How do you get ChatGPT or Gemini to recommend your business?
When a customer asks an assistant a question, it does not “know” your neighbourhood. It looks for pages, reads them, then writes an answer that names a few businesses. Your job is not to “talk to the AI” but to make sure what it reads about you is complete, current, consistent and convincing.
The good news: this is almost the same work that helps you rank on Google Maps. Google says it plainly in its documentation for site owners: there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special optimisation needed. This guide shows where to put your effort.
Where do ChatGPT and Gemini find the businesses they recommend?
Each assistant has its own sources, but the same families of information keep coming back:
| Assistant | Where the information comes from | What matters for you |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Google Search’s index and Google Business Profiles | Pages indexed by Google, a complete and current Google profile |
| Gemini | Google services, including Search and Maps | Same levers: Google profile, reviews, indexed website |
| ChatGPT (search) | Pages read by OpenAI’s search crawler (OAI-SearchBot) and its search partners | A website that does not block OAI-SearchBot, clear pages, mentions on other sites |
OpenAI states that sites which opt out of its OAI-SearchBot crawler will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers (they can only appear as a plain navigational link). This is the only truly “technical” point in this guide, and it takes two minutes to check (see below).
What assistants do not do: they do not visit your shop or taste your food. They rely on what your profile, your website and above all your customers’ reviews say.
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Why is your Google Business Profile the foundation, even for AI?
For Google’s tools (AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini), your Business Profile is the most direct source about your business: name, category, address, hours, phone, photos, reviews. In the same documentation, Google reminds site owners to keep their Business Profile information up to date.
For local ranking, Google’s help centre lists three factors: relevance (does your profile match the search?), distance and prominence (how well known is your business?). Google adds that more reviews and positive ratings can improve your local ranking, and that you cannot pay for a better local ranking.
- An exact primary category (“Pizza restaurant” rather than “Restaurant”), plus useful secondary categories.
- A description that says what you do, for whom and where, with your specialities in plain words.
- Current opening hours, including special hours for public holidays.
- Attributes filled in: outdoor seating, wheelchair access, card payments, vegetarian options…
- Recent photos of your shopfront, interior and what you sell.
- A link to your website and, if you have them, your booking page or menu.
Every field is covered in our guide to optimising your Google Business Profile. If your business does not show up at all, start with our “not showing on Google Maps” guide.
What role do customer reviews play in AI answers?
When someone asks for “a quiet restaurant for a family dinner” or “an honest garage”, the assistant looks for businesses whose reviews mention exactly that: quiet, family, honest. Reviews are what allows the AI to say why it recommends you.
Three qualities matter:
- regularity: reviews arriving every month show the business is active;
- detail: a review mentioning “the thin pizza crust” or “the kids’ haircut” says more than “great”;
- your replies: they show there is a real person behind the profile and add text about your services.
To encourage detailed reviews without ever writing them for the customer, simply invite them to say “what they liked”: the rest is in our guide to getting more Google reviews and the one on replying to reviews. Important: never buy reviews or ask friends to write them; it is against the rules and the law (see online review laws).
What should your website contain to be read by AI assistants?
A website is not required to be recommended, but it helps a lot: it is the one page on the web where you decide what is written. Assistants look there for simple answers. Write them as text, not only in images or PDFs.
- A clear sentence at the top of the homepage: “Wood-fired pizzeria in Annecy, near the station, eat in and takeaway.”
- Your hours, address and phone as text, identical to your Google profile.
- Your menu or services with prices, as readable text (not only a photo of the chalkboard).
- A questions page or section: parking, terrace, bookings, allergens, access.
- Concrete strengths: “homemade”, “open on Sundays”, “free quote within 48 hours”.
On the technical side, Google says you do not need to create a special AI file or add special markup: the page must be indexable, the important content must be in text and structured data must match what is visible. If you are starting from scratch, our small business website guide walks you through it.
How do you check that your website lets Google and ChatGPT in?
