Search "driveway sealcoating Kauai" and Google may answer before it shows a single link. That summary at the top is an AI Overview, and for a lot of customers it's now the first thing they read.
Your business is either named in it or it isn't.
Owners ask me how to get in. Google's answer is surprisingly plain. Its documentation on AI features says there are no additional requirements and no special optimizations. A page has to be indexed and eligible to show in search with a snippet. That's it.
So there's no trick. AI Overviews are built from the same pages Google already finds and trusts. The work is good local SEO, done with less room for sloppiness.
Start With Your Google Business Profile
For a local service business, Google's own data about you carries a lot of weight. Google specifically recommends keeping your Business Profile current.
Check the basics: business name, phone, hours, service area, the services you offer and recent photos. Then compare them to your website. They should match exactly.
An unclaimed or outdated profile gives the AI less to work with and less reason to trust what it has.
Make Sure Google Can Read Your Site
Google's guidance includes keeping important content in text form and making pages easy to find through internal links.
Many small business sites fail this quietly. The content loads through scripts, the page builder stacks layers of code, and the mobile version crawls. We covered why in Why AI Search Breaks Most Business Websites and why lighter sites hold up better in Why Static Websites Outperform Heavier Platforms.
The short version: your services, service area and anything a customer would ask about should be in the page as text the moment it loads.
Write Answers, Not Brochures
An AI Overview is an answer to a question. "How much does sealcoating cost?" "Do you service Princeville?" "How long before I can drive on it?"
Pages that state the question and answer it right away are easy to pull from. Pages that open with company history are not.
Here's a quick test. Read the first sentence under each heading on your site. If it answers the heading on its own, you're in good shape. If it needs the next three sentences to make sense, rewrite it.
Keep Your Structured Data Honest
Google is clear that there's no special schema for AI features. What it does ask is that your structured data match what's visible on the page.
Schema still helps Google understand who you are, as we explain in What Is Schema and Why It Matters. It just has to tell the same story as the page. Old hours in the markup and new hours on the page is a mismatch Google notices.
Be the Same Business Everywhere
Your website, Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook and local directories should all list the same name, address and phone number.
This drifts most often after a business moves, rebrands or changes owners. One old phone number on one listing is a small thing. Several small things add up to a business Google is less sure about.
Earn Mentions From Other People
Reviews, a local news story, a supplier or partner who links to you. What other sites say about you counts for more than what you say about yourself.
You can't shortcut this part. You can ask happy customers for reviews and make sure you're listed where locals look.
What This Won't Do
Google states plainly that indexing and serving aren't guaranteed. Nobody outside Google controls which businesses appear in a given AI Overview, and the answer can change from one search to the next.
Anyone promising you a guaranteed spot is guessing.
Final Thought
The work removes reasons to leave you out. On Kauai, where plenty of businesses haven't touched their website or profile in years, that's often enough to come out ahead.