Local businesses want more customers. As AI tools influence how consumers find restaurants, contractors and other services, news publishers have an opportunity to help advertisers navigate that changing landscape—and build a broader business relationship in the process.
That was the central message from Oded Ouaknine, chief revenue officer at Duda, during an E&P Solutions Series webinar hosted by Publisher Mike Blinder. The discussion connected AI discoverability to practical website improvements, sales conversations and services publishers could offer under their own brands.
Ouaknine described Duda as the technology behind those offerings: a white-label platform that agencies and media companies use to build and manage websites for business customers. Publishers retain their branding and customer relationships while using Duda’s infrastructure to deliver the service. “The Duda is the engine that powers all that,” he said.
For publishers, the opportunity begins with understanding how an advertiser’s next customer might make a decision.
AI changes how customers choose local businesses
Ouaknine illustrated the shift with a homeowner facing a plumbing emergency. Instead of working through search results and calling businesses to check availability, that person can ask an AI assistant to identify a nearby plumber offering the needed service.
In that scenario, information about services, location, availability and reputation helps shape the recommendation. The advertiser’s challenge becomes making that information accessible and useful.
Google remains part of the equation. “Google is not dead yet,” Ouaknine said, describing AI discovery as an additional channel that publishers should understand and help their customers address.
The website becomes a source of truth
A website, he argued, now has responsibilities beyond looking attractive to a visitor. It also supplies information that AI systems can use when answering questions about a business. “It’s a source of truth for those LLMs,” he said.
That makes consistency important. If a website lists one set of business hours while other online listings show something different, the conflicting information creates uncertainty. Ouaknine encouraged publishers to examine the relationship between the website, Google Business Profile, local listings and other sources describing the business. “Everyone needs to serve the exact same information,” he said.
What Duda found across one million websites
Ouaknine also presented findings from Duda’s research, which he described during the webinar as covering approximately one million websites on its platform. He reported that sites attracting AI crawler activity showed stronger traffic and customer-action measures, including 3.2 times more human traffic, 2.7 times more form submissions and 2.5 times more clicks to call.
He characterized the findings as correlations. They should not be read as a guarantee that attracting an AI crawler will produce a particular increase in customers.
The practical question for publishers is which website characteristics deserve attention. Ouaknine highlighted local listing integration, structured business information, content depth and freshness. “Freshness of content is a significant driver of the AI visibility,” he said.
Content depth requires more thought than simply adding pages. An auto repair business, for example, could explain individual services rather than grouping everything under one general services page. A page about brake replacement could address the work involved, pricing considerations, warranties and the parts used. “Today, I would build a single page for each one of those services,” Ouaknine said.
The discussion then moved from research to actual business websites. Reviewing examples from funeral services, automotive repair and restaurants, Ouaknine looked for clear next steps and useful answers.
A prominent appointment button helps visitors act. Frequently asked questions can explain what a business offers and address concerns that otherwise require a call. Educational articles can bring a business’s existing expertise onto its website. “That knowledge exists within that shop. Why not use that and put this out there?” he asked.
For a restaurant, that could mean going beyond photographs and a menu to explain the chef’s background, approach and food philosophy. The aim is to communicate information that distinguishes the business and helps customers evaluate it.
Turning website gaps into sales opportunities
Those gaps also create openings for sales conversations.
Ouaknine described using AI visibility audits to assess a prospect’s website and compare it with competitors. A salesperson could bring the findings to a meeting, explain the areas needing attention and present an example of an improved website. “I can already create an alternative for them,” he said.
He also described a media company offering free, branded visibility audits at chamber of commerce meetings. The reports create a starting point for discussing services, although delivering improvements remains essential to fulfilling the sales promise.
For existing advertisers, the same approach can support conversations about performance and additional services. Ouaknine urged publishers to connect reporting to outcomes business owners understand: inquiries, appointments, calls and bookings. “They understand outcomes, and it’s a very simple conversation to have,” he said.
Building a scalable recurring service
For publishers, the opportunity works only if the service can be delivered efficiently across dozens, hundreds or even thousands of local businesses. Every website cannot become a custom project requiring extensive production and support.
Ouaknine described Duda’s role as helping publishers standardize and automate much of that work—from collecting business information and launching websites to identifying content gaps, keeping information current and making ongoing improvements. AI can assist with repetitive tasks, while publishers and their customers retain control over what is published.
That operating model allows a publisher to turn website creation into a recurring service rather than a one-time project. Publishers can establish their own pricing and package website setup, ongoing management and discoverability improvements under their own brands, while Duda provides the underlying platform.
Publishers can also choose how much fulfillment they want to handle. Some may manage production internally, while others can use outside partners, allowing each company to match the service model to its staff, capabilities and economics.
Once that foundation is established, the revenue opportunity can extend beyond the website. Ouaknine offered a virtual receptionist as one example: a tool that could help a busy service provider respond to prospects and schedule appointments. Publishers could charge for the service or explore pricing tied to completed bookings. “Booking equals money,” he said.
Ouaknine advised publishers to validate the opportunity with local businesses and determine what their sales and fulfillment teams can support. Some companies may outsource production, while others may expand existing website operations.
For publishers already selling digital services, the question is whether their current offering addresses how customers find businesses today.
“If you already sell that, are you selling the right product?” Ouaknine asked. “Are you selling the product that will help those customers to be discovered?”
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