How to get your local business recommended by ChatGPT and other AI assistants

Here's a search behaviour that has changed quickly: instead of typing "plumber Kanata" into Google and scrolling, more people ask an AI assistant. "Who's a good plumber in Kanata who can come today?" The assistant answers with two or three names.

If you're one of those names, you get the call. If you're not, the customer may never see a list where you could have competed.

The honest starting point: nobody can guarantee an AI will recommend you, and the companies behind these assistants don't publish exactly how they choose. But the assistants that search the web build their answers from what they can find and cross-check. That means there's a lot you can do to be easy to find, easy to understand and easy to trust.

How AI assistants decide who to mention

When you ask a question about local businesses, assistants with web access typically search, read what comes back, and summarize. They tend to favour businesses where:

• several sources agree on the same name, location, services and phone number
• the information is specific: what the business does, where, when it's open
• there's evidence of reputation: reviews, mentions on local sites, lists and articles

Think of it like a careful new employee asked to recommend a contractor. They'd check a few sources, prefer the business whose details line up everywhere, and mention the one with the strongest track record. Your job is to make that research easy.

1. Get your Google Business Profile complete and accurate

Google's AI answers lean on Google's own information, and your profile is the most complete record Google has of your business. Fill in every section: categories, services, service area, hours, description, photos. Keep it current. Our guide to ranking higher on Google Maps covers this in detail.

2. Be listed consistently beyond Google

Different assistants draw on different sources. Make sure your business appears, with identical details, on:

• Bing Places for Business (Microsoft's assistants draw on Bing)
• Apple Business Connect (Apple Maps and Siri)
• Yelp and the directories that matter in your industry
• Your local business association or chamber of commerce

Inconsistency is what makes an assistant hedge or skip you. One old phone number on a forgotten directory can be enough to create doubt.

3. Answer customers' questions on your website, plainly

Assistants quote specifics. A vague homepage ("quality solutions for all your needs") gives them nothing. Clear answers give them something to use:

• Which services you offer, each on its own page
• Which areas you serve, by name
• Your hours, including emergencies or weekends
• What a typical job involves and how long it takes
• What you don't do

A frequently asked questions page written in your customers' words is one of the most useful things you can add.

4. Add structured data to your website

Structured data (also called schema markup) is a small block of code that states your business facts in a format machines read reliably: your name, address or service area, phone, hours, services and website. Search engines use it, and it removes guesswork for anything reading your site.

You don't need to be a developer. Our free local business schema generator builds the code for you to paste into your site.

5. Build reviews and real mentions

Reputation signals matter here as much as on Google Maps. A steady flow of genuine reviews helps (see how to get more Google reviews without breaking the rules), and so do mentions on trusted local sites: a local news story, an association member spotlight, a sponsorship page, a genuine "best of" roundup for your area.

These are the pages an assistant is likely to find when it researches your category in your city.

6. Test it yourself, every month

Ask the assistants the questions your customers ask. Try ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI results:

• "Who's the best [service] in [your area]?"
• "I need a [service] in [area] this weekend, who should I call?"
• "Which [service] in [area] has good reviews?"

Write down whether you're named, which competitors are, and what the assistant says about them. Then look at what those competitors have that you don't: more reviews, a clearer website, mentions on local sites. That's your to-do list.

What doesn't work

• Stuffing your website with keywords or "AI-optimized" filler text. Assistants summarize content; filler gives them nothing useful.
• Fake reviews or fake listings. Beyond breaking Google's rules, inconsistent and suspicious signals are exactly what makes an assistant leave you out.
• Paying anyone who promises guaranteed AI placement. Nobody can deliver that.

The good news

Almost everything that helps AI assistants recommend you also helps you on Google Maps and in regular search. It's the same foundation: accurate information, consistent everywhere, a clear website and a strong reputation. You're not paying twice; you're building one asset that works in all three places.

If you want to know what ChatGPT and Gemini currently say about your business and your competitors, our free visibility audit includes that check, along with your map position and reviews. Our AI Search Optimization service does the work for you.