“A brand is not what YOU say it is.
It's what THEY say it is.”
Whenever a Zoom meeting pops up on my schedule, I like to do a bit of research first. [ Certified over-preparer. ]
My latest connection:
“Strategic Partner for Growing Businesses,” per her company’s website.
Coach, maybe? I dunno.
LinkedIn described something slightly different. Google Business Profile … yeah, that was last updated two years ago. And a conference landing page had a completely different story (and company name).
To be honest, I had no clue what “version” I would be meeting.
And unfortunately, there’s not a single AI tool that could cite my new connection for anything remotely specific.
***
There’s a new type of prospect in 2026. One who (like me) opens an AI tool and asks it a bunch of questions.
And the way the tool actually works, it’s not just reading your homepage. It’s assembling a picture of your business from every signal it can find online.
Your website. LinkedIn. Google Business Profile. Your bio on that conference speaker page. Directories where your business name shows up.
In the world of SEO, this is called “entity optimization.”
An “entity” is the complete version of your business as the internet understands it. Everything the models can piece together from what’s out there.
[ Can’t help but think of Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning when writing this. Great flick. Terrifyingly prescient. But I digress … ]
For most experienced business owners, their “entity” amounts to bits and pieces of inconsistent nothingness.
Your website’s last update from 2021. LinkedIn bio describing your work before a major pivot. Google profile with your old tagline and company overview because you can’t remember how to change it.
Every piece is 100% real. But none of it tells the same story.
So, AI tries to assemble your entity and gets … … what, exactly?
It can’t surface your business confidently because it doesn’t have a coherent summary. So, it just moves on.
***
There’s a 2-part prescription for making sure AI has the whole picture. And yes, you need both parts.
First, is a solid brand foundation. A clear positioning statement that names who you help and what changes for them. A services page that picks one lane of expertise instead of listing everything you've ever done. And an about page that’s current, not a 2019 resume.
That’s the raw material. Without it, technical work has nothing to build on.
The second part is where most people’s eyes glaze over, but stay with me for a second. Because this actually tells the robots what you’re all about.
Your Google Business Profile … when was the last time you looked at it? I mean really looked. Because if the description there doesn’t match what your website says, models register the inconsistency, and deduct points for both. Ouch.
Same with your LinkedIn headline. Same with how your business is listed in online directories. Same with your website’s structured data — bits of code behind the scenes that spells out exactly what your company does.
[ Most service businesses have zero of that last one, FWIW. ]
***
No small task.
But it’s also not starting from zero. Most of the pieces already exist somewhere; they just don’t add up to anything coherent yet.
Your advantage: 95% of service businesses haven’t tackled any of this yet. Getting ahead of it now is the most strategic decision you can make.
Your move. 😉
Make it a great week! 🙌
PS — Don’t worry. Victory Points isn’t MIA. It’s just “relocating” to Fridays. A little dose of game-filled fun and inspiration to end the work week.
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