Skip to content

ai-search-provider

Choosing who gets you onto AI search

By Sergey Sulimko, Founder

Choose an AI-search provider that verifies Google's 3 minimum technical requirements and rejects guaranteed AI-answer placement. Google's baseline is Googlebot access, an HTTP 200 response, and indexable content. Maps Agent describes itself as an AI marketing team that runs a Google Business Profile every month.

What should an AI-search provider verify before discussing visibility?

Google Search Central lists 3 minimum technical requirements for Search eligibility: Googlebot must not be blocked, the page must return HTTP 200, and the content must be indexable. A provider can document each of the 3 checks and the date tested. The baseline makes technical eligibility concrete; it does not turn the check into a fixed AI-answer placement.

Google's generative AI guidance says AI features use the 3-check core Search baseline. It says structured data is not required for generative AI search and that there is no special schema.org markup to add. The guidance also describes no separate writing format beyond ordinary Search best practices. A provider should explain that baseline rather than sell an AI-only file or markup recipe.

Which four metrics should a provider show from Search Console?

Search Console's Performance report presents 4 core metrics: clicks, impressions, average click-through rate, and average position. Google defines a click as a user selecting the site from Google Search results; an impression records the site appearing in those results. A provider should label these as Search performance measures, not direct AI-answer citations or proof that an AI system recommended a business.

How much Search Console history should a provider review?

Search Console Help says its branded and non-branded query filter provides 16 months of history, while the default Performance overview shows 3 months. A branded query includes the business name; a non-branded query does not. Google notes that some branded classifications can be incorrect, so a provider should treat this as a reporting view, not an AI-citation history.

How long can a Google Business Profile description be?

Google Business Profile Help limits a GBP description to 750 characters. The field must not contain URLs or HTML code, so the website link belongs in the separate Website field. A provider should review description text and link placement against those field rules, without treating a full character count as evidence of ranking or AI-search inclusion.

How many categories can a Business Profile use?

Google Business Profile Help requires 1 primary category and permits up to 9 additional categories. The source describes those additional categories as optional. The limits define available profile fields; they do not make all 9 necessary or establish a local ranking or AI recommendation.

What does Google say about local-ranking factors?

Google Business Profile Help names relevance, distance, and popularity as 3 main local-ranking factors. The same guidance says a business cannot request or pay for a better local ranking. Those are Google's stated factors and payment boundary; they are not a ranking formula that an agency can sell as a guaranteed position.

What profile-media limits should a provider check?

Google Business Profile Help sets photo limits at 10 KB to 5 MB, with 250 px minimum and 720 px recommended resolution. Videos can run up to 30 seconds and 75 MB at 720p or higher. A provider should check these upload constraints, without treating compliant media as proof of ranking, customer action, or AI-search citation.

Google's generative AI guidance states that meeting technical requirements, best practices, and policies does not guarantee crawling, indexing, or serving in Search or generative AI features. An AI-search provider can report checks and changes, but it cannot honestly promise a fixed placement or timeline controlled by Google's serving decision.

See where your profile stands

The audit shows how this applies to your own profile: it reads a verified Google Business Profile and scores it the same way every month.

Visibility Score

0 to 100

20 scored factors across profile completeness, performance, competitive position. Free, no signup, on any verified Google Business Profile.

Run the free Visibility Score audit

No signup, no card. You get the score and the factors behind it.

Sources

Common questions

What does Google mean when it says a page is indexable?
Google means that indexable content can be added to its index after Googlebot access and a successful HTTP 200 response. The technical-requirements page presents those 3 checks together: Googlebot access, HTTP 200, and indexable content. Indexable is a technical condition, not a statement that a page will appear in an AI answer.
How should a provider label clicks and impressions in Search Console?
Label clicks as the number of times a user selected the site from Google Search results. Label impressions as the number of times the site appeared in those results. Search Console also lists average click-through rate and average position, making 4 core Performance metrics. These labels describe Search reporting, not direct AI-answer citations.
What does Search Console call a branded query?
Search Console calls a query branded when it includes the business name; a non-branded query does not. Google says the branded and non-branded filter provides 16 months of history, while the default Performance overview shows 3 months. Treat the classification as a reporting view because Google notes that some branded classifications can be incorrect.
Can a Business Profile description contain a website link?
No. Google Business Profile Help says the Google Maps listing description field must not include URLs or HTML code and must stay within 750 characters. The website address belongs in the separate Website field. A provider can check those rules, but the character limit does not establish ranking or AI-search inclusion.
How quickly can a Business Profile edit appear?
Google says edits to a verified Business Profile usually take up to 10 minutes to review, but sometimes take up to 30 days. Label 10 minutes as the usual window and 30 days as the possible exceptional window; neither is a service-level promise for every change.
Can a business pay Google to rank higher locally?
No. Google Business Profile Help says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity, and that a business cannot request or pay for a better local ranking. A provider can explain that boundary, but it cannot turn Google's factors into a paid ranking formula or guaranteed position.

More on this subject in the answers library, and on the Maps Agent blog.

Last updated September 30, 2026. This page is maintained by the Maps Agent research team.