AI Visibility Scores, Detroit's Economic Outlook, and Two Nights at The Congregation

By Redic Grant, Founder & CEO, MRJ Consulting

A new University of Michigan report on Detroit's economy came out this week, and the headline number looks rough at first glance: unemployment ticked up to 11%. But look closer and the story flips — that's driven by more people entering the job market, not people losing jobs. Detroit's labor force grew 2.9% over the past year while Michigan's shrank 2.2% statewide. Economists are calling the overall picture "encouraging." It's a good reminder that the number on the surface isn't always the number that matters — you have to look at what's actually driving it.

A new benchmark report on small business AI visibility dropped this week, and the number there should get your attention: the average U.S. small business scores just 30 out of 100 for AI visibility. That means roughly 70% of the opportunity to be found, recommended, and cited by tools like ChatGPT and Gemini is sitting untapped. We'll dig into what's driving that number below.

In the Community: Two Nights at The Congregation

This week took me to The Congregation twice. First was the Citizens of AI Community AI Lab, hosted by REBRANDX in partnership with the Knight Foundation — a recurring space for Detroiters to explore AI, build new skills, and learn alongside each other. The session's theme, "Being Human in the AI Era," dug into creativity, judgment, and community — the things AI still can't replace — through a discussion and open Q&A. "The community is the new college" is a line that's stuck with me since.

Two days later I was back for Open City's State of the City: Small Business Edition, a moderated panel with city leaders and organizational visionaries on capital access, growth initiatives, and neighborhood corridor support for Detroit entrepreneurs. No fluff — just straight talk on the grants and programs actually open for applications right now, plus a direct Q&A with the people shaping Detroit's business policy.

Both were good reminders of something we say a lot around here: MRJ does not parachute into Detroit — we are Detroit.

Separately, TechTown Detroit has confirmed a make-up date for the First Thursdays gathering postponed by last month's storms — keep an eye on TechTown's events page for the exact date and RSVP. Planning for our AI & Social Media seminar with TechTown's founder community is also moving forward, with dates and registration details coming in the next issue.

What We're Watching: Small Businesses Are Scoring 30 Out of 100 on AI Visibility

A new SMB AI Visibility Benchmark, based on an analysis of more than 200 U.S. service businesses, found the average small business scores just 30 out of 100 when it comes to how well AI tools can find, understand, and recommend them. That's roughly 70% of the opportunity left on the table — and it lines up with exactly what we've been telling clients: search behavior has split, and most small businesses have only optimized for half of it.

Why it matters for our clients: the businesses scoring well share a few things in common — answer-focused content that directly addresses what customers ask, structured data (schema markup) that helps AI tools parse your site correctly, and consistent, credible information about the business across the web. None of that requires a huge budget. It requires knowing where the gaps are, which is exactly what most businesses don't have visibility into yet.

This Month's Prompt: Is My Business Info Consistent Everywhere AI Looks?

AI tools pull from multiple sources when they answer a question about your business — your website, your Google Business Profile, directories, reviews, and more. If those sources disagree on your hours, address, or services, AI tools often either get it wrong or leave you out of the answer entirely. Here's a prompt to check your own consistency:

"Search for [business name] in [city] across the web. Compare what you find about our hours, address, phone number, and services across different sources. Are there any inconsistencies? Which source looks most authoritative, and which looks outdated or wrong?"

Run it once a quarter. It's a fast way to catch the small mismatches that quietly cost you visibility.

On Micah's Desk This Week

Micah is finishing the outline and slide deck for the TechTown AI & Social Media seminar, running structured-data and Google Business Profile consistency checks for a couple of law firm clients ahead of the AI-visibility push above, and following up on the latest round of inbound leads from outreach. If you want your own business's AI visibility checked as part of this work, let her know — she's building it into a repeatable audit for clients.

Where to Start

If that 30-out-of-100 stat made you wonder where your own business stands, that's exactly what our free 30-minute AI Discovery Call is for — no pitch, just a clear read on where you are and what to do first. Ready to talk? Reach out at info@mrjcdetroit.com.

MRJ Consulting is a Detroit-based digital marketing and AI consulting firm helping law firms, nonprofits, financial institutions, and small businesses across Southeast Michigan build AI-powered marketing systems that actually work. Detroit-Built. Globally Focused.