How to get recommended by ChatGPT: a guide for local businesses
When someone asks an AI assistant for "a good shoe repairer in Torino" or "a child psychologist near me", the answer names only a few businesses. Here is how to raise the chances that one of them is yours.
In short
- AI assistants rely on public sources: your site, Google listing, reviews, directories and articles.
- Clear and consistent information everywhere raises your chances of being cited.
- FAQs and structured data help AI understand what you do and where.
Where AI gets its information
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and the other assistants build their answers from what they find online: web pages, search results, business listings, reviews and mentions on other sites. If little information exists about you, or it is contradictory, they are unlikely to recommend you.
1. A site that answers real questions
Write a page for each main service, saying clearly what you do, for whom, in which area and how fast. AI is happy to cite texts that answer a specific question directly.
2. A frequently asked questions section
Collect the questions customers ask you on the phone and answer in two or three sentences. This format is easy to read for people and for artificial intelligence systems.
3. Consistent data everywhere
Name, address, phone and hours must be identical on your site, Google, Facebook and industry directories. Inconsistencies lose trust, with people and with algorithms.
4. Structured data
LocalBusiness structured data describes your business in a standard format. You can create it in a few minutes with our free generator.
5. Reviews and citations
Recent, detailed reviews, local articles, trade associations: every credible mention strengthens the idea that you are a reference in your area.
How to check whether you are cited
Try asking several assistants "best [your service] in [your city]". Answers change over time and from person to person, so it pays to measure them systematically. That is why VisibAI exists: it checks the answers of several AI engines.
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