In short: this month Google and ChatGPT both started putting ads around their AI answers, and a new study suggests ChatGPT recommends the businesses it has already heard about. That matches what I see every week when I check clients: the businesses that get recommended aren’t always the best ones, they’re the ones AI keeps hearing about. Below are the six stories that mattered most in October, the real examples behind them, and what I’d do now.
First, a confession: when I checked my own business, AI didn’t know I existed
At the start of October I did what I ask every client to do. I asked eight AI tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, eleven questions that a business owner in Marbella might ask, like “Who can audit my AI visibility in Marbella?”
My score was 0%. Not one mention. I have more than 20 years in marketing, I’ve been a marketing director, I launched a coworking space that was fully booked before it opened. None of that mattered, because AI had never heard of Get Visible.
So I fixed my own house first. I rewrote my homepage so it answers questions clearly, added FAQs, cleaned up the technical bits and created profiles on the directories AI reads. Within two weeks I’d gone from 0% to 4.5%. Still small, but here’s the interesting part: the first time an AI tool recommended me, it didn’t find me through my website. It found me through a directory profile I’d set up a few days earlier.
Keep that in mind as you read the news below. It explains almost all of it.
1. Google is putting ads inside its AI answers, worldwide
On 28 October, Google told investors it is taking ads in AI Mode global “for the first time”, just as growth in its search revenue slowed to 12%.
My take: this was always going to happen. Google is an advertising company, and AI answers are where people’s attention is going. What worries me is that small businesses will hear “ads in AI” and think that’s the answer. I’ve managed big ad budgets, and I still check accounts where the numbers look brilliant on paper. Recently I looked at a Google Ads account that reported 97 “conversions” in a month. When I dug in, 88 of them were people tapping “Directions” on a map. The real enquiries were about nine.
Ads can work, but they’re rented. The recommendation in the middle of the AI answer is the part you earn, and it keeps working when you stop paying.
Source: TechCrunch, 28 October 2026
2. ChatGPT ads are now live in 89 countries
On 21 October, OpenAI added 26 more countries, bringing ChatGPT ads to 89 markets. Ads show on the free and lower-cost plans, mostly when people are shopping or comparing options. OpenAI says the ads are labelled, kept separate from the answer, and don’t influence what ChatGPT recommends.
My take: if that’s true, and I’ll be watching, it’s actually good news for small businesses. It means you can’t be outbid inside the answer itself. A local business with a great reputation can still beat a big brand with a big budget.
Source: OpenAI’s announcement, reported by gHacks, 22 October 2026
3. AI answers now appear on 88% of buying searches in the US
Semrush looked at 400 commercial keywords in the US. In August, Google showed an AI answer for 88% of them, up from 46% a year earlier. This only covers the US, so the figure here in Spain may be lower, but the direction is clear.
My take: when someone searches “best private clinic near me” or “jeweller in Marbella”, they now see an AI summary before they see your website. If you’re not in that summary, many people will never scroll down to find you.
Source: Semrush, reported by Search Engine Land on 22 October 2026, via Anicca’s weekly roundup
4. Google moved sources to the top of its AI answers
On 15 October, Google updated its AI answers so the websites it quotes appear higher up.
My take: this only helps you if AI can actually read your website, and many can’t. I recently checked a beautiful jewellery boutique in Marbella. Gorgeous pieces, lovely shop. But when AI tools visit their website, they see just nine words. The rest of the site loads in a way that AI can’t read. They still show up on some AI tools, probably because people talk about them, but on Google’s Gemini they didn’t appear once. A competitor was named in every single answer.
Here’s a rough check you can do yourself. Go to your homepage, right-click and choose “View page source”, then search for a sentence you can see on the page. If you can’t find it in there, there’s a good chance AI tools can’t read it either. It’s not a perfect test, but it’s a good start.
Source: Similarweb, 21 October 2026
5. ChatGPT recommends names it already knows
Researchers asked ChatGPT the same buying questions every day for 90 days. They found that ChatGPT links to a website when it finds that page in a search, but it recommends a business by name when it already “knows” it, sometimes without finding any page about it at all. The study hasn’t been peer reviewed yet, so treat it as early research.
