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From Blue Links to AI Answers: T&T Businesses- Adapt or Die Trying!
Back in the days of yore, Trinis would search online in what will ironically be known as the ‘old-fashioned’ way. You typed a few words into Google, scrolled a page of blue links (ahh! the links of blue… how we long for thee!); clicked the one or two that tickled your fancy, and you and your fancy would go down the path it lead you.
That practice is changing faster than you realize, and your fancy is changing it’s mode of tickleation. Today, people type the same question and get a written answer at the top of the screen, which is the AI answer. They may barely scroll down now, or skip Google altogether and ask ChatGPT. Instead of ten links, they get a short list of names. If your business is on that list, your phone rings or you get a WhatsApp message. If it isn’t, the customer never knew you were an option.
This is not a reason to panic. Google still matters and so does your website. But the way customers find businesses here is shifting, and the ones who adjust early will have a clear edge over the ones who wait until things go quiet.
And if you’re still lying in your ‘hammeck’ like it will magically sort itself, then you’ll soon have a reason to panic.
What's changing in search
Three things now sit between your customer and your website.
AI Overviews. A written summary at the top of a normal Google results page, and so named as AI Overview. Just below the AI Overview results is a nice convenient box to continue the conversation with the AI. Below that, are the usual blue links, which, many may barely scroll to or notice. If you’re there, still consider yourself fortunate as the blue links aren’t dead yet.
AI Mode. A full-page, chat-style version of Google. You ask a question, get one answer with sources, then keep asking follow-ups. Many Trinis go straight to this from the Google page depending on their query, i.e. they bypass the keyword text box completely and hit the AI Mode button immediately.
AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini. People ask these for recommendations the way they once asked a friend. ChatGPT is now many-a-Trini’s new ‘bes fren’. They often alternate between the ‘nex bes fren’ Gemini, if they don’t get the answer they’re looking for in the the other.
Here is why that matters for your website traffic. People in general, and, yes, Trinis are people too, behave differently when the AI Summary appear at the top. You will also notice for some queries, an AI Summary does not always appear. Again, depending on the query, the visitor may check the links and navigate accordingly, or go to AI Mode to get a direct AI answer. That’s they way it’s changing folks.
The goal used to be getting into the top ten links. Now it is being one of the few names the AI determines that should be there.
Why this matters to T&T businesses
Trinis are online in T&T and on the same phones, apps and AI tools as the rest of the world. Call it what you will, copy, adopt, jump on the bandwagon, even call it Shirley, that’s a fact. There is no T&T-specific data yet on how many people use AI to find a business, but it’s fair to say that there is a vast majority who use an AI tool to get a local business recommendation. There’s also no data to compare the search usage between ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. However, it’s highly probable that Google would still be a Trini’s first choice.
When someone types “who repairs AC units in San Fernando” and gets three names instead of ten links. The businesses on that short list get the call. Everyone else is not in the conversation. We are already seeing the effect on the sites we manage, where AI summaries now take clicks even on searches for a business’s own name.
Two things need bearing in mind.
Being named is not enough. Trinis will still not take AI’s word for it just like they wouldn’t assume the top blue link is the best choice. They will still check the sources behind what the AI tells them, do their own evaluation, so your website has to be up to the task. Bear in mind that the same problem exists of high ranked Trini businesses not deserving to be there because the competition didn’t get their act together.
Most businesses are not being named at all. Where your competitors have not tightened up their online presence, the business that does it first becomes the name the AI keeps repeating. And if they actually do deserve to be there, then other businesses are missing out in at least getting in the game.
What to do right now
None of this needs a big budget. Most of it is the basics of good local marketing, done properly and done now.
- Ask the AI about your business. Open ChatGPT, and Google’s AI Mode if it shows up on your phone. Search “best [your service] in [your area]” a few different ways, then ask “tell me about [your business name]”. Note who gets named, what is said about you, and what is wrong. An old phone number or the wrong opening hours is urgent, because the AI states it as fact.
- Finish your Google Business Profile. Fill in every field: categories, services, hours, photos, a description, and a link to your website. Trinis better start paying attention to their Google Business Profile.
- Make your details identical everywhere. Your business name, address, phone number and hours should match on Google, Facebook, Instagram, your website and any directories. When sources disagree, the AI has less reason to trust any of them.
- Get more real reviews, and reply to them. Ask happy customers while the job is fresh. Reviews that mention the specific service and area give the AI something to quote. You have happy Trini customers… right?
- Put clear answers on your website. List your services, starting prices where you can, the areas you serve, and answers to the questions customers always ask. Your own site is where the AI goes to understand what you do.
- Get mentioned elsewhere. Local directories, news sites, industry associations, supplier and partner pages. The AI looks for outside confirmation that you are who you say you are.
- Make sure AI can read your site. Ask your web team (or ask us) to check that robots.txt and security plugins are not blocking AI search crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot, which feeds ChatGPT search. A site that blocks it will not be shown in ChatGPT’s search answers.
Start with small steps and keep going. Call us if you have to.
What not to do
Do not panic. Google still matters, your website still matters, and Trinis still check a business out before they call. The AI is becoming the front door, but your reviews, profile and website are still what Trinis see once they walk through it.
Do not pay anyone who promises to rank you on ChatGPT and AI Search.” Even Forward Multimedia can’t provide this guarantee. AI answers vary by person, location, phrasing and even the time of day. There are many underlying unique elements around a specific person’s search that directly affect the result. So it’s highly possible for two people in T&T to make the exact same search and get two different results. Nobody can guarantee you rank, and if they do, they lying.
Do not chase tricks. Resist the Trini urge to fudge your work and try all kinda ting. Fake reviews, keyword-stuffed pages and mass-produced blog posts do not build the trust AI looks for, and they can hurt you with customers and with Google. For heaven’s sake, do it right nah!
Do not wait for perfect proof. By the time the numbers are obvious, your competitors will already be the names the AI repeats. This means just keep doing the work.
Conclusion
The blue links are not gone… yet… but the businesses that get named in AI’s answer are the ones Trinis will tend to call first. The shift is already underway, as a digital agency we are seeing it very clearly. With T&T’s economy still in no man’s land, and, like we Trinis born to suffer, boi, combined with the world geo-political grandstanding that affects tiny ‘strims’ like us, try to keep your head above water doing the things that you can control. See where things stand and fix the basics early.
That is what our AI SEO Report is for. We connect your Google Analytics and Search Console data to AI-powered analysis, show how people find your site today and where AI answers may be affecting your clicks, then give you a 90-day plan with the fixes in order of priority.
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