AI in Franchise Sales: A Playbook for Brand Positioning and Lead Gen

Artificial intelligence has made significant changes to the franchise development process — specifically how people find and research brands. For franchisors, it’s no longer about having strong SEO or getting a broker recommendation. While AI hasn’t necessarily replaced these things, it has become a key part of the decision-making process for franchise buyers.

“From the hundreds of franchise brands we work with, more and more leads are coming through these AI systems,” said Charles Internicola, CEO of GoodSpark Franchise Growth Accelerator. “Right now, it’s almost like the early days of Google and SEO, where brands that feel like they missed out on that opportunity are getting a new opportunity with AI. The win we’re seeing is lead generation coming from AI or AI recommending a client brand over a brand they were originally researching.”

A clear, concise definition of your brand should be baked into the foundation of your digital presence.

“The first foundational element franchisors are focusing on is the overall brand positioning for AI,” Internicola said. “What category your franchise system fits into, how you compare it to the competition… What’s the one-liner about your brand?”

Create a one-sentence description that includes your brand name, your industry or category and the key differentiators your brand offers franchisees. Then, place it in the footer of every page on your franchise sales website.

“AI cares about repetition,” Internicola said. “If that’s the footer on each page of your franchise sales website, it’s going to start influencing the results.”

Having an established brand positioning is a start, but AI doesn’t evaluate brands in a vacuum. When someone asks a large language model for a recommendation, the machine is weighing the options and comparing anything from investment levels and return on investment to key differentiators between different brands in the category.

“The bigger opportunity when it comes to AI and for franchise sales really exists in the comparison to your competition,” Internicola said. “AI wants to find alternatives.”

The solution here is to create content that the LLMs can draw on. Discuss your brand, its unique traits, how it compares to the competition, who you’re a good fit for, and even who you’re not a good fit for.

“Those are the critical factors,” Internicola said. “They’re going to influence the sales process. AI is another filter. Buyers are not just relying on brokers, ads, websites or videos. They’re actually asking the challenging questions, which are, ‘Should I buy this franchise? Are there better alternatives?’ Tell your story to AI. Focus on your brand story with a category-first focus for AI systems.”

Candidates are using AI to learn about opportunities, and this continues beyond the initial inquiry with the franchise development team. Some buyers are now putting the entire Franchise Disclosure Document into an AI system to get a simplified explanation and identify any potential red flags.

So, you need to be ready. Be prepared for buyers to have AI-generated feedback about your FDD, and know your talking points. Better yet, be proactive in the discovery process by honestly framing what franchisees should expect from the FDD and the relationship. This way, they’re less likely to feel caught off guard by the AI review.

The development landscape is changing, but it’s not too late to adjust to the new demands. Brands that make intentional changes now will be the ones that stay ahead of the curve as AI systems only gain authority with candidates.

Take a few practical steps now to lay a strong foundation for the future:

• Audit your current presence by asking a tool like Perplexity or ChatGPT how it would describe your brand. This will show you how AI currently describes your brand and may help you identify any gaps you need to fill.

• Tell your brand story with a category-first approach that AI systems can recognize.

• Commit to the shift. “Short term, the opportunity is to start telling your story to AI,” Internicola said. “Your focus on brand story and website needs to be retold with a category-first focus for AI systems.”