By Victoria Barton · 11 November 2026
You can spend hours improving your website and still miss what a potential customer finds elsewhere. An old directory listing. A LinkedIn profile that describes a service you no longer offer. An article with the wrong business name.
When I look at AI visibility, I want to know what the whole picture says about you. Your website matters. So do the places where other people describe, review or recommend your business.
Google belongs in this conversation
AI search includes ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity, but it also includes Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. Someone can encounter an AI answer without leaving the search engine they already use.
Google says its existing SEO fundamentals still apply to these features. A page needs to be indexed and eligible for a search snippet to appear as a supporting link. There is no special AI schema or AI text file required.
Read Google’s guidance on AI features
So I would not stop checking Google to focus on AI. I would check both, and record which experience each result came from.
Your LinkedIn profile is part of the picture
Meltwater research published by LinkedIn in May 2026 examined B2B AI citations across 6 models. LinkedIn ranked 2nd among cited sources in that study, behind YouTube. Of the LinkedIn citations, 75% came from individual member profiles and 25% from company pages.
Read the Meltwater research summary on LinkedIn
That is a finding from a particular B2B study, not a promise that posting on LinkedIn will get your business recommended. My practical takeaway is to give your own expertise a clear home: explain what you do, share specific examples and make it easy to connect your profile to your website.
Give people something specific to find
“I help businesses grow” tells a reader very little. A short account of a problem you found, how you checked it and what changed gives them something they can understand and assess.
In my own audits, I have found a website blocking Google from reading it and businesses showing different offers on different pages. Those are useful things to explain publicly, with the client’s permission or identifying details removed. They show the work behind the service.
Use that approach on your website and social profiles. When you contribute to an industry publication, appear on a podcast or earn a genuine review, check that your name, service and website are accurate there too. PR and third-party coverage can add independent context; they are not a guaranteed route into an AI answer.
Start with 4 checks
Check your own pages. Can a new visitor quickly understand what you do, who it is for, where you work and how to book?
Check your profiles. Do LinkedIn, relevant directories and your Google Business Profile, if you have one, describe the same business?
Check what others say. Search your business name and review the articles, listings and reviews that appear. Correct factual errors where you can.
Check real customer questions. Test questions about the service you offer, without putting your business name into every prompt. Record the platform, date, country, mentions and source links. Repeat the checks rather than treating 1 answer as the final result.
A mention is a starting point
Being named, being linked as a source and being recommended are different results. None tells you on its own whether someone booked. Track the enquiries and payments as well.
The aim is to make your business easier to understand and assess wherever someone encounters it. That starts with finding the gaps, then deciding which ones deserve your time.
My £67 AI visibility audit includes a personal review and a Loom walkthrough explaining what to prioritise.
By Victoria Barton · 11 November 2026
You can spend hours improving your website and still miss what a potential customer finds elsewhere. An old directory listing. A LinkedIn profile that describes a service you no longer offer. An article with the wrong business name.
When I look at AI visibility, I want to know what the whole picture says about you. Your website matters. So do the places where other people describe, review or recommend your business.
Google belongs in this conversation
AI search includes ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity, but it also includes Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. Someone can encounter an AI answer without leaving the search engine they already use.
Google says its existing SEO fundamentals still apply to these features. A page needs to be indexed and eligible for a search snippet to appear as a supporting link. There is no special AI schema or AI text file required.
Read Google’s guidance on AI features
So I would not stop checking Google to focus on AI. I would check both, and record which experience each result came from.
Your LinkedIn profile is part of the picture
Meltwater research published by LinkedIn in May 2026 examined B2B AI citations across 6 models. LinkedIn ranked 2nd among cited sources in that study, behind YouTube. Of the LinkedIn citations, 75% came from individual member profiles and 25% from company pages.
Read the Meltwater research summary on LinkedIn
That is a finding from a particular B2B study, not a promise that posting on LinkedIn will get your business recommended. My practical takeaway is to give your own expertise a clear home: explain what you do, share specific examples and make it easy to connect your profile to your website.
Give people something specific to find
“I help businesses grow” tells a reader very little. A short account of a problem you found, how you checked it and what changed gives them something they can understand and assess.
In my own audits, I have found a website blocking Google from reading it and businesses showing different offers on different pages. Those are useful things to explain publicly, with the client’s permission or identifying details removed. They show the work behind the service.
Use that approach on your website and social profiles. When you contribute to an industry publication, appear on a podcast or earn a genuine review, check that your name, service and website are accurate there too. PR and third-party coverage can add independent context; they are not a guaranteed route into an AI answer.
Start with 4 checks
Check your own pages. Can a new visitor quickly understand what you do, who it is for, where you work and how to book?
Check your profiles. Do LinkedIn, relevant directories and your Google Business Profile, if you have one, describe the same business?
Check what others say. Search your business name and review the articles, listings and reviews that appear. Correct factual errors where you can.
Check real customer questions. Test questions about the service you offer, without putting your business name into every prompt. Record the platform, date, country, mentions and source links. Repeat the checks rather than treating 1 answer as the final result.
A mention is a starting point
Being named, being linked as a source and being recommended are different results. None tells you on its own whether someone booked. Track the enquiries and payments as well.
The aim is to make your business easier to understand and assess wherever someone encounters it. That starts with finding the gaps, then deciding which ones deserve your time.
My £67 AI visibility audit includes a personal review and a Loom walkthrough explaining what to prioritise.
