On 19 August 2026, we used an incognito browser to check a mix of direct searches and natural customer questions: “painter in Wanaka,” “best painter in Wanaka,” “house painter Wanaka,” “Who should I hire to paint my house in Wānaka?” and “Which Wānaka painter specialises in cedar restoration?”
Lakeside Painting appeared prominently across the results. It was presented first for “painter in Wanaka,” named first when we asked who to hire, connected directly with cedar restoration, and shown at the top of the standard local results for “house painter Wanaka.”
That was a genuinely satisfying result. It also needs a little context.
First, the transparent bit
Lakeside Painting is not an unrelated Rank Higher client. Rank Higher and Lakeside Painting share the same owner.
We have used Lakeside as a real-world testing ground for local SEO: a genuine Wānaka service business with real customers, reviews, jobs and commercial pressure. That has given us the freedom to test ideas, measure what happens and refine the approach before applying the lessons elsewhere.
Put simply: before selling this approach to other local businesses, we tested it on our own.
What appeared in Google AI Mode
For “painter in Wanaka,” Google’s response began with Lakeside Painting, showing its 5-star rating, local address, services and direct call, directions and website actions.
For “best painter in Wanaka,” Google named Lakeside among the best local painters, included it in the top-rated companies list and surfaced the Lakeside website first in the supporting results.
What happened when we asked like a customer
For “Who should I hire to paint my house in Wānaka?” Google put Lakeside first in its summary and top-painters list. It also associated the business with specialised timber and alpine exterior work, rather than merely repeating a business name.
For “Which Wānaka painter specialises in cedar restoration?” Google connected Lakeside Painting with its dedicated Lakeside Cedar service and named that operation first among local options. That is useful evidence that the relationship between the main business, the specialist service and the location is being understood.
The standard local results supported the same story
The normal Google results still matter. For “house painter Wanaka,” Lakeside Painting appeared first in the local business results, with its rating, phone number, website and directions visible. AI visibility is not replacing local SEO here; it is appearing alongside it.
These screenshots record what appeared in incognito searches on 19 August 2026. Google results can change by date, location, wording and search context, so they are evidence of a dated search snapshot rather than a permanent ranking promise.
Why this matters
Traditional Google rankings still matter. People continue to use the normal search results, Maps and business profiles every day.
But another layer is becoming increasingly important: whether Google’s AI can clearly understand what a business does, where it operates and why it may be relevant enough to include in an answer.
That changes the goal slightly. A business does not only want to rank as a blue link. It wants to become an entity that search systems can confidently interpret and surface.
This is often described as AI search optimisation or generative engine optimisation (GEO). We see it as an extension of good SEO rather than a separate shortcut: make the business clear, useful and credible wherever search systems look for evidence.
What helped build that visibility
There is no single “AI search” switch. Lakeside’s visibility was built from the same fundamentals that support strong local search performance:
- A fast website with clear service and location information
- Dedicated pages covering the work customers actually search for
- A complete and actively maintained Google Business Profile
- Genuine customer reviews and consistent business details
- Useful content that demonstrates local experience and specialist knowledge
- A recognisable relationship between the business, its services and the Wānaka area
We cannot prove that any one factor caused these particular AI results. The more useful lesson is that clear, consistent evidence across the web gives search systems more to work with.
What this does not prove
No agency can honestly guarantee that Google’s AI will recommend a business. AI answers are generated dynamically and can change without notice.
One search snapshot also does not prove that a company will appear for every person, query or device. That is why we have kept the screenshots, recorded the search wording and dated the result.
What it does show is that a deliberate local SEO strategy can build visibility beyond the traditional list of search results. Google was able to connect Lakeside Painting with high-intent Wānaka painting searches and present the business as a relevant local option.
SEO is not disappearing. It is expanding.
The fundamentals have not suddenly become obsolete. Clear websites, trustworthy business information, useful content and genuine reputation signals are still doing the heavy lifting.
The difference is that those signals now influence more places: organic search, Maps, local results and AI-generated answers.
For local businesses, the practical question is no longer only “Do we rank?” It is also “Do search systems understand and trust us well enough to recommend us?”
See the full Lakeside Painting case study, or talk to Rank Higher about building a stronger local search presence for your business.