When I used to consult for Google, everyone knew that Google's biggest competitor was Facebook. That's because Facebook and Google are both advertising businesses.

The reason you pay more for Google ads than Facebook is because Facebook people are just browsing. They weren't ready to make a decision. They might not even be searching for you. You're just trying to catch their attention on Facebook.

Once you’ve targeted them with a few ads and hit them over the head 12 times or more, they're at Google. Now they're looking for something, they're searching for a result. That action is more valuable if you’re on the receiving end of that person’s attention and thus you pay more.

Google's market share just fell below 90% for the first time since 2015. AI overviews now appear at the top of half all search results. When people see an AI answer, 72% never click through to your website.

If they're listening to Google's answer instead of searching for you, and you happen to be the answer, that's great! But what if you're not?

The Telephone Problem

We've all played telephone. Sometimes the message gets lost by the 7th call. Sometimes it gets lost on the 2nd call.

The problem with playing telephone with an answer engine is simple. If it loses messes up your message, you might never get a call.

People are going to ask questions about your company before they've ever seen your website. Only they're not going to ask YOU the questions. They're going to ask an AI engine created by strangers in Silicon Valley who have no idea who you are or what you do. They think their machine does, but there’s no guarantee.

If you're not in that answer and you’re not present in the answers you should be in, someone else will be the answer. Over time, decreases in web traffic is going to knick at your business until it can’t anymore. If you're unlucky or decide not to adapt, you better have a strong word of mouth business or it could mean the end of your business.

Service Businesses Hold The Ultimate Weapon

Here's the secret weapon most service businesses don't realize they're sitting on. Every service ticket, every work order, every customer problem you've solved contains the exact questions people are asking AI engines right now.

Service-based businesses get asked questions about the things they can do every single day. Every time a customer comes in with a problem, there's a concern stated. Questions asked.

We can use that ticket data to show what jobs were done, what parts were used, what people were involved, and what techniques were used to get the job done. Instead of those answers being stuck in your management system, the internet will know that you've already answered those questions.

The long-tail opportunity is massive. While everyone fights over the same popular questions, 70% of search traffic lives in the long tail. Those hyper-specific, multi-dimensional questions that only come from real service experience.

The Expertise Advantage

When we transform service tickets into content, we're integrating labor guides, industry codes, technical jargon, teammate speak, and all the other things you need to know to be an industry expert.

You're not just answering questions the world is going to ask. It's going to be in your brand voice. Written as if an expert from your industry wrote it themselves, but accessible to the general public.

This creates the perfect storm. Industry expertise, brand voice, and accessibility. The AI engines recognize you as THE expert because you're speaking their language while solving real problems.

The Volume Reality

Most businesses don't dominate answer engines because they don't realize what it actually takes. Try writing 365 blog posts a year. That's one a day if you work every single day of the year.

You'd need at least two to three people to achieve that volume of work while maintaining sanity, unless you’re using AI.

The good news is that service businesses already have the raw material. Every ticket solved is content waiting to be published. Every problem fixed is an answer someone else is searching for.

We're entering a world where people ask AI about your company before visiting your website. The question isn't whether this shift is happening. The question is whether you'll control the narrative or let answer engines tell your story without getting to know you.

Don't let others own your spot in the answer before you get the chance to.

Why Answer Engine Traffic Is Pure Gold

Here's the game-changing difference everyone needs to understand. Owning your spot in the answer engine is exponentially more valuable than owning your spot in the search engine.

When people search on traditional Google, they click on a website and hunt around trying to find the answer before making a decision. It's a research phase. They're still shopping, still comparing, still unsure.

But with an answer engine, anybody who reaches you is already interested and ready to take action—there’s no decision to be made, the AI has already done the heavy lifting. It's pre-qualified them, answered their basic questions, and essentially said "this is the company you want."

That's not just traffic. That's hot leads walking through your door.

The shift from search engines to answer engines isn't just changing how people find information. It's fundamentally changing the customers who find you.