SYDNEY, Australia, 14 September 2026
Australian businesses need to prepare their websites for customers who use AI assistants to research services, compare providers and decide which companies to consider, according to Sydney-based website visibility audit service SEENMETRIC.
Research published by Kantar Australia in August 2026 reported that 78% of Australians had used generative AI for search during the previous two months. The underlying Kantar Global AI Sentiment Study was conducted in March 2026 and surveyed 12,485 people internationally, including participants in Australia.
Separate findings from the Fifth Quadrant Consumer Tracker show how AI is entering specific decision-making tasks. In 2026, generative AI was the first-choice tool for 20% of Australians comparing prices, more than double the 9% recorded in 2024. It was also the first choice for 20% of finance and investment research, 18% of travel planning and 19% of learning a new skill or hobby.
The change does not mean businesses can stop paying attention to Google. It means their websites now have to work for more than one type of discovery. A page must remain useful to customers and search engines while also presenting clear information that an AI system can retrieve, interpret and support with evidence.
SEENMETRIC says many visibility problems are not obvious from the finished page. A website may look polished in a browser while automated systems receive incomplete content, conflicting business details or very little material suitable for use in an answer.
The company has outlined five areas Australian businesses can review.
1. Confirm that important pages can be accessed
Businesses should check whether crawling rules, no-index settings, security controls or technical errors prevent automated systems from reaching important service and location pages. They should also inspect the content returned before browser scripts run.
2. Correct structured business information
Structured data should accurately describe the organisation, services and locations. Syntax errors can cause an entire data block to be rejected. Business names, addresses, service areas and other facts should also remain consistent across the website and public profiles.
3. Answer customer questions directly
Important information is often spread across long pages of marketing copy. Businesses can make it easier to use by adding concise, self-contained answers to genuine customer questions. Each answer should be understandable without relying on the paragraphs around it.
4. Place essential facts in the initial page content
Service details, qualifications, locations and other important facts should not depend entirely on tabs, interactive elements or scripts. Some automated systems may not receive content that appears only after an interaction or a full browser render.
5. Replace broad claims with evidence
Statements such as “experienced”, “trusted” or “leading” provide little information on their own. Specific credentials, dates, service locations, case examples and measurable outcomes give customers and machines stronger grounds for assessing a business.
“The question is no longer limited to whether a website ranks for a keyword,” a SEENMETRIC spokesperson said. “Businesses also need to know what information machines can retrieve, whether that information is consistent and whether there is enough evidence to support inclusion in an answer.”
A de-identified SEENMETRIC audit illustrates the gap. Automated systems received 18,856 of the 22,879 words measured on the website. 18% of its content appeared only after scripts ran, a structured data block was discarded because of a syntax error and none of 78 assessed passages met the audit's quote-ready threshold.
These findings describe one audited website, while the five areas are operational observations from SEENMETRIC's audit work. They are not presented as an estimate of how common each problem is across all Australian websites.
SEENMETRIC audits search visibility, crawler access, page rendering, structured data, local business signals, answer-ready content and recorded AI responses. Findings are organised into a prioritised action list for business owners, marketers and web developers. The service does not guarantee that a business will be included in any AI answer.
SEENMETRIC is an Australian-owned website visibility audit service operated by MMVP PTY LTD, ABN 29 629 141 055, and based in Sydney.
More information about SEENMETRIC is available at https://seenmetric.com.au