Hello Lunch Break. If I asked your friends or family to describe you what would they say? Would those closest to you describe you the same way? AI engines look for a business entity to be described the same way, everywhere. Because before it serves up a generative answer it will go through a process of cross referencing the entity signals it can retrieve to form its answer. So, this week I’m asking “Would the AI engines get "who you are" or "what you do" right?”
That’s the entire issue.
Alright. Clock's ticking. Back to work.
THE GAME CHANGED
Engage With More Inline Links
Someone asks Google how to get a refund from their airline. In a test Google announced October 15, the AI answer can open with a box that links straight to the airline's own refund page, plus a description on why that's the link to use.
Source: Google
Google says the box is for tasks where only one or two places on the web can help. This update also moves inline links higher in those answers, and shows them more often.
Here's what it means for a local business: Google didn't say how it decides which site is official, or whether your Business Profile counts. Make sure your name, phone number and hours match everywhere, so when Google picks they all have the same answer.
Sources: More ways to connect with the web from Search, Hema Budaraju, Google, October 15, 2026. Search Console note via Search Engine Journal, October 2026.
THE WINDOW IS NOW
Four Days To Say No
Late last month, Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google is emailing business owners a short note asking whether a suggested edit to their profile looks right.
That email also starts a clock. Google's help page now says you have four days from the notification to accept or reject the edit. If you don't answer, Google may publish it anyway, as long as other public information backs it up.
What to do about it:
In your Business Profile, open More, then Notifications, and send business info alerts to an inbox someone reads every day.
Open Edit profile and look for any alert about updates Google made or wants to make. Answer them.
Check that your website's name, hours and phone number match your profile. That's the page Google checks before it publishes a suggested edit.
Sources: Google Business Profiles Gives You Four Days To Reject User Edits, Barry Schwartz, Search Engine Roundtable, September 23, 2026. Google Business Profiles Email: Does This Look Right To You, Search Engine Roundtable, September 8, 2026. Understand what happens to your Business Profile edits, Google Business Profile Help.
YOUR COMPETITORS ARE ASLEEP
An October Bug To Be Aware Of
Around October 8, with the GPT-6 rollout, ChatGPT stopped adding its tracking tag to the links in its answers. It already wasn't passing a referrer on most clicks, so those visits landed in Direct.
Cedric Huesler at Adobe checked about 500 pages where ChatGPT drove at least 5 percent of visits. ChatGPT visits fell about 31,000 a day. Direct rose about 26,000 a day on the same pages. He says OpenAI told him it was a bug.
The tag came back October 15.
What to do about it: if you check your analytics, make a note that ChatGPT dropped its tag from October 8 through 15, so you aren’t asking yourself what happened when you review your analytics again at the end of the year. Then, if you haven't already, add one question to every intake form you have: how did you hear about us? That's attribution straight from the source.
Sources: OpenAI Drops UTM Parameters From ChatGPT Results (GPT-6), Barry Schwartz, Search Engine Roundtable, October 14, 2026. ChatGPT Traffic Drop Appears To Be A Tracking Problem, Search Engine Journal, October 2026. Does AI drive more direct traffic?, Kevin Indig, Growth Memo, October 19, 2026.
WHAT’S THE PROMPT
Ask ChatGPT Who It Thinks You Are
You're about to find out which version of you ChatGPT is sharing with your potential customers, and where it got it.
Then, analyze. It puts you in one of three places.
Everything traces to your site and matches. You're the official source. Keep it that way every time something changes.
Facts come from listings that disagree with your site. Fix the listing ChatGPT said it would trust first. That one is doing the talking.
It turns up a name, address, or phone number you don't use anymore. That listing is still answering for you. Claim it, update it, or ask for it to come down. This is the one that cost a restaurant downtown its own name this week.
CITED
Old Name Wins
I asked ChatGPT for the “best brunch downtown”, then I asked ChatGPT the way I really ask when I want specifics like what time it starts, and whether they take reservations.
Source: ChatGPT
Source: ChatGPT
On my second question, the top pick was The George on the Riverwalk, 128 South Water Street. That restaurant has been River 128 since February 11, 2025, after the owners remodeled and renamed it. River 128 is in the AI answer too. Number seven. Same address, different brunch hours. The old name finished six places ahead of the real one.
The source citation on The George reads Dock & Dine, which matches a boating directory listing that still carries The George's name and the restaurant's phone number, with a button inviting the owner to claim it. A Tripadvisor page and an online ordering page still carry the old name too.
The fix, for them and for you: Renaming is normal. The old name just hasn't fully retired itself. Claim the old listings, and make sure your name, phone number and hours match everywhere.
If you want to see where you stand against your competitors and what you might need to update, request a free AI Visibility Snapshot.
See you next Thursday.
- Anna
THE POLL
