7 steps to get ChatGPT and Gemini to recommend your business

In the article “Will your business show up when a customer asks ChatGPT?” I explained why customers increasingly skip Google and ask artificial intelligence instead. Someone types “Can you recommend a good hair salon in Sabadell?” and the AI names two or three places. For the AI, everyone else simply doesn't exist. Today is part two, and the most practical one: exactly what to do so that ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity name you. Seven steps, and you can do most of them yourself, for free. Where AI gets its recommendations AI doesn't know your business “by itself”. When asked a local question, it searches the internet and summarises what it finds. So what it says about you depends on what has been published about you. BrightLocal analysed 800 local searches in ChatGPT and looked at which sources it cited (study):

• 58% — the businesses' own websites
• 27% — mentions on other sites: articles, roundups, press
• 15% — directories and review sites

The takeaway is simple: your own website is the main source. If you don't have one, or it doesn't clearly say what you do and where, the AI has nothing to tell people about you. Reviews and profiles on other platforms fill in the rest. Gemini and Google's AI answers also rely on your Google Business Profile. And according to Whitespark, Facebook and Tripadvisor often appear among the review sources. 7 steps to get AI to recommend your business

1. A clear website of your own. Say on the home page, in one sentence, who you are, what you do and where. For example: “Beauty salon in Terrassa specialising in natural facial treatments”. AI often quotes sentences like this almost word for word.
2. One page per service. “Gel manicure”, “Bathroom renovation”, “Menu of the day”. When a customer asks about a specific service, the AI looks for a page about exactly that.
3. Answers to your customers' real questions. Approximate prices, opening hours, the area you cover, turnaround times, whether booking is needed. An FAQ section is worth its weight in gold: AI looks for answers, not slogans.
4. A complete Google Business Profile. The right category, opening hours, photos, services and a link to your website. Google Maps and Google's AI answers are built on it.
5. A Bing Places listing. Very few businesses have one, and ChatGPT relies heavily on Bing search. You can import your data straight from Google Business in a couple of minutes.
6. Detailed reviews. “Great!” doesn't help much. A review like “They built my hair salon's website in three weeks and now clients book online” tells the AI what you are good at and for whom. Ask for a review right after a job well done.
7. Mentions on other sites. Local directories, your business association's website, a neighbourhood blog, a partner who links to you. Every mention with your name, city and service backs up what your website says.

An important technical detail: your website should have structured data (“LocalBusiness” schema) with your name, address, phone number and opening hours. It also must not block AI search crawlers such as ChatGPT's OAI-SearchBot. If your site was built on a template, it's worth checking. Test yourself in 2 minutes Open ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity and type what a customer would type, without mentioning your business name:

• “Which [your service] would you recommend in [your city]?”
• “I'm looking for [your service] in [your city] that does [your speciality].”

Then ask directly: “What do you know about [business name] in [city]?”. If the AI doesn't know you, or says something outdated or wrong, you know where to start. The most common mistakes I see

• Instagram only. AI can barely read what's inside Instagram, so to the AI you practically don't exist.
• A beautiful website with no text: everything is in images, and nowhere does it say what you do or where.
• Different details in different places: one phone number on Google, another on the website, an old address in a directory.
• No reviews at all, or reviews left unanswered.

In short AI recommends the businesses it understands. And it understands the ones with a clear website, a complete Google profile, detailed reviews and the same details everywhere. You don't need a big budget for this, just to start before your competitors. I build websites that are ready for Google and for AI search from day one: clear copy, one page per service, structured data and SEO included in the price. Want to know whether AI already knows your business? Write to me and we'll check it together. The quote is free.