Google AI Overviews and AI Mode: what Toronto businesses need to know
Google now answers many searches with AI-written summaries. Here is how AI Overviews and AI Mode work for local searches, and what Toronto businesses can do.
Key takeaways
- AI Overviews are AI-written summaries that can appear at the top of Google results. AI Mode is a separate, more conversational way to search.
- For local questions, your Google Business Profile is central to what Google shows, inside and around these AI answers.
- Your website feeds these answers too, especially pages that clearly answer specific customer questions.
- The practical steps are familiar: a complete profile, consistent details, clear service pages, structured data and regular checks.
What AI Overviews and AI Mode are
AI Overviews are the short, AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of some Google searches. They try to answer the question directly and usually include links to the pages they drew from. They show up for some searches and not others.
AI Mode is a separate search experience inside Google. Instead of a page of results, you get a conversational answer and can ask follow-up questions, a bit like a chat assistant. Answers include links, and for local requests they can include businesses with ratings, hours and map details.
Both are powered by Google’s Gemini models working with Google Search. The features change often, and what you see can depend on your location, language, device and whether you’re signed in. So treat any description, including this one, as a snapshot, and look for yourself.
When they show up for local searches
Local searches don’t all behave the same way. A short search like “plumber near me” often still brings up Google’s familiar map with a short list of businesses. AI Overviews tend to be more common on questions that need explaining or comparing, such as:
- “How much does it cost to replace a furnace in Toronto?”
- “What should I look for in a real estate lawyer for a condo purchase?”
- “Is it worth getting a heat pump in Ontario?”
These are the questions people ask before they choose someone. If your page provides a clear, honest answer, you have a chance of being one of the sources Google links to at that early, research-heavy moment.
AI Mode handles longer, more detailed requests, like “family-friendly restaurant in Etobicoke with a patio and gluten-free options.” Requests like this can return a written answer that names specific businesses and pulls in their details.
Patterns shift over time, so don’t assume either way. Search your own most important questions and see what appears.
How your Business Profile feeds the answer
Your Google Business Profile is Google’s own record of your business: name, categories, address, hours, phone number, photos, services, attributes and reviews. When Google’s AI features talk about local businesses, that information is close at hand, and you can often see profile details such as ratings and hours displayed right in AI Mode answers.
That makes your profile one of the most valuable things to get right. Focus on:
- Categories: a primary category that matches what you mainly do, plus relevant secondary ones.
- Services and description: written in plain language, using the terms customers actually use.
- Hours: accurate, with holiday hours updated ahead of long weekends.
- Attributes: details like wheelchair accessibility, appointment requirements or languages spoken, where they apply.
- Photos: current images of your space, team and work.
- Reviews: a steady flow of genuine reviews, with thoughtful replies.
Our Google Business Profile checklist walks through each section in detail.
How your website feeds the answer
AI Overviews link to the pages they draw from, so your website matters as much as your profile. Google’s guidance for site owners says the usual fundamentals apply: pages need to be indexed and eligible to appear with a snippet in regular search. There’s no special AI tag or trick.
What helps in practice is a page that actually answers the question. Say you’re a renovation contractor in North York and someone asks how long a kitchen renovation takes. A page that answers plainly, with honest ranges and the factors that change them, is something Google can use. A page that only says “Contact us for details” isn’t.
Structured data
Structured data, or schema markup, labels your business details in a format machines can read: your name, address, hours, services and more. It should always match what’s visible on the page. Our guide to schema markup for local businesses explains the basics.
Things that get in the way
- Important information only inside images or PDFs.
- Settings that accidentally block Google from crawling your pages or showing snippets.
- Near-identical “location” pages for every neighbourhood, with only the name swapped.
- Out-of-date details that contradict your Business Profile.
Practical steps for Toronto businesses
- Claim and complete your Business Profile. Fill in every section that applies to you.
- Make your details match everywhere. Name, address, phone and hours should be identical on your website, Google, Yelp and directories.
- Give each main service its own page. If you serve several parts of the city, describe that honestly rather than creating a page for every neighbourhood.
- Answer real customer questions on your site. Pricing ranges, timelines, what to expect at a first visit. Plain language beats marketing copy.
- Add structured data that reflects what’s on your pages.
- Earn and respond to reviews consistently, not in bursts.
- Check the results yourself in regular Google search and in AI Mode, on both phone and desktop.
Practical tip: Results depend on location, so check from Toronto. A search run from the cottage or through a VPN may not reflect what a customer in Scarborough or the Annex sees.
What about clicks?
When the answer appears right on the results page, some people won’t click through to any website. How much that affects your business is hard to predict, and it will differ by industry.
For local businesses, being named still counts. A customer who sees you in an AI answer may call straight from your profile, ask for directions or look you up later. Keep an eye on your Business Profile performance figures and Google Search Console over time, and ask new customers how they found you. That combination usually tells you more than any single number.
The bottom line
Google’s AI features are built on the same foundations as Google search: a clear website, an accurate Business Profile and a good reputation. The difference is that the answer is now written for the customer, and it pays to be easy to describe. For the bigger picture, read what AI search optimization is and how ChatGPT recommends local businesses.
If you’d like help, our local listings, content and monitoring services cover each of these steps. To talk through where your business stands, book a free 20-minute call.
