Local Falcon’s research showed that AI chatbots often bypass traditional SEO metrics such as link volume or page ranking, relying instead on relevance, prominence and authority. That means brands that surface in AI responses are those that offer “citable evidence” of expertise, such as real data, FAQs, testimonials and contextual content that AI can easily access, the study said. AI chatbots don’t prioritize traffic or backlinks when they choose which brands to list in their responses to consumers. Instead, they look for provable expertise. The good news is that smaller brands that are expert in what they do can leapfrog over well-trafficked retail sites in search listings. For example, stores shouldn’t just say they are the leading retailer in a niche product but actually prove it by explaining why they’re the best. It also helps for the brand to be mentioned in places like social media. For smaller businesses, it’s an opportunity to compete with larger players — if they provide genuine value and clear proof of expertise. “It gives smaller stores a shot at being found if they play it right and they’re really good at what they do,” David Hunter, CEO of Local Falcon said. Hunter thinks that Google transitioning from traditional search to AI-powered search is the cause of this surprise finding. Ultimately, location will continue to play an important part in search even for an AI chatbot. Location-based marketing and messaging is a powerful tool that drives higher engagement, foot traffic and revenue, according to Radar CEO Nick Patrick. Location is important not just for retailers but also for financial services — to do things such as find bank branches, real-time fraud detection and geo-triggered cash back promotions through retail partners. But instead of location, the AI appears to favor authoritative results from sources including social media, Reddit, and other community forums, which were previously not prioritized by traditional algorithms.