AI Overviews Are Replacing Your Rankings — What Calgary Businesses Need to Do Now

If Your SEO Strategy Hasn’t Changed Since 2024, You’re Already Behind

Something fundamental shifted in Google search over the past year, and most Calgary businesses haven’t noticed yet. When someone searches “best plumber in Calgary” or “SEO company near me,” Google no longer just shows a list of blue links. It generates an AI-powered summary at the top of the page that answers the question directly, often without the searcher clicking through to any website.

These AI Overviews now appear in roughly 30% of all search queries, and that number climbs monthly. For local businesses, the implications are enormous: if your business information isn’t structured in a way that AI can extract and trust, you’re invisible to a growing segment of your potential customers.

This isn’t a prediction. It’s already happening. And Calgary businesses that adapt now will dominate local search for years. Those that don’t will wonder where their leads went.

What Are AI Overviews and Why Should Calgary Business Owners Care?

AI Overviews are Google’s AI-generated answer boxes that sit above traditional search results. When triggered, they synthesize information from multiple web sources into a single, conversational summary. The searcher often gets what they need without clicking any link.

For local businesses, this creates a two-tier system. Tier one: businesses that AI trusts enough to cite and recommend. Tier two: everyone else, buried below a wall of AI-generated content that most users never scroll past.

The data backs this up. Recent studies show AI Overviews reduce organic click-through rates by roughly 58%. That doesn’t mean search traffic is dying. It means the traffic is concentrating on fewer, more trusted sources. If you’re one of those sources, your lead quality actually improves. If you’re not, your traffic falls off a cliff.

How AI Decides Which Calgary Businesses to Recommend

AI search systems don’t guess. They validate. Here’s what Google’s AI evaluates when deciding which local businesses to include in an Overview:

Google Business Profile completeness and activity. Your GBP is now your most important digital asset. AI systems pull directly from your profile categories, services, photos, posts, and Q&A responses. Businesses with complete, active profiles get recommended. Those with stale profiles from 2022 don’t.

Structured data clarity. Schema markup tells AI exactly what you do, where you’re located, what you charge, and what your customers say about you. Without it, AI has to guess from your page content, and it often guesses wrong or skips you entirely.

Content that answers questions directly. AI Overviews extract information from pages structured with clear question-and-answer formatting. If your service pages read like brochures instead of answering specific customer questions, you’re not extractable.

Review volume and recency. Businesses with consistent, recent reviews carry more trust signal. A business with 150 reviews and active owner responses outweighs one with 30 reviews from three years ago, regardless of star rating.

Entity consistency across the web. If your business name, address, phone number, and service descriptions differ between your website, GBP, directories, and social profiles, AI can’t confidently verify your identity. Consistency equals trust.

The Practical Playbook for Calgary Businesses

1. Treat Your Google Business Profile Like a Second Homepage

Post weekly updates with photos. Answer every Q&A. Respond to every review within 48 hours using service and location terminology naturally. Ensure your categories are specific, not generic. If you’re a marriage counsellor, your primary category should be “Marriage Counselor” not just “Counselor.”

2. Implement Structured Data on Every Key Page

At minimum, your website needs LocalBusiness schema on your homepage, Service schema on each service page, FAQPage schema wherever you answer customer questions, and BreadcrumbList schema for site navigation clarity. This is not optional anymore. Schema is the language AI speaks. Without it, you’re mute in the conversations that matter most.

3. Restructure Content Around Questions

Every service page should anticipate and directly answer the questions your customers ask. Not in a buried FAQ section at the bottom, but throughout the page content. Structure your H2s as questions. Provide clear, concise answers in the first 100 words after each heading. This is exactly the format AI systems extract from.

4. Build Content Depth, Not Content Volume

Publishing 50 thin blog posts does nothing for AI visibility. One comprehensive, experience-driven guide that demonstrates genuine expertise on a topic will outperform a hundred generic articles. AI systems evaluate content depth, originality, and whether the author has demonstrable experience in the subject.

5. Create an Answer Engine Optimization Layer

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing specifically for AI-generated answers. This means structuring your content so AI can extract clean, quotable snippets. Use clear definitions. Provide specific numbers and data points. Write in a factual, authoritative tone rather than marketing speak.

What This Means for Different Calgary Industries

Professional services like law firms, accounting practices, and consulting firms benefit most from FAQ schema and detailed service descriptions. Trades and construction companies need strong GBP signals, geo-tagged photos, and service-area clarity. Healthcare providers, including therapists and counsellors, need YMYL-compliant content with clear credential signals. Retail and hospitality businesses should focus on review velocity and Google Posts activity.

The Window Is Open — But Closing

Most Calgary businesses have not adapted to AI search yet. That’s the opportunity. The businesses that optimize their GBP, implement proper schema markup, and restructure their content around AI extractability right now will lock in positioning that becomes increasingly difficult to displace.

At MRC SEO Consulting, we’ve been implementing these changes for our clients since AI Overviews rolled out nationally. The results speak for themselves: higher quality leads from fewer but more intent-driven searches.

If your website traffic has dropped and you’re not sure why, AI Overviews are likely a contributing factor. Contact us for a free audit that specifically evaluates your AI search readiness.