How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT and other AI assistants

Ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for the best plumber, bookkeeper or bakery near you, and you'll get a short list of names. For a growing number of customers, that list is where the decision starts. If your business isn't on it, you never get the chance to compete.

What AI assistants look at

AI assistants don't have a secret ranking. They draw on what's published about your business across the web: your website, your Google Business Profile, review sites, directories, news, and discussions on places like Reddit. The more consistent, specific and positive that information is, the more likely you are to be mentioned.

Make your website easy to understand

Say clearly what you do, who you serve and where. Give each main service its own page. Answer the questions customers actually ask, in plain language. Vague slogans give an AI assistant nothing to work with; specific answers do.

Keep your details consistent everywhere

Your business name, address, phone number, hours and categories should match across your website, Google Business Profile and directories. Conflicting details make you look less reliable to people and to software.

Earn genuine reviews and mentions

Reviews that mention specific services and locations help. So do genuine recommendations in community discussions. Never fake either: it breaks platform rules and can get your listings removed.

Track it

Ask the main assistants the questions your customers would ask, every month, and note whether you're mentioned. That's the only way to know whether your changes are working. We do this for clients with our own tracking tools, but a spreadsheet is a fine place to start.