How AI assistants pick a business
When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or Perplexity something like “who’s a good electrician in Dudley?”, the assistant usually searches the web first, then reads a handful of pages and names a few businesses. Roughly, it goes like this:
- It searches. Most assistants look things up through search engines such as Bing and Google, or their own web index.
- It reads. It opens the pages it found and looks for clear facts: what the business does, where, for whom and for how much.
- It checks what others say. Reviews, Google Business Profiles, directories and mentions on other websites help it decide who to trust.
- It names a few. Most answers recommend three to five businesses. Being one of them is the goal.
This is sometimes called GEO (generative engine optimisation) or AI SEO. It builds on normal SEO rather than replacing it.
The steps, in order
1. Be findable on Google and Bing
If search engines can’t find you, AI assistants that rely on them can’t either. Check you’re indexed (see why your website isn’t showing up on Google), and add your website to Bing Webmaster Tools as well as Google Search Console, because several assistants lean on Bing.
2. Let AI crawlers in
Your website’s robots.txt file can block AI crawlers such as those from OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity. Some security settings and plugins block them without you knowing. If they’re blocked, those tools can’t read your pages.
3. Say exactly who you are, where and what you charge
AI tools quote clear, factual sentences. Near the top of each page, say what you do, for whom and where, in a sentence or two. Include real details: the towns you cover, starting prices, how long things take. Vague lines like “we deliver excellence” give them nothing to quote.
4. Add structured data
Structured data (schema) is a small block of code that describes your business in a format machines read easily: your name, type of business, address or areas served, phone number, opening hours and links to your other profiles. Most SEO plugins can add it.
5. Answer the questions people ask
A short FAQ on your main pages, with direct answers, gives assistants ready-made text to use. Prices, timescales and “do you cover my area?” are the big ones.
6. Build trust off your website
Genuine Google reviews, a complete Google Business Profile, listings in reputable directories and mentions on other local websites all tell AI tools you’re a real, established business. Use exactly the same business name everywhere. See how to get more Google reviews.
Run the free check
What doesn’t work
- Paying for a recommendation. There’s no way to buy a place in ChatGPT’s answers. Anyone selling “guaranteed AI recommendations” can’t control them.
- Writing for robots. Pages stuffed with keywords read badly to people and to AI tools alike.
- Relying on an llms.txt file. Some AI tools read this newer file, but Google doesn’t use it. It’s a nice extra, not a fix.
- Ignoring Google. AI visibility and Google visibility mostly come from the same work. Doing one without the other wastes effort.
How to check if AI recommends you
Ask the assistants the questions your customers would, such as “best [your service] in [your town]”, in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity. Note who they name and which websites they quote. Answers vary from one try to the next, so ask a few times and look for patterns rather than a single result.
What I did on my own website
I made sure AI crawlers are allowed in, added structured data describing the business and the 23 areas I cover, linked it to my Google Business Profile, and wrote clear answers with real prices on every service page. My own check now scores this website 96/100 for AI, and Google’s AI answers name Clever Rabbit when people search for website costs in Oldbury.
When you don’t need me
Steps 1, 5 and 6 are things you can do yourself, and reviews in particular are best done by you. If the technical parts, such as robots.txt and structured data, aren’t your thing, that’s what my AI fix covers, at a fixed price from your free check report.
Written by Ben Brailsford-Chambers, the web designer behind Clever Rabbit in Oldbury. Last updated 24 October 2026. More guides