Table of Contents
Owners Think AI Is Sending Customers. The Traffic Says Google.
The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
"Google added a switch that keeps our website out of its AI answers. Should we turn it on?"
Epic Web Studios
Epic Insights
Edition 43  ·  Oct 27, 2026

Where Your Next Customer Actually Starts

Your next customer will probably start on Google, the same way your last one did. That's worth saying plainly this month, because a new survey found small-business owners now rank AI tools just ahead of Google as a source of new customers. The traffic tells a different story.
The Big Story

Owners Think AI Is Sending Customers. The Traffic Says Google.

A survey of about 1,000 small-business owners, published Oct 21, asked where their new customers came from. Word of mouth topped the list at 35%, then social media. AI tools like ChatGPT came in at 23%, a point ahead of Google at 22%. Home service owners were the most convinced, with 35% naming AI tools as a top source.

The same researchers asked customers, too. 61% started their most recent search for a local business on Google, in Search or Maps.

To be fair to AI, the people it sends are good leads. One consultant pulled a year of analytics from 100 websites and found ChatGPT visitors converted at 13.8%, more than four times the rate of Google visitors. Translation: they show up ready to buy. There just aren't many of them. ChatGPT sent about 0.6% as many visits as Google did, Google drove 96.5% of the conversions she measured, and ChatGPT's referral growth stalled back in August 2025. She calls it a small dataset, and it's one study, but it lines up with the survey.

Here's why that matters for you. A lot of what people call "AI search" is Google's own AI answers, sitting right on top of the regular Google results. Those answers lean on the same things that already get you found: your website, your Business Profile, your reviews.

We're not telling you to ignore AI. Just don't pull time or money away from Google because it feels like everyone's moved on. Your customers haven't, at least not yet.
What this means for your site
Your website and Google Business Profile are still doing most of the work of bringing customers in, and they're also what Google's AI answers draw from. Keeping them current covers both.

Your move: Open your Google Business Profile this week and post one thing that's true about your business right now, like your fall hours or a seasonal service.
Quick Hits

The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
Chrome Now Asks Before Opening Non-Secure Websites
Since Oct 21, Chrome asks every user for permission before opening a page that isn't secure (http:// instead of https://). It used to do that only for people who'd turned on extra protection, so an old link on a flyer could now greet customers with a warning.
Your move: Type your web address with http:// in front and make sure it jumps to the https:// version.
A Serious Flaw in PHP Needs Your Host's Attention
PHP, the software that runs WordPress and lots of other websites, fixed two critical flaws Oct 21 that let attackers take over a server without logging in. Hosting companies are already reporting attacks. Patched versions start at 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 and 8.5.12.
Your move: Ask whoever hosts your site if PHP is patched. If we host it, reply and we'll tell you where it stands.
Google Review Appeals Are Taking Longer Right Now
Google says a high volume of review appeals has slowed processing, and it hasn't said for how long. Filing the same appeal twice won't help, either. Google's asking people not to.
Your move: If you're appealing a fake review, file once, screenshot it, and give it time.
If Your WordPress Site Uses UpdraftPlus, Update Today
Attackers stole connection keys from the company behind UpdraftPlus, a popular WordPress backup plugin, and used them to plant hidden back doors on sites linked to its remote-management service starting Oct 18. Version 1.26.13 (2.26.13 for Premium) cuts those connections off.
Your move: Update the plugin and delete any old UpdraftCentral keys, then reply and we'll check for anything that shouldn't be there.
Ask Epic

"Google added a switch that keeps our website out of its AI answers. Should we turn it on?"

We'd leave that one alone.

The switch is real. It lives in Search Console, Google's free dashboard for site owners, and it opts your whole site out of AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google's help pages started listing it last week. Some publishers want it, since AI answers can mean fewer people clicking through to read their articles.

You're in a different spot. When someone asks Google which furnace company answers the phone on weekends, you want to be the name in that answer. Opting out takes you off the list before anyone's read it.

Google's page also doesn't say whether the switch touches your regular rankings, and we'd rather not find out on your site.

If you're worried about what AI says about your business, the better fix is making sure your website and Business Profile say it first, and say it right. That part we can help with.
What Epic's doing for you this week
This week we're keeping an eye on traffic after rankings jumped around Oct 20 and 21 and again Oct 24. Google hasn't confirmed anything, and the rank-tracking tools have been unreliable lately, so we're going by your Search Console numbers instead. We're also checking the PHP version on the sites we host and looking over the WordPress sites we maintain for UpdraftPlus. If anything needs you, we'll call.
Your 15-minute self-audit

Count Where Your Customers Come From

  1. Start a tally today. Ask your next ten new customers how they found you and write down exactly what they say. "Google," "my neighbor" and "ChatGPT" all count.
  2. Check the traffic. In Google Analytics, open Traffic acquisition for the last 90 days and compare Organic Search with any line that mentions ChatGPT or another AI tool. Rather not dig? Reply and we'll pull it.
  3. Check the date. Open your Google Business Profile and look at your newest post or photo. Older than three months? Add one this week.

Send us your tally after ten customers. We'd love to compare notes.

Thanks for reading! Got questions? Ideas? I'm all ears. Share your thoughts with me and help shape future editions of Epic Insights.

— Kristy Freeman
Epic Web Studios
k.freeman@epicwebstudios.com
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