My take: this is the story I’d pay most attention to, because I see it every week.
Remember my own first mention came from a directory, not my website. I see the same with clients. I checked a clinic on Harley Street with good Google reviews. AI didn’t mention them in a single answer out of 30. Instead it quoted the big booking directories. And when I looked at their Instagram, their name was being used by a day spa in Trinidad. If AI is confused about who you are, it simply won’t recommend you.
Then there was a hypnotherapist who scored zero, while one directory was quoted 37 times in his answers. When I showed him, he said he was getting plenty of business and it wasn’t a priority. Fair enough, and I respect that. But I think it’s worth asking where your next clients will come from when the people who used to Google you start asking ChatGPT instead.
Source: “What Drives AI Citations?”, research paper, October 2026
6. More AI content, fewer results
A Search Engine Land survey found that only 14% of marketers report strong results from their content this year, the lowest in over a decade, while 92% now use AI to help create it.
My take: this doesn’t surprise me at all. My very first marketing job was at a catalogue company in the north of England. I wanted our website to look elegant. Customers wanted big, bright offers. That taught me the most important lesson of my career: marketing isn’t about what you like, it’s about what your customers want.
AI content has the same problem. It’s polished, it’s pleasant, and it sounds like everyone else. What works is what AI can’t make up: your real stories, your opinions, the questions your clients actually ask you. That’s why I’ve written this post the way I have.
Source: Search Engine Land survey, via GPO’s October 2026 State of Search
Do FAQs still work in 2026?
I keep hearing “FAQs don’t work any more”, so let me clear this up.
What stopped working is a Google feature. Google used to show FAQ questions as drop-downs underneath websites in search results, using hidden code called FAQ schema. It cut this back in 2023 and stopped showing it completely in May 2026. Google’s own documentation now says the feature “is no longer shown in Google Search results”.
What still works is the FAQ itself. When I rebuilt my own homepage, adding a simple FAQ section was one of the changes I made in the two weeks before AI started mentioning me. I can’t prove which change made the difference, but I’d do it again. Your clients still have questions, and so does ChatGPT.
Source: Google Search Central documentation updates
What I’d do now if I ran a small business
- Ask ChatGPT who it would recommend for what you do, where you are. Try “Who’s the best [your service] in [your town]?” If your name doesn’t come up, you’re where I was at the start of October.
- Get people talking about you. Google reviews, the right directories, local press, podcasts. When I launched a coworking space in Marbella, every office was booked before opening night, and it taught me how much a local reputation matters. AI works the same way.
- Check that AI can read your website. A beautiful website that AI sees as nine words won’t get you recommended.
- Write the 10 questions clients ask you most and answer each in two or three plain sentences.
- Say something only you can say. Your stories and opinions are the one thing AI can’t copy.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI visibility?
AI visibility is how often your business is mentioned or recommended when people ask AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Google’s AI answers for advice. It’s the AI version of ranking on Google.
Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?
No. You can buy ads in ChatGPT in 89 countries, but OpenAI says ads are kept separate from the answer and don’t influence what ChatGPT recommends.
How long does it take to show up in AI answers?
It varies. When I fixed my own business, AI tools started mentioning me within about two weeks, starting from zero. Bigger changes, like building a reputation across many websites, take months.
How do I check if ChatGPT recommends my business?
Ask the questions your clients would ask, such as “Who is the best [your service] in [your town]?”, and try a few versions. For a proper check across several AI tools, book a free call with me.
Want to know what AI says about your business?
If you’d like to know where you stand, book a 30-minute call and I’ll show you.
Caroline Lips is the founder of Get Visible, a marketing agency in Marbella that helps service businesses get found on Google and recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT. She has more than 20 years’ experience in marketing, including e-commerce roles at La Senza, Speedo International and Dorothy Perkins, and as Marketing Director at Staysure.