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How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT (and other AI)

More customers now ask an AI tool like ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude or Perplexity things like "Who's a good plumber near me?" The AI answers with just a few names. Here's how to give yourself the best chance of being one of them. No tech skills needed.

First, how AI picks who to recommend

When someone uses AI search, the AI usually looks things up on the internet before it answers. It reads your website, your Google listing, review sites and directories like Yelp, BBB and Angi. Then it recommends the businesses it can find the most clear, trustworthy information about.

So the goal is simple: make it easy for AI (also called SI, Super Intelligence) to find you, understand what you do, and see that customers like you. People also call this GEO (generative engine optimization) or AEO (answer engine optimization).

In our own test, a family-owned Dallas plumber was named in just 3 of 150 AI answers. Its top competitor was named in 39. The main problem: AI couldn't find enough about it.

Step 1: Fill out your Google Business Profile completely

This is your free listing on Google Maps. Many AI tools check Google, so this matters a lot.

• Make sure your business name, address, phone number and hours are correct.
• Pick the right main category (for example, "Plumber," not just "Contractor").
• Write a clear description: what you do, the towns you serve, and what makes you different.
• List your services one by one.
• Add real photos of your work, your team and your vehicles.

Step 2: Ask happy customers for reviews

AI pays attention to what customers say about you. More recent, honest reviews help.

• Ask every happy customer, right after the job, while they're still pleased.
• Send a short text or email with a direct link to your Google review page.
• Gently ask them to mention the job and their town, for example "fixed our water heater in Glendale Heights." That helps AI connect you to those searches.
• Reply to reviews, good and bad, politely.
• Never buy reviews or offer gifts for them. It breaks Google's rules and can get reviews removed.

Step 3: Claim your free listings on the big directories

AI tools often read Yelp, BBB, Angi and similar sites. Claim your free listing on the ones that fit your trade and fill them out.

Most important: use the same business name, address, phone number and hours everywhere. If one site says "Street" and another says "St.", or lists an old phone number, AI can get confused about whether it's the same business.

Step 4: Make your website easy for AI to read

• Say plainly what you do and where. For example: "Family-owned plumber serving Glendale Heights, Addison and Bloomingdale since 1985."
• Give each main service its own page or section, such as drain cleaning or water heater repair.
• Add a questions-and-answers section. Answer what customers really ask: prices, areas served, emergency hours, licenses. AI loves clear questions with clear answers.
• Show your license number, hours and phone number on every page.
• Make sure AI can actually visit your site. Some security settings block automated visitors, including AI tools. Ask your web person to check that search engines and AI assistants are allowed in. This was the #1 problem for the Dallas plumber in our test.

Step 5: Check how you're doing

Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude and Perplexity the questions your customers would ask, like "best emergency plumber in [your town]." See who comes up. Ask more than once: AI answers change, so one try doesn't tell you much.

Want the full method? See our step-by-step guide: How to run an AI prompt audit for your business.

How do I get my business listed in AI answers?

There is no paid listing or signup form that puts you into ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude or Perplexity answers. Those AIs pick names from what they can find and trust online. Nobody can guarantee a recommendation, because the answers change.

What we check is simple and honest: we ask those 5 leading AIs 15 real customer questions about your kind of business in your area, twice each, then show where you stand and how you compare with the businesses they name instead. The steps on this page are the ones most likely to help: a complete Google Business Profile, recent reviews, consistent directory listings, and a website AI can actually read. For a city example, see how those AIs answered real questions in Charleston, SC.

Want it done step by step for you?

These steps work, but they take time, and it's hard to know which one matters most for your business. That's what we do. Our AI Recommendation Report ($49) asks 5 AI tools 15 real customer questions about your business and shows you where you stand against your competitors. The Report + Fix Kit ($99) adds ready-to-paste text written for your business: your Google description, website Q&A, a review request message and more, with simple instructions.

No one can guarantee AI will recommend you, because AI answers change. But these are the things most likely to help.

Common questions