Set a timer for 30 minutes. Here’s what you’re going to do.

No long strategy sessions. No hiring decisions. Just the stuff that actually matters and that you can actually do in one sitting tonight.

Before You Start: What This Will Do

This 30-minute setup won’t make you an AI marketing expert. What it will do:

Show you exactly how visible (or invisible) your business is in AI search right now
Fix the most common gaps that prevent businesses from showing up
Give you a baseline to measure from

That’s it. Let’s go.

Minutes 1–5: Check Your Google Business Profile

Open Google and search for your business name. Does a “business card” appear on the right side of the page with your hours, photos, address, and reviews? That’s your Google Business Profile.

If it appears:

Are the hours correct?
Is the phone number right?
Are there at least 5-10 photos, including recent ones?
Is the description accurate and specific?

If any of those are wrong or missing, fix them now. Go to business.google.com and log in. Updating hours takes two minutes. Uploading photos takes three.

If your business doesn’t appear at all, you need to create or claim your profile. Go to business.google.com and follow the steps. The verification process takes a few days, but starting it today means it’s done next week.

Why this matters for AI: Google Business Profile data is one of the primary sources AI engines use to understand local businesses. If it’s wrong or incomplete, AI engines either show wrong information or skip you entirely.

Minutes 6–10: Search for Yourself in ChatGPT and Perplexity

Open ChatGPT (free at chat.openai.com) and Perplexity (free at perplexity.ai).

In each one, search for your business category in your area. Try a few versions:

“best [restaurants/tours/vacation rentals/shops] near [your town]”
“things to do near [your town] Utah”
“where to eat after hiking [nearby trail name]”
“[your specific type of business] near Zion/Bryce Canyon”

Write down: Do you show up? If yes, is the information accurate? If no, who does show up and why?

This is your baseline. You now know exactly where you stand.

Common finding: Most small businesses in the Springdale, Hurricane, and Kanab areas don’t show up in AI search at all — not because they’re bad businesses, but because their online presence is thin enough that AI engines can’t confidently recommend them.

Minutes 11–18: Check Your Website Basics

Open your website and ask yourself these questions honestly:

Does it clearly state:

What your business does (specifically, not vaguely)
Where you’re located (town, state, near what landmark)
Your hours
How to book or contact you

Does it have:

At least 3-4 real photos
Any content that answers questions tourists ask
A page for each major service or offering

If you answered no to most of these, your website is doing the minimum — and “the minimum” isn’t enough to show up in AI search.

Quick fix: Even adding one page to your website that answers common questions (“What to know before booking a tour with us” or “What makes our vacation rental different”) is a meaningful improvement. It gives AI something to read and learn from.

If you don’t have a website at all, that’s a separate conversation — but in the meantime, a detailed and complete Google Business Profile plus strong Yelp and TripAdvisor profiles will carry more weight than nothing.

Minutes 19–24: Check Your Reviews

Go to Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor and look at your reviews.

Three things to check:

Volume. How many reviews do you have? In general, more is better, and businesses with fewer than 20 reviews struggle to show up reliably in AI recommendations. If you’re under 20, getting more reviews should be a priority.

Specificity. Scan your most recent 10 reviews. Do they mention specific things — the view, a specific dish, a particular guide, what trail you’re near? Or are they generic (“great place!” “loved it!” “will return”)?

AI engines use the content of reviews to understand what your business offers. Specific reviews are dramatically more valuable than generic ones.

Recency. When was your most recent review? A business that got 50 reviews between 2018 and 2022 but hasn’t gotten one recently looks inactive to AI. Recency matters.

Quick fix: The next time you have a happy customer, ask them directly. “Would you do me a huge favor and leave us a quick Google review? It really helps.” Most people will if you ask. Send a follow-up text with the direct link.

Minutes 25–30: One Piece of New Content

This is the one that makes people hesitate, but it doesn’t need to be complicated.

Open a notes app or Google Doc. Answer this question in 300-500 words: “What should someone know before visiting [your type of business] in [your town]?”

Include: what makes your area unique, what your business specializes in, who you’re best for, what’s nearby. Write it like you’re telling a first-time visitor what they need to know.

If writing isn’t your thing, talk it out loud and use a tool like Otter.ai to transcribe it. Or just use ChatGPT — tell it what you know about your business and ask it to write a “what to know before visiting” section in plain English. Then review it and correct anything that’s off.

This piece of content can go on your website, your Google Business Profile description, your Airbnb listing — wherever. It’s a foundational piece of content that tells AI engines what your business is about.

After Your 30 Minutes: What to Do Next

You’ve done the most important things. From here, the game is consistency:

Get one new review per week (ask, don’t just hope)
Post one piece of content to your website or Google Business Profile per month
Re-check your AI search visibility quarterly

The southern Utah small business guide to AI and modern search has the full picture of what each of these contributes and how they work together.

And if you want to understand AI optimization beyond the basics — what it actually means and why it works — what AI optimization actually means breaks it down without the jargon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my Google Business Profile is already set up correctly?

Great — then use those 5 minutes to add a recent photo or update your business description. Something fresh. Then move on.

I don’t have a website. Can I still do this?

Yes. The Google Business Profile work, the AI search check, and the review audit are all doable without a website. Creating a Google Business Profile with a full, detailed description is a reasonable short-term substitute for a website for some searches. But eventually, a website matters.

Do I need to do this on every AI platform?

Start with ChatGPT and Perplexity. Those are the most-used for trip planning. Once you’re showing up there, add Gemini to your quarterly check. You’re not managing multiple platforms — you’re just checking your visibility across them.

What does it cost?

Nothing on this list costs money. ChatGPT is free at the basic level. Perplexity is free. Google Business Profile is free. The time investment is the whole cost.

Take the free AI Visibility Scorecard — go deeper than the 30-minute check and get a complete picture of your AI search visibility. Check your score →

The 30-Minute AI Setup Every Tourism Business Should Do This Week