Here's the 2026 reality: more and more people ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's new AI Overviews before doing a "normal" search. "Good physio in Los Cristianos who speaks English?" "Vegan-friendly restaurant in La Laguna?" "Dentist in Costa Adeje that takes Sanitas?" The AI answers. Sometimes it names businesses. Sometimes it summarises without crediting anyone.
If you run a business on the island, the question that matters is this: do I get mentioned when someone asks about my category, or does a competitor? I'll walk you through what I've actually seen move the needle, what is noise sold by agencies, and what you can do this week without spending money.
First: AI does not search differently, it recombines differently
A useful myth to drop. Generative AI (ChatGPT with search, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) does not have a secret index. It reads the same sources Google did — websites, reviews, Google Business profiles, directories, Wikipedia, forums — and summarises them. If your business is not in those sources, the AI can't mention you. It's not magic, it's aggregation.
This shifts the strategy but does not throw it away. Classic local SEO is still the base. What gets added is how you describe yourself and where you are mentioned.
What actually moves the needle
1. A complete and maintained Google Business Profile
Still the number-one source the AI reads to answer "business near X". Correct primary category, honest description, recent photos, accurate hours, posts every few weeks, replies to reviews — that is what an AI can turn into a sentence like "X is a family-run restaurant in La Orotava well rated for its tapas". If your profile is half-done, the AI has nothing to build the sentence from.
If your profile is abandoned and you don't have the time to revive it, the Google Business Profile Rescue exists exactly for this.
2. Structured data (Schema.org) on your website
The most technical, the most differentiating. Schema.org is a vocabulary that tells a search engine (and an AI) "this is a restaurant, these are the hours, this is the address, this is the cuisine, these are the allergens". When that information sits in JSON-LD inside your site, AIs read it and reproduce it confidently. When it's only in human text, they have to guess — and often don't bother.
The types that matter most for a local Tenerife business: LocalBusiness, Restaurant, MedicalBusiness, FAQPage, Review, BreadcrumbList. WordPress and Wix sites usually carry something basic by default; a custom build can have everything correctly.
3. Content that answers real questions
AIs cite pages that answer the user's question, not pages that contain the keywords. The difference: a page titled "Physiotherapy services" listing treatments answers nothing. A page titled "How does physio for neck pain after a long-haul flight work?" answers something. If you have an FAQ or a blog, write the questions the way a customer would ask them — and answer them properly.
4. Being mentioned outside your own site
An AI trusts "this independent site says X about this business" more than "this business says X about itself". Hence: detailed reviews on Google, mentions in local tourism blogs or local press (Diario de Avisos, El Día, Canarias7), being listed on curated directories (TripAdvisor with full data, not an empty stub), and — where your niche allows — a Wikipedia or Wikidata entry. AIs read Wikidata more than you might think.
5. Detailed reviews, not just a star count
AIs read the text of reviews, not just the average. A profile at 4.3 stars with reviews saying "the dentist speaks perfect English and explains clearly" will show up for "dentist in Tenerife for British expats" long before a 4.8-star profile with one-word reviews. Encourage your customers to say what they liked, not just to rate you.
What's noise
- "AI SEO" as a €300/month subscription: as of 2026 no agency has secret keys. They charge you for what you already know — schema, GBP, content. If it's sold as "GEO expertise", ask for concrete cases before paying.
- Stuffing your site with AI-generated FAQs: AIs detect autogenerated content and lower trust on those pages. Five real FAQs beat 50 generated ones.
- Buying reviews: AIs read the pattern. Fake reviews cut your credibility across every system, not just Google.
- "Optimising for ChatGPT" by putting its name on your site: doesn't work. ChatGPT does not treat references to itself as a signal.
The honest test
Before spending time or money on this, open Perplexity or ChatGPT (with search enabled) and ask three real customer questions. If you run a restaurant in Los Cristianos: "best vegan restaurant in Los Cristianos", "good lunch menu in Los Cristianos", "where to eat with kids in Los Cristianos". See whether your business shows up, whether it's described well, or whether it isn't there at all. That is your real baseline.
If you don't show up, the usual culprit is: half-done Google profile + zero schema on the site + reviews with no text. Start there.
How I do it
I build sites for Tenerife businesses with schema properly in from day one — not as an add-on, but as part of the design. Every site from the Lanzamiento programme ships with LocalBusiness, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList and whichever specific type fits your business. If you want a cold look at where local search stands in the Canaries in 2026, see the stats hub.
What I find fair about this moment: AIs are rewarding people who do things carefully, not people who shout the loudest. If you run a good business and you describe it clearly, you'll be cited before the competitor paying €600 a month to a smoke-and-mirrors agency.
