Why AI Search Changes Everything for London's Craftspeople

Something fundamental is changing about how customers find businesses. If you're a furniture maker, kitchen designer, architect, or any kind of craftsperson in London, this shift affects you directly — and most people in your trade haven't noticed yet.

What's happening

Until recently, every customer journey started in the same place: a Google search bar. You'd type, scroll, compare a few websites, maybe read some reviews. That entire process is being bypassed — and it's happening faster than most people realise.

Now, customers are asking AI. They open ChatGPT and type "who makes the best bespoke furniture in North London?" They ask Perplexity "find me a kitchen designer near Islington." They see Google's AI Overview answering their question before they even reach the traditional search results.

Think of it this way: Google works like the Yellow Pages — it lists everyone and leaves you to decide. AI works like asking a knowledgeable friend — it names one or two businesses and explains why. If AI considers you trustworthy enough to recommend, you're the business the customer calls. If it doesn't know you exist, neither will they.

What AI actually says about London craftspeople

We tested this. We asked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview, and Claude for recommendations across dozens of craft and design specialities in London. The results were revealing.

When we asked ChatGPT "who makes the best bespoke furniture in North London," it recommended three businesses. Two of them had extensive structured data on their websites — data that told AI exactly what they do, where they serve, and what their speciality is. The third had dozens of consistent directory listings that AI cross-referenced for credibility.

Meanwhile, furniture makers we know to be more skilled, more experienced, and better reviewed were completely absent. Their websites were beautiful — stunning portfolio images, elegant design — but nothing that AI could actually read or understand.

This pattern repeated across every trade we tested. The businesses AI recommends aren't always the best. They're the most visible to AI. And right now, "visible to AI" is a very different thing from "visible to humans."

Why most craft websites aren't ready

There's a gap between what makes a website impressive to a human visitor and what makes it useful to an AI engine. Most craft websites were built to showcase work visually — large images, minimal text, clean design. That's great for a customer who's already on your site. It's terrible for AI that's deciding whether to send customers to your site in the first place.

AI needs three things from your website:

1. Structured data — think of it as a machine-readable business card hidden in your website's code. Your human visitors never see it, but it tells AI your trade, your location, your specialities, and how to categorise you. Without it, AI is guessing from your page text alone — and it usually guesses wrong.
2. Answerable content — text that directly addresses the questions customers ask AI. "What's the best wood for kitchen cabinets?" "How long does a bespoke furniture commission take?" "What should I look for in a kitchen designer?" When your website provides clear, specific answers, AI has something it can point to. When it's just images and a phone number, AI has nothing to work with.
3. Consistent presence — your business details need to match across every platform where you're listed. When AI checks your name, address, and services on one site against another and finds the same information, it gains confidence. When details conflict, it moves on to a business it can verify.

Three things you can do this week

You don't need to rebuild your entire online presence overnight. Here are three concrete steps that make a real difference:

1. Test what AI says about you

Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google and ask for your service in your area. Try different phrasings — "reliable joiner for a loft conversion in Hackney," "bespoke cabinet maker East London," "architect for Victorian terrace renovation Islington." See what comes back. If you're not in the answers, that tells you something.

2. Add descriptions to your portfolio

Every project on your website should have a written description — not just images. What was the brief? What materials did you use? What was unique about this project? AI can't see your photos (not yet, not reliably), but it can read your descriptions. A paragraph per project transforms your portfolio from an image gallery AI ignores into a knowledge base AI trusts.

3. Claim and update your directory listings

Start with Google Business Profile — it's free and carries the most weight with AI. Then add whichever trade-specific directory matters for your craft (Houzz for designers, Checkatrade for tradespeople, professional body listings for architects). What matters is that your details match everywhere: if AI finds conflicting information about your business across different sites, it loses confidence in recommending you.

The bigger picture

AI search isn't replacing Google overnight. But the trajectory is clear: more customers are starting their search with AI, and that percentage is growing every month. The businesses that prepare now will have a significant advantage over those that wait.

For craftspeople specifically, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that your current website probably isn't structured for AI. The opportunity is that almost none of your competitors have done anything about it either. The first movers in each trade and area will dominate AI recommendations for months before anyone catches up.

Your craft speaks for itself — to anyone who sees it. The question is whether AI knows enough about you to send those people your way.

When this matters less

If you're just starting out and don't have a body of work yet, this isn't where your energy should go. AI can only recommend what it can verify, and there's nothing to verify until you have completed projects, satisfied clients, and a track record to point to. Build the craft first. Visibility follows substance.

Similarly, if your pipeline is already full from architect referrals or repeat clients — if you're turning work away — then AI visibility is a low priority. It matters most for established craftspeople whose quality of work deserves a wider audience than their current referral network provides.

A note on our perspective

Full transparency: Findcraft sells AI visibility services, so we have a commercial interest in this topic. Everything above — testing, portfolio descriptions, directory listings — works without us. We wrote this because the information gap is real and most craftspeople haven't heard about it yet, not because we need the lead. Judge the advice on its merits and verify it independently.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

These are independent sources — none of them are affiliated with Findcraft:

• SparkToro/Datos 2024 Zero-Click Search Study — data on how search behaviour is shifting away from click-through results.
• Schema.org LocalBusiness specification — the structured data standard that helps AI understand your business.
• Google's Structured Data documentation — Google's own guide to implementing structured data on your website.

Content produced through the M.A.R.C. methodology — our framework for evidence-based, ethically-governed content.