Ever feel like your business gets overlooked because it’s not “exciting enough”? Like the world’s attention is locked on shiny startups and sexy tech, while you’re just out here making sure people don’t freeze in the winter?

You’re not alone.

But here’s the kicker: That so-called “boring” business you’re in? It’s not your problem. The real issue is blending in when you should be standing out.

HVAC. Roofing. Insurance. Accounting. Everyone says the same stuff. “Family-owned.” “Great service.” “Trusted since 1983.”

And it all blurs together.

Now, enter a business that dares to say something different. Something real. Something human.

“I started fixing heaters with my dad when I was 14 because our own broke down in the middle of a snowstorm.”

That’s not a tagline. That’s a hook. And it makes you memorable.

As Roy H. Williams put it, the goal is simple: “Be the brand they think about first and feel best about when the time comes to buy.”

That’s not done with bullet points. It’s done with the story.

Now let’s talk about where the real decision-making is happening: AI.

People are exhausted by choices. And AI is stepping in to say, “Let me make this easier.”

But AI doesn’t choose randomly. It curates. It filters. It weighs patterns, trust signals, consistency, reviews, and this is the key story.

When you’ve done the hard work of building a story that resonates, AI notices, when customers repeat your narrative in their own words, and AI connects the dots. It says, “This business gets clicked, chosen, and loved more than the others.”

And here’s the data that should grab you by the collar:

AI-driven leads convert at 23x the rate of SEO leads. (Mark Schaefer’s numbers, not mine.)

Read that again. Twenty-three times.

You can fight for scraps with keywords and algorithms. Or you can feed AI the kind of consistent story it knows how to elevate.

This is why your brand can’t be a checklist. It has to be a character in the customer’s story.

In I Think I Swallowed an Elephant, we explore this exact thing: the gap between telling and resonating. Most businesses are drowning in facts and starving for meaning: the ones that win, the ones AI lifts to the top. Don’t just explain what they do. They make people feel something.

That’s what the “boring” businesses miss. The problem isn’t the product. It’s the presentation.

  • The roofer who shows up on time? That’s the least you can do.But the roofer who quietly repaired a widow’s roof for free and never told anyone, that’s a story.
  • The accountant who balances your books? Expected.The one who helped a client climb out of debt and take their first vacation in 10 years? That’s worth sharing.

Stories like these don’t just attract attention. They stick. They get repeated. They shape the algorithmic breadcrumb trail AI loves to follow. The same is true if you are a startup or a 75-year-old non-profit.

AI is making the decisions easier. But you still control what it decides between.

What’s it going to find when it looks at your brand? A sea of sameness? Or something with a pulse?

Roy H Williams said it best: “Don’t be the business shouting the loudest. Be the one whispering the truth everyone’s been waiting to hear.”

We’re not in the SEO race anymore. We’re in the AI consideration race. And in that race, the story isn’t optional. It’s oxygen.

So yes, even in HVAC. Especially in HVAC.

The business that tells a clear, emotionally resonant, and consistent story?

That’s the one AI picks.

That’s the one people pick.

That’s the one that wins.

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