.txt and any firewall, hosting or CDN setting that blocks bots. Plenty of sites block AI crawlers without knowing it.
2. Complete your Google Business Profile. Categories, services, service area, hours and photos, kept current. Google lists this among its best practices for AI features, and it is also where the AI calling feature is controlled.
3. Give every service its own page. Say what it is, who it is for and where you work in the first two sentences, then answer the questions customers ask. This guide to showing up in AI answers goes deeper on writing them.
4. Earn steady, specific reviews. A review that names the job and the neighborhood gives every AI tool words to match. A direct Google review link makes asking easy.
5. Say the same thing everywhere. Business name, address, phone and services identical on your site, Google, Bing Places and the directories that matter in your trade.
6. Keep facts in text. Prices, service areas and hours written on the page, not only inside an image or a PDF.
7. Measure what you can. Search Console includes AI Overviews and AI Mode in its Web totals, and your analytics shows visits from chatgpt.com. Check whether AI Overviews are costing you clicks once a quarter.

What not to spend money on

• Guaranteed placement. Nobody can promise that AI Mode or ChatGPT will name your business. Anyone who does is guessing.
• Special files for Google. Google says its AI features need no special files. An llms.txt file can help some other AI tools find your best pages, and it is cheap to add, but it will not get you into AI Mode.
• Three separate strategies. The foundations above do the work for all three. Doing them once and well beats doing three versions of them badly.
• Fake reviews or hidden text. They get businesses ignored by search engines and AI tools alike.

How I check where a business stands

I start by asking ChatGPT, Google and Perplexity the questions a customer would ask, signed out, and recording exactly what comes back: which businesses get named and which pages get cited. Then I check crawler access, the Business Profile and the service pages against the plan above.

I ran the same checklist on my own site before offering it to anyone in Louisville: every major AI crawler allowed through, business, service and FAQ structured data on the pages that matter, and new pages sent to Bing the day they publish. The details are on my AI SEO page, and if you want AI working elsewhere in the business too, that is AI consulting.

Frequently asked questions

What is Google AI Mode?

A conversational search mode in Google, open to everyone in the U.S. since May 2025, built for longer questions, comparisons and follow-ups. It can run several related searches behind the scenes and answers with supporting links.

What is the difference between AI Mode and AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are summaries that appear on top of some regular results. AI Mode is a separate conversation the searcher chooses to start. They can use different models, so they may cite different pages for the same question.

How do I get my business into Google AI Mode?

There is no sign-up. Google says a page that is indexed and eligible to show a snippet in normal Search is eligible for AI Mode, with nothing extra required. Eligible does not mean it will be cited. A complete Business Profile and clear service pages give it something good to use.

Do I need a separate plan for ChatGPT?

Mostly no. The extra step is making sure OpenAI’s search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, is not blocked. Everything else in the plan above serves ChatGPT too.

Can Google’s AI call my business?

For some kinds of local businesses, yes. Google Search can call to ask about pricing and availability on a searcher’s behalf, and Google says businesses control this in their Business Profile settings.

Will blocking GPTBot keep me out of ChatGPT search?

No. GPTBot gathers content for training AI models. Whether you appear in ChatGPT search answers depends on OAI-SearchBot, which OpenAI runs as a separate crawler.