Guide · AI search · Local business
Get found by AI assistants
More customers now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Google's AI answers who to call. There is no secret trick, but there are clear things that help, and things that quietly get in the way.
By Nick Gonzalez, founder, U.S. Air Force veteranPublished Last reviewed How we research and correct this
The short answer
What to know first
Assistants build answers from public information: your website, your Google Business Profile, directories, news mentions and reviews. The businesses they can describe confidently are the ones whose facts are accurate, consistent and easy to find.
Nobody controls what an assistant says, and anyone who promises a citation is guessing. What you control is the quality of the sources they read.
Foundation
Make the facts true and consistent
- Keep your name, address, phone, hours and services identical on your website, Google profile, social pages and directories.
- Say plainly what you do, who it is for and where you work on the pages assistants will read.
- State how pricing works, even if it is a starting price or "quoted in writing". Vague pages give assistants nothing to quote.
- Remove outdated pages, old phone numbers and conflicting claims.
Your website
Pages that answer questions
Write a page for each main service. Start with a short, direct answer, then give the detail: who it suits, what is included, how long it takes and how to start.
Add a real FAQ with the questions customers actually ask. Where it matches what is visible, add structured data so machines can read it cleanly.
- Put key facts in normal page text, not only in images or pop-ups.
- Make sure the site loads fast and works on a phone.
- Check that your hosting or firewall is not blocking legitimate crawlers.
Proof
Reviews and mentions from others
Assistants lean on evidence that comes from outside your own site. A verified Google profile, honest reviews, your Chamber of Commerce listing and local news coverage all count as independent corroboration.
Earn these rather than manufacture them. Ask every customer for an honest review, join the local directories that are real, and tell your story to the people who cover your community.
Measure
Check it like a sample, not a score
Once a month, ask several assistants the questions customers ask, such as the service plus your town. Write down the date, the tool, the answer and any sources it names. Results change from run to run, so look for patterns over time.
Compare against real enquiries too. If calls, bookings and direction requests rise, the work is helping, whatever an assistant said on a given day.
What not to do
Shortcuts that backfire
- Buying fake reviews or posting as customers.
- Stuffing pages with keywords or hidden text.
- Publishing near-identical pages for every town just to catch searches.
- Claiming awards, numbers or results you cannot prove.
Questions
Quick answers
- Can anyone guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend my business?
- No. AI assistants are not deterministic: the same question can return different answers on different days. Be wary of anyone who promises citations. What you can do is make accurate, easy-to-quote information about your business available.
- Is this different from regular SEO?
- Mostly it is the same foundation. Assistants rely on public pages, business listings and reviews, so a clear website and a complete Google Business Profile help in both. The difference is writing answers plainly enough to be quoted.
- Do I need special code on my site?
- Structured data such as business and FAQ markup helps machines read your page, but only if it matches what is visible. It supports good content; it does not replace it.
- Should I let AI crawlers on my site?
- If you want to be mentioned, do not block them without a reason. Check your robots settings and your hosting firewall, which can block crawlers by accident.
- How do I check whether I show up?
- Ask the assistants the questions your customers ask, such as the service plus your town, and note the date, the tool and which sources it names. Repeat monthly. Treat it as a sample, not a measurement.
- Will reviews matter?
- Reviews are public evidence about your business, and they feed both Google and the sources assistants read. Ask every customer for honest feedback. Fake or selectively collected reviews are against the rules and easy to spot.
Assistants change often and give different answers over time. This guide describes good practice, not a guarantee of any result.
- Start with the profile: Google Business Profile checklist.
- Let us do it: local SEO and Google Business Profile.
- When assistants phone for customers: the AI call-readiness audit.
Next step