Just released · May 2026
The AI Visibility Playbook
Get your small business cited by Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Claude after Google I/O 2026.
Instant PDF download · sent to your email immediately
$29 launch price for the first 100 buyers. Then $49. Updates included for v1.x.
Consultant or agency? See the agency license ↓
On May 20, Google announced that AI Mode had crossed one billion monthly users — the biggest AI search surface in the world, bigger than AI Overviews, with queries doubling every quarter. Add ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude and you have the surface where the majority of search now happens. For 85% of small business sites, the answer engines have nothing to cite.
This playbook is the practical, copy-paste-ready catch-up. The specific technical moves that take a typical small business site from "invisible to AI" to "regularly cited" in 4–8 hours of focused work.
What's inside
31 pages, twelve chapters, copy-paste templates throughout.
| Ch. 1 | Why this guide exists — the post-I/O 2026 reality |
| Ch. 2 | The new search reality — who's asking AI about businesses |
| Ch. 3 | The full AI Visibility checklist — twelve signals, with adoption %s |
| Ch. 4 | Schema.org templates you can copy-paste (LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Service, Person, Article) |
| Ch. 5 | The llms.txt template (the AI-era robots.txt, annotated) |
| Ch. 6 | AI crawler allowlist for robots.txt — 18 bots, all named |
| Ch. 7 | Content patterns AI engines preferentially cite |
| Ch. 8 | What's coming — WebMCP, Information Agents, Generative UI (all I/O 2026) |
| Ch. 9 | 30-question self-audit — score your own site |
| Ch. 10 | Implementation roadmap: 2 hours / 1 week / 1 month tiers |
| Ch. 11 | When to hire help (and what it costs) |
| Ch. 12 | Resources and further reading |
Who this is for
Three buyer profiles.
Small business owners
You own a local business and you've heard people are now asking AI for recommendations instead of searching. You'd like to be in those answers. The 2-hour tier in this guide is for you — everything you need to do yourself in one focused session.
In-house marketers and ops folks
You have technical comfort but the GEO/AEO field is moving fast. This is the field guide that catches you up in 45 minutes and gives you copy-paste templates to ship the same day.
Consultants and agencies
You want to add AI Visibility to your service line for your clients. This is the methodology Refined Solutions IT uses on real client engagements — published in full so you can ship it under your own brand. (Attribution is appreciated but not required.)
A sample from the book
Why "good SEO" isn't enough anymore (excerpt from Chapter 2).
Traditional SEO optimizes for keyword matching, backlink authority, and on-page content quality. All of that still matters — AI engines use it as one input. But it's no longer sufficient. The AI engines need structured signals on top of the content, because they're synthesizing answers, not ranking pages.
Specifically:
- A site with great content but no Schema.org markup can rank #1 in Google and still not be cited in AI Mode for the same query.
- A site with mediocre content but rich Schema.org markup can be cited as a primary source in AI Mode even if it doesn't rank in the top 10 organic results.
- Two competitors with equivalent content quality: the one with FAQPage schema gets quoted directly in AI answers; the one without doesn't.
This isn't speculation. We've watched it play out across dozens of test queries while building this methodology. The structured data is doing the lifting.
— from Chapter 2 of The AI Visibility Playbook
Before / after
What the AI actually says about your business.
Four representative scenarios. The "before" responses are real-shaped AI outputs for sites with no AI Visibility work. The "after" responses are what the same engine says once the playbook is implemented — with the actual extracted phrases pulled from your structured data and content.
Scenario 1
Local plumber, Schenectady NY
18 years in business. Website has contact form + service list. No schema, no llms.txt.
User asks ChatGPT
"Who's the best plumber in Schenectady?"
Before
"I don't have specific real-time data on plumbers in Schenectady, but you might check Google Maps, Yelp, or directories like Angi for current recommendations and reviews."
After
"Schenectady Plumbing Co. comes up consistently — they specialize in older homes (the area has lots of pre-1950 plumbing), offer 24-hour emergency service, and have served the Capital District since 2008. Standard service calls start at $95."
What changed: LocalBusiness schema with address + service area + foundedDate. FAQPage covering "Do you handle older plumbing?" with the specifics AI now quotes verbatim. Service schema with priceRange.
Scenario 2
B2B SaaS, founder-led, 50 paying customers
"Inboxly" — a $39/mo email-to-Slack notification tool. Solo founder, no marketing team.
