Try this: open ChatGPT, Gemini or Google and ask, "Who's the best [what you do] in [your town]?"
Did your business come up?
More people now ask AI assistants for recommendations the same way they used to ask a neighbor. For a plumber in North Port, a dentist in Venice or a med spa in Sarasota, that changes the game. If the AI doesn't mention you, you may never get the call.
The good news: the things that help AI tools recommend you are mostly the same things that help you on Google. This guide explains how it works in plain English and gives you eight steps to improve your chances.
How AI assistants decide which businesses to recommend
AI assistants don't have a secret list of favorite businesses. When someone asks for a local recommendation, these tools typically look at information that's already available online and summarize it. That usually includes:
- Business listings, especially your Google Business Profile, plus directories like Yelp, Bing, Apple Maps and the BBB.
- Reviews, including how many you have, how recent they are and what customers say in them.
- Your website, particularly pages that clearly explain what you do, where you do it and answer common questions.
- Mentions on other websites, such as local news, chamber directories, supplier pages and community sites.
In other words, AI tools tend to recommend businesses that are easy to understand, consistently described and well reviewed across the web. Exactly how each tool picks results isn't public and changes often, so think of these steps as improving your odds, not flipping a switch.
Google AI Mode, Gemini and the role of search
Google explains that AI Overviews and AI Mode build on its existing Search systems. They can use “query fan-out”: running several related searches to gather supporting pages for an answer. Your pages still need to be indexed and eligible to appear in Search; there is no separate AI database you need to join. Read Google’s guidance on AI features and websites.
ChatGPT search and Gemini can also use information from the web, but their sources and behavior vary by product and question. Treat a strong website and credible listings as foundations, not a guarantee that every assistant will recommend you.
8 steps to show up in AI answers
1. Complete your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is one of the most important sources of information about local businesses. Choose the most specific category, list every service with a short description, add your service areas and hours, upload real photos and post updates regularly.
Write a complete business description in plain language: what you do and who you serve. Keep service names recognizable to customers rather than using internal jargon, and respond to genuine questions as well as reviews.
2. Get a steady stream of new reviews
Reviews tell both people and AI tools what you're known for. Ask every happy customer, every time, with a direct link. When customers mention the specific service and town ("They fixed our AC in North Port the same day"), even better. Reply to every review.
3. Make your name, address and phone identical everywhere
If your business appears as "Smith Plumbing" on Google, "Smith Plumbing LLC" on Yelp and an old phone number on Facebook, it's harder for any system to be sure they're the same business. Pick one exact version and use it everywhere.
4. Give every service its own page
A single "Services" page listing everything is hard for anyone to understand. A separate page for each main service, explaining what's included, who it's for and what it costs, makes it much clearer what you do.
5. Name the towns you serve
Say where you work, in plain words. If you serve North Port, Venice, Port Charlotte and Sarasota, list them on your website and in your Google profile. Pages for the main areas you serve help too, as long as each one has genuinely useful, unique content.
6. Answer real customer questions on your website
AI assistants are built to answer questions, so websites that answer questions clearly are useful to them. Add an FAQ section with the questions customers actually ask you: price ranges, how long jobs take, what areas you cover, whether you offer financing, what to do in an emergency. Write direct, two- or three-sentence answers.
Use descriptive headings that match those questions and put the direct answer near the top, followed by supporting detail. Explain your pricing approach, service area and differences in plain sentences instead of burying them under promotional language.
7. Get mentioned on other local websites
Mentions from trusted local sources help establish that your business is real and active. Join your chamber of commerce and make sure your directory listing is complete. Sponsor a local event. Ask suppliers and partners to list you. Share your expertise with local news when there's a story.
Prioritize reputable directories relevant to your industry and genuine local coverage rather than low-quality link farms. Accurate information on a handful of credible sites is more useful than scattering inconsistent listings across dozens of unrelated sites.
8. Make sure AI crawlers can read your website
Some websites accidentally block the automated tools that read web pages, or load their text in a way that's hard for those tools to see. Ask your web person to confirm that your robots.txt file doesn't block major crawlers and that your page text is visible when the page first loads.
How to check where you stand
Once a month, ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google the questions your customers ask, such as "best roofer near Englewood FL" or "emergency dentist in Port Charlotte." Write down who gets mentioned. Over time you'll see whether you're appearing more often.
You can also use our free AI Visibility Check for a quick snapshot, or download our free Local Business AI Marketing Toolkit, which includes a section on AI search.
What not to do
- Don't stuff your business name with keywords. It can get your Google Business Profile suspended.
- Don't buy or fake reviews. It breaks Google's rules and can backfire badly.
- Don't create dozens of near-identical town pages. Quality beats quantity.
- Don't expect overnight results. AI answers change often, and improvements build over weeks and months.
- Don't buy guaranteed organic AI mentions. No special file or technical trick guarantees a recommendation.
What about llms.txt?
An llms.txt file can provide a short, AI-readable guide to your site, but support is not standardized. Google has said it does not use llms.txt for Search and that the file does not help or hurt rankings. Keep the priority on useful, indexable content and accurate listings. Read the report on Google’s position.
A practical starting checklist
- Audit your Google Business Profile for accuracy and completeness.
- Make your homepage and main service pages answer customer questions directly.
- Record what ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode say about your business today, including any inaccurate details.
- Pursue a few credible mentions and revisit the same questions each month.
Want us to check for you?
Our team at Watchpost Partners checks how local businesses show up in Google and AI answers every month as part of our AI marketing services. Book a free 15-minute call and we'll show you how your business appears today and what we'd fix first.