Search crawlers first read a small file, robots.txt, at your-site.com/robots.txt. Open it in your browser. Look for lines such as Disallow: / under User-agent: *, User-agent: Googlebot or User-agent: OAI-SearchBot: they block the whole site.
| Crawler | What it is for | Advice for a local business |
|---|---|---|
| Googlebot | Google Search, including AI Overviews | Always allow |
| OAI-SearchBot | ChatGPT search | Allow, otherwise your site is not shown in answers |
| GPTBot | Training OpenAI’s models | Your choice: blocking it does not stop ChatGPT search |
| Google-Extended | Use of your pages by Google’s other AI systems | Your choice; according to Google it does not affect Search |
OpenAI says it can take around 24 hours after a robots.txt change for ChatGPT search to adjust. If an agency built your website, just ask: “Are Googlebot and OAI-SearchBot allowed?”. Websites built with Voxtya allow them by default.
Why keep the same information everywhere?
An assistant that finds two phone numbers or two sets of opening hours for your business hesitates, and may quote the outdated one. The rule is simple: the same name, address, phone number and hours on your Google profile, your website, your social media and directories (Yelp, Tripadvisor, Facebook, booking platforms).
The 20-minute check
- Search your business name and town on Google and Bing.
- Open the first ten results that mention you.
- Note every difference (old number, old address, summer hours still online).
- Fix what you control; for directories, use their “edit” or “claim this business” link.
Being mentioned by other websites (local newspaper, tourist office, a neighbourhood blog, a partners page) also builds your prominence, exactly what Google describes.
How do you know whether ChatGPT or Gemini already recommend you?
Ask them your customers’ questions, in a private window and logged out if possible, and note the answers once a month:
- “What is the best [your trade] in [your town]?”
- “A [your trade] open on Sundays near [area]?”
- “I’m looking for [your speciality] in [town], any ideas?”
If your business does not appear, look at who is mentioned and why: often more complete profiles, more recent reviews, or articles about them. Our article Does ChatGPT recommend your business? How to find out details this test. For a measurable starting point on Google, run the free visibility check or, with nothing to install, the visibility quiz.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Paying someone who promises “a spot in ChatGPT”: no assistant sells places in its natural answers.
- Creating fake reviews or fake articles: it is forbidden and can get your reviews removed or your profile suspended.
- Blocking every crawler “to be safe”: you disappear from answers too.
- Putting everything in images: a menu photo or hours on a poster are not read reliably.
- Forgetting special hours: an assistant saying “open” on a closing day costs you a customer, and maybe a bad review.
- Leaving old listings online: an old address or name on a directory muddies the picture.
One last point: do not try to write for robots. Pages stuffed with “best pizza Annecy best pizza near me” read badly for customers and give assistants nothing useful to quote. Write the way you would explain your business to a new customer at the counter: what you make, what makes it different, when you are open and how to get there. Clear sentences that answer real questions are exactly what both people and AI assistants look for.
Finally, treat this as a monthly routine rather than a one-off project. Ten minutes to check your hours, reply to new reviews and add a fresh photo keeps every source up to date, and up-to-date sources are what assistants prefer to quote.
The steps at a glance
The 7 steps to give AI assistants good reasons to mention your business.
- Complete your Google profile. Exact category, description, hours (including special hours), attributes, recent photos and a link to your website.
- Get regular, detailed reviews. Ask every satisfied customer for a review, every week, inviting them to say what they liked.
- Reply to reviews. A short, personal reply to every review, positive or negative.
- Write a clear website. Business type, town, hours, menu or services with prices, and FAQs, as text.
- Let crawlers in. Check in robots.txt that Googlebot and OAI-SearchBot are not blocked.
- Align your information. Same name, address, phone and hours on your profile, website, social media and directories.
- Test every month. Ask ChatGPT and Gemini your customers’ questions and note who gets mentioned.
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Sources
The rules quoted in this guide come from these official pages, checked on October 18, 2026.