What does a search actually do behind the scenes?

Step by step

1. Google Places. Google is asked for <keywords> in <location>, for example dentist in Austin, TX. Results come in pages of 20 and up to 3 pages are read, so a search starts from up to 60 businesses. Listings Google marks as closed are skipped.
2. Listing details. For each business, the name, address, phone, website, Google rating, review count, Google Maps link, whether opening hours are listed, and Google's category are recorded.
3. Live website audits. Each website is fetched live, 6 at a time: the homepage first, then the contact, about and booking pages it can find. Businesses with no website are not audited.
4. The AI question. While the audits run, an AI assistant with live web search is asked "Who are the best <keywords> in <location>?" and the businesses it names are recorded.
5. Leads saved as they finish. A lead that matches at least one problem you picked (or any lead, if you picked none) and, if you ticked the email box, has an email, is saved straight away and shows up on the results page.
6. The AI answer is applied. Once the audits are done, and if the AI answered with business names, each lead is marked as named or not named in the AI answer. Leads the AI never named get the Invisible to AI Search problem and an AI ✗ badge; named leads get AI ✓. Scores are recalculated, and a lead that now matches your picks can join the list at this point.
7. Google results snapshot. A check of Google's results for the same search may add each lead's organic rank (the #N badge), whether it is in the local map pack, whether Google's AI answer mentions it, and whether it is paying for ads (💰 Spends on ads).
8. Complete. The search's status in Search History turns Complete, and the results page subtitle changes to the lead count, for example 24 leads · source: Google Places + live website audits.

What keeps running after Complete

• Google PageSpeed check. Up to 25 leads whose audits still have findings the raw page could not fully confirm get a real rendered load from Google PageSpeed. That can confirm or clear those findings and adds Google's speed score.
• Competitor profiles. Up to 5 of the businesses the AI named are looked up on Google and checked, so a lead's proof page can show Who's getting those customers instead.

The results page stops refreshing itself once the search is complete, so reload it later to see what these checks changed.