Why this matters
AI search notices inconsistent public facts
Classic local SEO already depends on clear, consistent business details. AI search adds another layer: answer engines may pull from your website, Google Business Profile, directories, review snippets, social profiles, PDFs, and old pages. If those sources disagree, the AI summary may omit services, choose an outdated phone number, or flatten your service area into something generic.
This worksheet is not a ranking guarantee. It is a practical quality-control layer for small businesses that need official details, proof, and service boundaries to match across the places buyers and AI systems look.
Copy/paste artifact
Local citation consistency worksheet
Business name: [official name]
Reviewer: [owner/manager]
Review date: [date]
Primary website URL: [url]
Primary Google Business Profile URL: [url]
1. Official identity
Use exactly the approved wording:
- Business name:
- Short description:
- Primary phone:
- Primary email/contact form:
- Street address or service-area statement:
- Website URL:
- Hours:
- Emergency/after-hours policy:
2. Service and location consistency
List what every public profile should agree on:
- Core services:
- Services not offered:
- Primary towns/regions served:
- Remote/virtual service availability:
- License/certification language:
- Appointment, estimate, or booking process:
3. Citation inventory
Check each source and paste the current listing URL:
[ ] Google Business Profile:
[ ] Bing Places:
[ ] Apple Maps:
[ ] Yelp or industry directory:
[ ] Chamber/SCORE/local association profile:
[ ] Facebook/LinkedIn/social profile:
[ ] Marketplace profile:
[ ] Old landing pages or PDFs:
4. Inconsistency log
Source | field | current text | approved correction | owner | status
[example] Yelp | hours | closes 5pm | closes 6pm weekdays | Sam | pending
5. Proof alignment
Make sure proof matches the claims:
[ ] Reviews mention services that are still offered.
[ ] Photos/examples are approved for public use.
[ ] Certifications/licenses are current.
[ ] Service-area claims match actual capacity.
[ ] Guarantee, warranty, pricing, safety, and legal claims match official policy.
6. Human review stop rules
Do not update public profiles until a responsible human verifies legal name, phone, address, service area, hours, licenses, pricing, guarantees, safety claims, and customer proof permissions.AI audit prompt
Use AI to find differences, not to invent corrections
You are auditing local citation consistency for a small business.
Use only the official business facts and public listing text pasted below.
Do not invent addresses, phone numbers, hours, services, licenses, prices, guarantees, reviews, or locations.
Return:
1. exact fields that match,
2. exact fields that conflict,
3. likely outdated claims that need owner review,
4. missing proof or service boundaries,
5. a prioritized cleanup list with source, field, proposed correction, and human reviewer.
Official business facts:
[paste]
Public listing/page text:
[paste]Implementation
Clean the most visible sources first
- Start with the website homepage, contact page, and highest-intent service page.
- Compare those pages against Google Business Profile and one major directory.
- Fix outdated hours, old phone numbers, unsupported services, and vague service-area wording before rewriting copy.
- Add one short note to your internal SOP showing who owns each public profile.
- Re-run the 15-minute AI search visibility audit after cleanup.
Human review rule: AI can speed up comparison, but it should never be the final authority on business identity, licenses, service areas, legal/compliance language, safety policies, price promises, or customer proof.
Next step
Turn consistent facts into proof-rich pages
After citations are consistent, use the AI Search Service Page Proof Checklist to strengthen your highest-intent service page, then use the AI Search FAQ Page Template to answer buyer questions without overpromising.
For the full framework and implementation sequence, see SEO After AI.