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AI questions business owners ask (and the answers)

Short, practical answers to the questions local business owners ask when ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude or Perplexity gets their hours, address or name wrong — or names someone else. Direct answers first, then plain-English fixes, based only on what we have actually tested.

This page is for those day-to-day owner questions. For how BeAIOptimized works, what the report includes, and pricing, see our product FAQ.

Why doesn't ChatGPT know my hours?

It is usually repeating hours it found on some page on the web, and that page may not match what your own site says today.

On November 10, 2026, we asked the 5 leading AIs six factual questions about three real local businesses and compared each answer with that company's own website (30 answers in all). Four answers stated Saturday hours that conflicted with the company's homepage and contact page, which both said Saturday is closed. Those assistants said Saturday was by appointment only. We did not audit every directory or Google listing for those businesses; some of the hours answers also pointed to other websites besides the company site.

Write down the hours you want published. Make your contact page, footer, Google Business Profile, and your Yelp and BBB pages all carry that same wording, then ask ChatGPT the hours question again later. A full walk-through is in how to fix wrong facts AI says about your business.

Why does AI recommend my competitor instead of me?

The assistant is naming the businesses it can find consistent, easy-to-check information about. It is not grading whose work is better.

In a 150-answer test we ran for a family-owned Dallas plumber, that company was named in 3 answers. Another plumber in the same market was named in 39. The main problem in that test was that the assistants could not reach the company's website.

Ask your web person to confirm that AI and search crawlers can open your pages (see how to check if AI is crawling your website). Put the same name, address, phone and hours on your site and your main listings, and spell out your services and towns in plain words. Why AI recommends your competitor instead of you walks through the usual causes, and our trade guides show how this plays out for plumbers, roofers, HVAC companies and other local trades.

How do I get Perplexity to list my business?

There is no application form, and there is no paid slot in the regular answers. Perplexity names businesses it can find clear information about when someone asks a question in your trade and town.

In our 40-city study we asked ChatGPT and Perplexity for the best local pro in four trades (960 answers). That study covered those two assistants only. Perplexity named about 2.0 businesses per answer, on average, and 83% of its answers cited a “best of” list site. It also often cited company websites (81%) and BBB (56%). We have not tested a way to submit a business directly to Perplexity.

Keep a complete, current profile on the list sites and directories that already come up for your trade, and keep your own website consistent with those listings. Then ask Perplexity the questions your customers would actually type. The 960-answer study and how to run an AI prompt audit explain how to do that check.

Why does Gemini show my old address?

Gemini, like the other assistants, can repeat an address it found on an outdated listing or an old webpage, even if you have already moved.

We have not run a dedicated “old address” test, so we are not claiming a measured rate for this. We have seen assistants mix sources when answering hours questions, and the same pattern can apply to an address: if Google, Yelp, BBB or a leftover page still shows the previous street, that version can appear in an answer.

Update the address everywhere you still publish it — your website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, BBB and any other profiles you control — using the same wording. If your site has hidden LocalBusiness markup, set that address to match the visible page too. Then ask Gemini the address question again later. The steps are the same ones in how to fix wrong facts AI says about your business.

Does my Google Business Profile affect ChatGPT?

It can, because ChatGPT and the other assistants look businesses up on the web, and a Google Business Profile is one of the pages they may read.

We have not measured, in a controlled test, how often ChatGPT cites a Google listing versus other sites for a typical local question, so we are not claiming a percentage. In the November 2026 facts test we compared answers with each company's own website and did not audit every Google listing. Some hours answers also cited other websites besides the company site, which is consistent with assistants mixing sources.

Keep the profile's name, address, phone, hours, categories and description in lockstep with your website. If those two disagree, an assistant has two official-looking versions to choose from. Align the facts first, then look at whether your site itself is actually being read: is AI crawling my website?

How long until AI picks up my changes?

We do not know, and we have not timed how long a correction takes. Assistants re-read the web on their own schedules, and no one can promise a date.

