How do I get my business recommended by AI?

What happens when someone asks an AI for a recommendation?

When an AI assistant searches the web, its recommendation is assembled at the moment of the question from the searches it runs. OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes partners with other search providers; when it does, it typically rewrites a question into one or more targeted queries, sends them to those providers, and may send more specific follow-up queries after reviewing the first results ^[1].

Google describes something similar. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use a "query fan-out" technique, issuing multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources to develop a response ^[3]. Microsoft says Bing and Copilot search experiences rely on the same core crawling, indexing and ranking foundation as traditional search ^[7].

Our reading of these descriptions: when an assistant searches, its recommendation sits downstream of that retrieval, so it can only recommend businesses it finds information about, and it leans on sources it judges relevant and reliable. That gives four practical areas to work on: relevance, credibility, source availability and location.

Relevance: does your business clearly match the request?

People ask AI assistants specific questions: "a dentist who sees children on Saturdays", "a café with gluten-free pastries near the station". A business is easier to match when its own pages state those specifics plainly.

Google's description of local search shows how relevance works in one well-documented system. Google defines relevance as how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for ^[4]. To help Google match a business to relevant searches, it asks owners to provide complete and detailed business information ^[4]. AI assistants aren't documented to work the same way, but the same principle is a sensible guide.

Microsoft's guidance for Bing and Copilot points the same direction. It says pages focused on a primary topic are more likely to be selected for grounding, and that facts should be stated explicitly rather than implied ^[7]. For a small business, that usually means one clear page per main service, written in the words customers actually use.

Credibility: what makes a business look trustworthy?

OpenAI says ChatGPT ranks search results using multiple factors intended to help people find relevant, reliable information, but it doesn't list those factors ^[1]. Google and Microsoft say a bit more about the signals they value in general search.

Google says trust is the most important part of what it calls E-E-A-T: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness ^[6]. For local results, Google says prominence reflects how well known a business is, including how many websites link to it and how many reviews it has, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help ^[4].

Microsoft lists authority and trust signals among the practices that support eligibility for AI-generated experiences, and says strong internal and external linking supports authority evaluation and grounding eligibility ^[7]. It also warns that link buying and artificial promotion schemes violate its guidelines ^[7]. Credibility has to be earned: genuine reviews, real mentions by local organizations and accurate information.

Source availability: can the assistant read about you at all?

An assistant can't recommend what it can't read. OpenAI says sites that opt out of its OAI-SearchBot crawler won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers ^[2]. Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet to be shown as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode ^[3]. Microsoft says content that can't be reliably rendered may not be indexed or selected for grounding results ^[7].

Your website is not the only source. Google says the information in its business profiles is compiled from several places, including crawled web content such as a business's official website, contributions from users and business owners, and Google's own interactions with the business ^[5]. Assistants may draw on reviews, directories and local news as well, so the picture of your business is spread across the web.

The technical side of being readable, including robots.txt, hosting settings and plain-text facts, is covered in the visibility checklist.

Location: why the same question gets different answers in different places

Most local recommendations depend on where the person asking is. OpenAI says ChatGPT may use an approximate location based on IP address to provide local results, and can use more specific device location only if the person chooses to share it ^[1]. Google lists distance, meaning how far a business is from the searcher, as one of the main factors in local results ^[4].

You can't change where your customers are. You can make sure every system can tell where you operate: a consistent address, or a clear list of the towns and neighborhoods you serve if you travel to customers. For more on how assistants handle place, see how AI assistants find local businesses.

Why can't anyone guarantee an AI recommendation?

The platforms say so themselves. OpenAI says placement in ChatGPT search results is not guaranteed ^[1]. Google says meeting every requirement doesn't mean it will crawl, index or serve a page, and that AI Overviews often don't appear at all ^[3]. Microsoft says SEO doesn't guarantee rankings and generative engine optimization doesn't guarantee grounding or citations ^[7]. Google also says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking ^[4].

Answers also vary by design. Google says AI Mode and AI Overviews may use different models and techniques, so their responses and links will differ ^[3]. ChatGPT may use saved memories when rewriting a search ^[1], so two people can get different suggestions for the same question. That's why checking whether AI knows your business takes more than one try.

Be cautious with anyone who sells guaranteed AI placement. Microsoft says attempts to manipulate the language models used by Bing or Copilot may reduce visibility or lead to removal ^[7]. The durable approach is the ordinary one: be clear, be accurate, and be worth recommending.