Most small business news does not need a press release. A new opening hours notice, a small stock update or a routine social media post rarely warrants one. What is worth writing about is news that a genuine third party would want to cover, that says something factually specific about your business, and that other websites might reasonably link to or mention. That is the simple test: would an independent local publication, trade site or community outlet consider this worth reporting on its own merits, separate from the fact that you sent it to them?
This matters more, not less, in a search environment increasingly shaped by AI-generated summaries. AI Overviews and similar tools draw on content that already exists across the web, including local news coverage, directories and business websites. A press release itself is rarely the end destination. Its value lies in prompting genuine coverage, citations and mentions elsewhere that contribute to how a business is understood and described online.
What AI Overviews mean for local businesses
Google's AI Overviews produce summarised answers directly on the search results page, drawing on multiple sources rather than sending a searcher straight to a single website. For local businesses, this means some searches that once led to a click through to your site or Google Business Profile may now be partly answered by a summary instead. Google has documented that these summaries are generated from a range of web content, but it has not published a detailed formula for which sources get selected or quoted.
It is worth being cautious here. Much of what is said online about "how to get into AI Overviews" comes from SEO practitioners observing patterns, not from Google's own documentation. Those observations can be useful context, but they are not confirmed ranking rules, and they change as the underlying systems change. The safest position for a small business is to treat AI Overviews as a reason to be found consistently and accurately across the web, rather than a system that can be reliably engineered through any single tactic.
The kind of news actually worth a press release
Genuinely newsworthy local business stories tend to share a few features. They involve something concrete happening, not just a general claim about being good at what you do. A new premises opening, a significant expansion, a notable community partnership, a charitable initiative with real outcomes, a milestone anniversary, a new accreditation, a locally relevant award, or a response to a local issue can all work well, provided there is a specific, checkable fact at the centre of the story.
Vague self-promotion rarely gets picked up and can look out of place if it is. "We're the best plumbers in town" is an opinion, not news. "We've taken on two apprentices this year as part of a local skills partnership" is a fact a local paper or trade body might reasonably cover, because it says something specific and verifiable.
Framing the story for local publications
Local journalists and editors are generally looking for relevance to their readers, not free advertising. A press release stands a better chance when it leads with the local angle: who is affected, what has changed, and why residents or other local businesses might care. Keep the promotional language to a minimum and let the facts carry the story. Include a genuine quote from someone at the business, basic factual details, and contact information for follow-up questions. If a publication cannot easily verify the story, they are less likely to run it.
Framing the story for AI-crawlable outlets
Many announcements now end up on online-only local news sites, trade press, or business directories that are crawled by search engines and, by extension, potentially referenced by AI summarisation tools. The same principles apply, but clarity becomes even more valuable. Write in plain, factual sentences. State what happened, when, and where, rather than relying on tone or clever phrasing. Consistent, unambiguous business details across whichever outlets do pick up the story are more useful than a single elaborately written release that only appears in one place.
The role of Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is a useful place to post short updates about genuine news, but it does not control whether AI Overviews or any other search feature mentions your business. Posts, photographs and accurate profile information help ensure your listing reflects reality and gives Google and searchers something current to see. Treat it as one accurate, well-maintained piece of your overall online presence rather than a lever for AI visibility on its own.
Structured data and schema markup
It is worth being clear about this: Google does not require special schema markup for a business to appear in AI Overviews, and adding structured data to a press release or website page does not guarantee inclusion in any AI-generated summary. Structured data can help search engines understand factual details on a page, such as event dates or organisation details, more reliably. It is sensible good practice for clarity, but it should not be sold to you, or treated by you, as a shortcut into AI search results.
Consistency, content and corroboration
What genuinely helps, without being a guaranteed mechanism, is consistency. Your business name, address and phone number should match across your website, Google Business Profile, directories and any press coverage. Inconsistent details create confusion for both searchers and automated systems trying to piece together who you are.
Useful website content that plainly explains what you do, where you operate and what makes your service specific to your area gives search engines and AI tools accurate material to draw from. Genuine customer reviews add another layer of real-world corroboration, though no single review or rating figure has been confirmed by Google as a direct factor in AI Overview selection. Third-party mentions, whether from local press, industry bodies or community groups, add independent corroboration that a business exists, operates as described, and is recognised locally. None of these elements alone secures anything. Together, over time, they build a more coherent and verifiable picture of your business across the web.
What to avoid
Avoid sending releases for non-events, exaggerating claims, or presenting marketing copy as news. Avoid keyword-stuffed press release titles written for search engines rather than human readers, since this tends to reduce, not increase, the chance of genuine pickup. Avoid paying for "press release distribution" services that simply republish your text on low-value sites with no editorial oversight; this can create noise without corroboration, and in some cases makes your online footprint look less credible rather than more.
What to concentrate on instead
Rather than trying to reverse-engineer AI search behaviour, the more reliable approach is to focus on being a business that is straightforwardly easy to verify: accurate details wherever you appear online, honest and specific announcements when there is genuinely something to say, real relationships with local media and community organisations, and a website that describes your business clearly rather than cleverly. Press releases work best as one part of that wider, patient effort, not as a trick for appearing in any particular search feature. Consistency and genuine substance, sustained over time, remain the most sensible foundation for visibility, whatever form search takes next.