SEO researcher Lily Ray has published two separate warnings this year that are worth reading together. The first is about how ChatGPT decides which businesses to mention when someone asks it a question. The second is about a crackdown Google appears to be preparing against low-effort, AI-generated content. Neither is really about chasing a trend. Both are about who search engines and AI tools end up trusting.
Why ChatGPT might not find you, even if Google does
Ray's research looked at what she calls fan-out queries. This is how ChatGPT actually answers a question like "who's a good roofer near me." The tool does not just search that one phrase. It quietly runs several related searches behind the scenes. These cover things like reviews, service areas, qualifications, and recent activity, then combine into one answer.
If your business only shows up for the main search term, you can be left out of the final answer. That is true even if you rank well in ordinary Google search for that one phrase.
What this means in practice
A fan-out query rewards businesses that have substance across several related topics, not just a single optimised page. For a trade business, that generally comes down to three things.
- A complete, accurate Google Business Profile that answers the obvious follow-up questions: areas covered, certifications held, how quickly you respond
- Genuine reviews that mention specific jobs, trades, or locations, not just a star rating with no detail
- Plain, factual information on your own site that an AI tool can read and quote with confidence
The bigger warning: Google is about to crack down on fake content
Ray's second piece points to signs that Google is preparing a major update. It is aimed at AI-generated content with fabricated author bios, invented credentials, and thin pages built purely to rank. This follows Google's own updated guidance on what counts as good content. We cover that update in a separate guide on the helpful content update.
The pattern Google is targeting is content that looks professional on the surface but has no real person or real experience behind it. That is a problem for content farms. It is an opportunity for a business that can show genuine, first hand experience.
Why this matters more for trade businesses, not less
A trade business usually has something a content farm does not: actual jobs, actual customers, and actual before-and-after results. The businesses that lose out from this kind of update are the ones copying generic advice from elsewhere. The businesses that benefit are the ones writing about what they have genuinely done.
What to check on your own site
- Does your site say who actually did the work, with a real name and real experience, rather than an anonymous "our team"?
- Do your service pages describe specific jobs you have done, rather than generic descriptions that could apply to any business in your trade?
- Are your reviews genuine and specific, rather than generic five-star ratings with no detail?
- Would a stranger reading your site believe a real person with real experience wrote it?