The safer approach is to make the same hours, address, phone and services appear on your website, your Google Business Profile and your main directories, then ask the 5 leading AIs the same questions later and see whether the answers have caught up. One try in one assistant is only a snapshot.

If you want that later check done the same way as your first test, the $19 re-check asks your original 15 questions again across ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude and Perplexity. How to run an AI prompt audit also covers repeating the questions yourself.

Can I pay to be recommended by AI?

No. There is no paid placement in the regular recommendation answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude or Perplexity.

In the tests we run, those assistants name businesses from what they can find online. We have not seen them sell a sponsored slot in the local “who should I call” answers we collect. Spending money to buy a mention in those answers is not something we can offer or that we have observed working.

The useful work is making your public information clear and consistent, then checking what the 5 leading AIs actually say. Our $49 report shows where you stand today and what to fix; it is not a paid recommendation.

Why do ChatGPT and Perplexity recommend different businesses?

They often do, even for the same question in the same city.

In 960 answers across 40 US cities, ChatGPT and Perplexity named no business in common 63% of the time, and gave the same first pick only 9% of the time. That study tested those two assistants only. Our $49 report checks all five — ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude and Perplexity — because the disagreement is this large.

Do not treat one answer in one tool as the whole picture. Ask the same customer questions in all 5 leading AIs, and ask more than once. Who AI recommends for local services has the full study, and the prompt-audit guide shows how to run that check for your own business.

Is ChatGPT even able to read my website?

Not always. A robots.txt rule, a host or security setting, or a “checking your browser” interstitial can keep automated visitors out, including the bots ChatGPT uses to look up pages.

That was the main problem in the Dallas plumber test: the assistants could not reach the site, and the company was named in only 3 of 150 answers. People using a regular browser often never see the block.

Open your site’s robots.txt file, check your host or security dashboard for AI-bot switches, and confirm that important pages still work if JavaScript is turned off. Is AI crawling my business website? walks through those checks in plain English.

Do Google reviews change what AI says about me?

They can be one of the sources an assistant reads, especially recent reviews that mention a real job and a town. We have not run a test that changes only the review count, so we are not claiming that adding a set number of reviews will change a given answer.

In the 40-city study, review sites were a regular source: 15% of ChatGPT answers and 40% of Perplexity answers cited a review site other than BBB. BBB itself was cited in 17% of ChatGPT answers and 56% of Perplexity answers. That study asked ChatGPT and Perplexity only.

Ask happy customers for an honest Google review after the job, and never buy reviews. Mentions of the work and the town help an assistant connect you to the questions people ask. Our trade guides show how this comes up for plumbers, roofers and other local services.

Why would AI mix me up with a different company?

If two businesses have similar names, an assistant can look at the wrong one.

In the November 2026 facts test, 1 of 30 answers did not find the right business: an assistant looked at a similarly named company in another state and then said it could not confirm the hours. Of the rest, 25 answers matched the company’s own website, and 4 conflicted on Saturday hours.

Use your exact business name, city and state on your website and listings, and say the town clearly in your description and on every page. If you share a name with a company elsewhere, that extra place name is what helps an assistant pick you. See how to fix wrong facts AI says about your business for the rest of that test.

How can I check what the 5 leading AIs (SIs) say about my business?

Ask them the questions a customer would ask, including your trade and town, in ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude and Perplexity, and write down who gets named.

A single try is a snapshot. In the 40-city study, ChatGPT gave the same first pick all three times we asked for only 6% of questions. For a fuller picture, ask each question twice in all five assistants. Fifteen questions asked that way are 150 answers, which is what the $49 report does.

How to run an AI prompt audit has the step-by-step if you want to do it yourself. If you would rather have us run it, the $49 AI Recommendation Report asks those 15 questions, twice each, across the 5 leading AIs, and the $99 Report + Fix Kit adds ready-to-paste wording for the fixes.