Navigating technology: Maximizing voice and visual search for your agency

The way your potential clients find you is changing both quietly and quickly. A prospect shopping for business insurance formerly typed “business insurance agent near me” into a search bar. Today, that same person might ask their phone, “Hey Siri, who’s the best business insurance agent near me?” Or they might snap a photo of a business card they found at an open house and let Google Lens pull up every agent in the area. The result they see or hear may or may not include you.

Voice and visual search are not emerging technologies anymore. They are how a growing portion of your potential clients are searching for services right now, so it’s worth the time to understand what that means for your agency.

What’s the difference between text search and voice search?

Text-based search and voice search feel similar on the surface, but they work quite differently, and the difference matters for your agency.

When someone types a search, they tend to use short, keyword-based phrases: “homeowners insurance agent Dallas.” When someone speaks a search, they ask a full question the way they would ask a friend: “Who is a good homeowners insurance agent in Dallas that handles flood coverage?” That shift from keywords to natural language changes what content search engines prioritize and which agencies surface at the top.

Voice search also narrows results in a way that text search does not. A traditional Google search returns a page full of options. A voice search on a smartphone or smart speaker typically returns one answer, the one the AI considers most relevant. If your agency is not optimized to be that answer, you do not appear at all.

According to J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study¹, nearly half of all new auto and home insurance policies are now purchased digitally. This is a sign of how thoroughly clients have shifted to screens and devices as their first stop for insurance decisions. Voice search is the natural extension of that shift, moving the starting point from a keyboard to a spoken question. The agencies that show up well in both are the ones clients find first.

What is visual search and why does it matter for agents?

While voice search has gotten more attention, visual search is developing quickly and deserves your awareness.

Visual search allows users to point their smartphone camera at an object like a business card, a sign or a storefront and receive instant information about it. Tools like Google Lens can identify a competitor’s location, pull up their website and display reviews in seconds. If a homebuyer walks through a neighborhood and photographs a “For Sale” sign, those same tools can surface local insurance agents in the same breath.

For your agency, this means that physical presence — a clean storefront, branded materials and consistent business information across every online directory — feeds into your visual search visibility, not just your foot traffic. The line between your offline identity and your online discoverability is thinner than it used to be.

What AI-driven discovery means for organic leads

Both voice and visual search are increasingly powered by AI, and that is changing how agencies get discovered by new clients. The term gaining traction alongside traditional SEO is Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, which is the practice of structuring your content so that AI-driven search tools can pull it as a confident, direct answer to a specific question. Where traditional search optimization competed for a top-ten ranking, AEO competes for the single spoken answer your client receives.

This does not mean abandoning what you already do online. It means expanding your strategy to include how AI systems interpret your content, not just how humans read it. The agencies that get ahead of this shift are not necessarily spending more, but they think more carefully about what they publish and how it is structured.

Practical steps worth taking now to improve your agency’s digital presence

You do not need to overhaul your agency’s digital presence overnight, but there are a few areas worth focusing on.

1. Claim and update every directory profile your agency has. Google Business Profile, Yelp, your carrier’s agent locator and any local chamber listings all feed into both voice and visual search results. Consistent name, address and phone number information across all of them helps search engines treat your agency as a trustworthy local result. Inconsistencies, even minor ones, can suppress your visibility.

For Nationwide-appointed agents, by listing your agency on our free Agency Locator, you can improve your agency’s online ranking, increase traffic to your website and help drive qualified leads. Agencies that filled out at least 50% of their dashboard saw a greater improvement in engagement than agencies with incomplete dashboard profiles, including a: 229% increase in on-page clicks.²

2. Add natural-language content to your website. If your site currently reads like a brochure — “We offer homeowners, auto and commercial coverage” — consider adding a frequently asked questions section. Answers to questions like “What does homeowners insurance cover?” or “How much does commercial liability insurance cost for a small business?” mirror the phrasing people use in voice searches and give AI-driven tools something concrete to surface.

3. Review and update your profile photos. Visual search tools pull from the images associated with your business listing. Clear, current photos of your office, your team and your branded materials help your agency appear in visually-triggered searches and build immediate credibility with prospects who find you that way.

4. Optimize the photos on your website. While you’re updating photos on your business profiles, do the same on your website. Optimize images by having clear file names, proper image alt text, and accurate captions where applicable.

Turning insurance search visibility into stronger client relationships

None of this replaces the conversation that happens when a client calls your office, walks in because a neighbor referred them or reaches out after reading something you shared on social media. It also doesn’t replace text search. Voice and visual search are not about chasing technology for its own sake. They are about staying findable as the way people search continues to evolve. The steps required, including updating directory profiles, writing content that answers real questions and maintaining a consistent presence online, are not complicated. They are simply the new baseline for an agency that wants to be discovered.