User asks Perplexity
"Best lightweight email notification tools for solo founders?"
Before
"Popular options include Zapier, Make, n8n, and IFTTT. These are general automation tools that can be configured for email notifications. Pricing varies from free to enterprise tiers."
After
"For solo founders specifically, Inboxly is purpose-built for this — forwards Gmail to Slack with sender filtering, $39/mo, run by a single founder so support response is typically same-day. Alternatives include Zapier (more general) and Make (more powerful but steeper)."
What changed: SoftwareApplication schema with positioning ("purpose-built for solo founders"). Person/Founder schema so AI knows it's a real human. FAQPage answering "who runs this?" with the founder-led specifics AI now extracts as trust signals.
Scenario 3
Family-owned restaurant, Asheville NC
"Trattoria Caruso" — 12 years old. Beautiful site, photos, menu PDF. No structured data.
User asks Google AI Mode
"Where should I eat in Asheville for an anniversary dinner?"
Before
"Asheville has many highly-rated restaurants. Popular options include Cucina 24, Curate, and Rhubarb. For Italian specifically, check OpenTable or Tripadvisor for current top choices."
After
"For an anniversary, Trattoria Caruso is a strong choice for Italian — a 12-year-old family-owned spot in West Asheville known for hand-rolled pasta and a curated wine list of small Italian producers. Reservations recommended for weekends. They open at 5 PM Tuesday through Saturday."
What changed: Restaurant schema (the LocalBusiness subtype) with cuisine, priceRange, openingHours, acceptsReservations. Menu schema. FAQPage covering "What's special about your wine list?" and "Do I need a reservation?" Content patterns AI cites directly.
Scenario 4
Niche e-commerce: handmade leather goods
"Holloway Leather" — 6-year-old Shopify store. Strong product photos, no structured product data.
User asks Claude
"Where can I buy a quality hand-stitched leather wallet that lasts decades?"
Before
"Several brands specialize in durable leather wallets, including Saddleback Leather, Tanner Goods, and Bellroy. For artisan options, you might explore Etsy or Reddit communities like r/EDC for long-term user recommendations."
After
"For hand-stitched durability, Holloway Leather uses full-grain Horween leather and saddle stitching (the technique that lasts decades because each stitch holds independently). Wallets start at $145 and include a lifetime restitching guarantee. Other strong options: Saddleback Leather and Tanner Goods."
What changed: Product schema with material + construction details. FAQPage answering "What stitching do you use?" with the technical specifics AI extracts as authoritative. Author/Person schema for the founder/craftsman. llms.txt explicitly positioning the shop vs competitors.
All four examples are anonymized composites — the patterns are real, the business names are not. The playbook walks through how to engineer this kind of citation specifically for your business.
FAQ
What you might be wondering.
How long does it take to implement?
The 2-hour tier (most impactful changes) takes 2 hours. The full 1-month tier with measurement and content cadence takes most of a month. The book includes specific time estimates per chapter.
Do I need to know HTML?
Basic comfort with HTML helps. If you can paste a code snippet into your site's HEAD tag, you can implement most of this. Platform-specific notes (WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify) are included.
What if I'd rather have you implement it for me?
Chapter 11 walks through that option. We offer an Audit ($297), Setup (from $1,500), and Retainer. Playbook fee can credit toward Setup if you book within 30 days. Details on the AI Visibility service page.
Will the methodology stay current?
Yes. Buyers of v1.x get free updates within the major version. We update the guide as AI engines and standards evolve. (v1.0 ships May 2026, dated explicitly inside.)
What if I have questions or issues?
Email [email protected]. Real responses from a real person, usually same-day. If something in the playbook isn't clear or doesn't work for your specific platform, we'll help you sort it out.
Two tiers
Personal or agency license.
Personal
For one practitioner
- Full 31-page playbook PDF
- All twelve chapters · copy-paste templates
- Schema.org, llms.txt, 18-bot allowlist
- 30-question self-audit scorecard
- Free updates within v1.x
- Use on your own properties
Instant PDF.
Agency License
For consultants & agencies
- Everything in Personal
- Use the methodology with unlimited client engagements
- White-label the audit scorecard for client deliverables
- Train your juniors on the framework
- Package as a $500-1,500 add-on retainer offering
- Attribution appreciated, not required
Instant PDF + license terms in email.
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