For years, pet businesses have invested heavily in ranking higher on Google. That strategy still matters, but it’s no longer the only way pet parents are finding local services. Increasingly, consumers are asking AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google’s AI-powered search experiences for recommendations instead of scrolling through pages of search results.
The problem is that most pet businesses aren’t showing up in those recommendations, even if they already rank well in traditional search results.
Recent research found that ChatGPT currently recommends only about 1.2% of local businesses, compared to 35.9% visibility in Google’s traditional local search results. That means many businesses that perform well in Google searches may still be invisible when someone asks an AI assistant for a recommendation. At the same time, consumer behavior continues to evolve. According to Yext’s 2026 research, 47% of consumers have already used AI to find a local business, making AI visibility an increasingly important part of any local marketing strategy.
If AI can’t find your business, understand what you offer, or trust the information it finds, it can’t recommend you.
That’s exactly why Barketing Solutions developed Barketing Beacon. Instead of guessing how AI platforms view your business, you can see exactly where you stand, identify opportunities for improvement, and build a strategy that prepares your pet business for the future of search.
AI Search Is Changing How Pet Parents Find Local Businesses
Think about how you search for local businesses today. Not long ago, finding a pet sitter or dog walker usually meant typing a phrase like “pet sitter near me” into Google, opening several websites, reading reviews, and comparing your options before deciding who to contact.
Today, that same person is increasingly asking questions like:
“Who is the best pet sitter near me?”
“Can you recommend a reliable dog walker in my area?”
“Which pet sitter has the best reviews?”
Instead of displaying pages of search results, AI platforms often deliver just a small number of recommendations they consider the best fit. If your business isn’t included, you may never have the opportunity to compete for that client’s attention, no matter how much you’ve invested in your website or SEO.
That’s why Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) has become one of the fastest-growing areas of digital marketing. The goal is no longer just to rank well in search results. It’s to help AI platforms understand your business well enough to recommend it with confidence.
Why Some Businesses Get Recommended While Others Don’t
Many business owners assume AI recommendations work exactly like Google rankings, but they don’t. Rather than relying solely on traditional ranking signals, AI platforms pull together information from multiple trusted sources before deciding which businesses to recommend. Your website certainly matters, but so do the supporting signals that reinforce your credibility across the web.
Those signals can include consistent business information, directory listings, customer reviews, structured website content, topical authority, and the overall quality of your online presence.
That’s why we’ve previously discussed the importance of directories, local citations, and GEO-focused content. Each effort strengthens the trust signals AI platforms rely on to determine which businesses deserve recommendations.
The real challenge isn’t knowing what to improve. It’s knowing whether those improvements are increasing your visibility across today’s AI-powered search platforms. Until now, pet businesses have had very few ways to measure that.
Meet the AI Visibility Scanner
Every pet business investing in SEO, content, and online marketing should be asking the same question: Would today’s leading AI platforms actually recommend my business? Beacon, the AI Visibility Scanner was built to give you that answer.
The AI Visibility Scanner evaluates how your business appears across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google’s AI-powered search experiences, giving you a clear picture of how these platforms currently interpret your online presence. Rather than overwhelming you with technical data, it turns those findings into practical insights and actionable recommendations that help you strengthen your visibility over time.
More Than a Score, You Receive an Action Plan
Understanding where your business stands today is an important first step, but the real value lies in knowing how you can improve your visibility across today’s leading AI search platforms.
That’s why Beacon doesn’t stop at identifying strengths and weaknesses. It also provides an action plan designed to help you improve the signals that influence AI recommendations.
Perhaps your business information isn’t consistent across important directories. Maybe your website doesn’t clearly communicate your primary services or locations. Perhaps your online authority needs strengthening through additional content or trusted citations. Without clear direction, it’s easy to spend time improving the wrong areas or overlooking issues that have the greatest impact on AI visibility.
Instead of leaving you to figure everything out on your own, the scanner highlights opportunities that make your business easier for AI platforms to understand and recommend. It turns complex AI search data into clear, actionable next steps.
Measure Whether Your GEO Strategy Is Working
Earlier this year, we discussed why pet businesses should focus on Generative Engine Optimization and the importance of building strong trust signals through directories, structured content, and authoritative websites. Those foundational strategies remain some of the most effective ways to improve how AI platforms understand and evaluate your business.
Those strategies remain just as important today, but knowing what to do is only part of the equation. You also need to know whether your efforts are improving your visibility across AI-powered search platforms. Beacon fills that gap by showing how AI platforms currently interpret your business and highlighting opportunities to strengthen your visibility over time.
Included With Standard and Plus Plans
AI search is evolving quickly, so you can’t evaluate your visibility once and forget it. It’s something you monitor as your website, content, reviews, and online authority continue to grow. That’s why Beacon: AI Visibility Scanner is included with Barketing Solutions’ Standard and Plus plans, giving you an ongoing way to measure your progress and adapt as search continues to change.
Plus → Pack, FREE
Standard → Fetch FREE · add Pack for +$9/mo USD
Basic → 50% off any plan
As AI search continues to evolve, businesses that regularly measure their visibility will be far better positioned than those who wait to discover they’ve disappeared from AI recommendations altogether.
The businesses that succeed in AI search won’t necessarily be the ones making the biggest marketing investments. They’ll be the ones consistently measuring, improving, and adapting as AI continues changing how consumers discover local businesses.
Don’t Wait Until AI Search Leaves You Behind
AI-powered search isn’t replacing traditional SEO, but it is changing how pet parents discover and evaluate local businesses. Every improvement you make to your website, directory listings, reviews, and online authority strengthens the signals AI platforms use to decide which businesses to recommend.
If you’ve already started improving your GEO strategy, the next logical step is understanding whether those efforts are actually working. The AI Visibility Scanner gives you that clarity.
At Barketing Solutions, we help pet sitters, dog walkers, groomers, trainers, and other pet care professionals prepare for the future of search. Whether you’re just beginning to learn about AI optimization or you’re ready to measure your visibility across today’s leading AI platforms, the AI Visibility Scanner provides the insights and action plan you need to stay ahead of the competition.
AI search is changing how pet parents discover local businesses, and the businesses that understand and improve their visibility today will earn more recommendations tomorrow.
Learn more about Barketing Beacon to see how AI platforms interpret your business today, uncover opportunities for improvement, and build a stronger presence across the next generation of search.
For additional strategies, explore our guides on getting AI to recommend your pet care business and increasing your chances of being referenced in AI-powered searches like ChatGPT.
Erika Godwin is the President of Barketing Solutions and the Co-Founder and CMO of ProPet Software, an industry-leading kennel management software. Erika has over 8 years of experience with WordPress and graduated from Elmira College in 2009 with a BS, Business Administration- Marketing and Management. View Erika’s Full Bio.
