When someone asks AI for the best [your trade] in your town… does it say your name?
For most small NZ businesses, the honest answer is no — and nobody's checked. The AI Findability Audit tests exactly what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google's AI say about your business, then gives you a scored report and a plain-English fix list.
Book your audit NZ$750 launch pricing · fee credits against any fix work · no jargon, promise“Who's the best plumber in Fairlie?”
“I don't have specific information about plumbers in Fairlie. You could try searching online directories…”
Why does it matter what AI says about my business?
Because AI is now the third-biggest research channel in New Zealand — and when it can't find you, it recommends someone else or nobody at all.
Your customers used to Google you. Increasingly, they ask ChatGPT or their phone's AI assistant instead — “who's a good electrician near Timaru?” — and take the first answer they get. That answer is the new front door to your business.
Here's the uncomfortable bit: when you ask AI for the best tradie or clinic in most regional NZ towns, it usually names nobody. Not your competitor. Nobody. That's not a level playing field — it's an empty one, and the first local business that shows up well wins it.
What does the AI Findability Audit actually check?
Six things: what AI says about you right now, plus every part of your online presence that decides whether AI (and customers) can find and trust you.
The AI Test
We ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google's AI the exact questions your customers ask — “best [your trade] in [your town]” — and record what they say, word for word, with screenshots. This is the part almost nobody has ever seen for their own business.
Google Business Profile scorecard
Your profile is the single biggest source AI leans on for local answers. We score it against what actually moves the needle — categories, reviews, photos, hours, posts.
Website scorecard
Can a machine read your site and answer a customer's question from it? We check answer-first structure, schema markup, mobile experience and page speed.
Conversion integrity check
Being found is worthless if the phone number's wrong. We test every link, button, form and phone number on your site so no enquiry leaks out the side.
Citation map
We map where you appear (and don't) across the NZ directories AI draws on — Yellow NZ, Localist, NoCowboys and more — and flag wrong or missing listings.
The Fix List
A prioritised, plain-English list of what to fix first — honest about what you can do yourself in an afternoon and what's worth paying someone to do.
How does it work?
Three steps: you book, we test everything, then we walk you through it — you don't lift a finger until the fix list is in your hands.
Book your audit
Email or call us with your business name and town. That's genuinely all we need to get started.
We test everything
We run the full six-part audit — AI answers, Google profile, website, links, directory listings — and score each one. You keep running your business.
30-minute walkthrough + scored report
We sit down (in person or online) and go through what AI says about you, your scores, and exactly what to fix first. You keep the full report.
Why get Pivot to do it?
Because this is a measured audit built on a proven method, run by someone who's spent years helping NZ small businesses — not a tech agency selling you a retainer.
A proven audit method, not a sales pitch
Every audit follows the same structured six-part method, so your scores mean something and can be re-measured after you fix things. No black box, no vibes.
We publish real, measured results
We show our working — actual AI answers, actual scores, actual before-and-after. If AI already finds you just fine, the report will say so.
Business mentor first, tools second
Pivot is run by Lyndon Forrest, an experienced business mentor based in Fairlie, working with businesses across South Canterbury and beyond. The advice is about your customers and your time — not tech for tech's sake.
What does it cost?
NZ$750 at launch pricing — and if you get us to fix anything afterwards, the whole audit fee comes off that bill.
- The full six-part audit, including verbatim AI answers with screenshots
- Scored report you keep, in plain English
- 30-minute walkthrough, in person or online
- Prioritised fix list — honest about DIY vs done-for-you
Credit toward the fix: if you engage us to fix anything the audit finds, your $750 is credited in full against that work. The audit effectively becomes free.
Book your audit Or ring Lyndon on 021 2613 555Questions people ask before booking
What if AI already finds me?
Then the report will say so — and you'll have proof, in writing, with screenshots. That's genuinely useful: you'll know which AI tools recommend you, what they say, and where the gaps still are. In our testing so far, very few regional NZ businesses come back clean, but if yours does, you'll be ahead of nearly everyone in your town and the fix list will be short.
Is this just SEO with a new name?
No — SEO is one slice of it. Traditional SEO is about ranking in a list of blue links. AI findability is about whether an AI can find, understand and confidently recommend your business when someone asks a question. That depends on your Google profile, your reviews, directory listings, how your website is structured for machines, and whether your details are consistent everywhere. We test all of it, not just your Google ranking.
How long does it take?
From booking to walkthrough is typically about a week. The audit itself takes us a few days of testing and scoring; then we book your 30-minute walkthrough at a time that suits you. You don't need to prepare anything.
Do I need to be technical to understand the report?
No. The report is written in plain English for the person who owns the business, not their web developer. Every finding comes with what it means and what to do about it. If you can read a quote from a builder, you can read this.
Will you try to sell me a big ongoing package?
No. The fix list is honest about what you can do yourself — a decent chunk of it usually is DIY. If you'd rather we handle some of it, we'll quote that separately and credit your audit fee against it. No retainers, no lock-in.
I'm not in Fairlie or Timaru — can you still audit me?
Yes. The audit works for any NZ service business — trades, clinics, consultants — anywhere in the country. Everything can be done remotely, and the walkthrough works just as well over a video call.
Find out what AI says about your business — before your customers do.
One email books it. A week later you'll know exactly where you stand, in writing.
Book your audithello@pivotbusiness.co.nz · 021 2613 555 · PO Box 42, Fairlie, South Canterbury 7987