How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT

ChatGPT recommends businesses it can find and trust: ones whose website clearly says what they do and where, whose details match across Google and directories, and that real customers write about. You can't pay to be placed in its answers, but you can make it much easier for ChatGPT to pick you. Here are the steps, starting with the ones that matter most.

Key takeaways

• For most local questions ChatGPT searches the web live, so what's online about you today matters, not only what it learned in training.
• First check that your website isn't blocking AI bots. It's the most common silent problem, and the easiest to fix.
• Say plainly what you do, where, and for whom, and use the same name, address and phone number everywhere.
• Google Business Profile, reviews and directories are where AI checks that you're real and good.
• Nobody can guarantee a recommendation. Measure progress by asking the questions your customers ask, several times.

How does ChatGPT decide which businesses to recommend?

When someone asks "What's the best bike repair shop in Kaunas?", ChatGPT usually runs a web search, reads a handful of pages (business websites, map listings, review sites, directories, local articles) and writes a short answer naming two to five businesses. It favours businesses that appear in several sources with matching details and good reviews. That's why a shop with a great reputation offline can still be skipped: if the web doesn't say it clearly, the AI has nothing to quote.

Step 1: Make sure ChatGPT can read your website

OpenAI uses separate bots. OAI-SearchBot finds pages for ChatGPT's search answers, ChatGPT-User opens a page when a user's question needs it, and GPTBot collects data for training. If your robots.txt file, your hosting or a firewall such as Cloudflare blocks them, ChatGPT can't read your site and has to rely only on what others say about you.

• Open yourwebsite.com/robots.txt in a browser and look for "Disallow: /" under OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, GPTBot or "User-agent: *".
• If you use Cloudflare, check its bot settings for an option that blocks AI crawlers.
• Our guide on whether your website is blocking ChatGPT walks through this in two minutes.

Step 2: Say clearly what you do, where, and for whom

The AI has to match your business to a question. "We create solutions for your needs" gives it nothing to work with. "Bicycle repair and servicing in Kaunas, most repairs done the same day" does. Use the words your customers use, not industry jargon.

• Put your main service and city in the page title and the first heading of your homepage.
• Give each main service its own page, with a plain description, who it's for and, if you can, prices or price ranges.
• Show your address, phone and opening hours as text, not only inside an image or a map.

Step 3: Keep your name, address and phone the same everywhere

AI cross-checks sources. If your website says "Dviračių remontas", Google says "Dviračių remontas UAB" and a directory still has your old address, the AI is less sure these are the same business, and less likely to recommend it. Pick one version of your name, address and phone number and use it on your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook and directories such as rekvizitai.lt.

Step 4: Complete your Google Business Profile and collect reviews

Map listings and reviews are among the first things AI looks at for local questions. Fill in every part of your Google Business Profile: categories, services, opening hours, photos and description. Ask happy customers for a review, ideally mentioning what you did for them ("fixed my e-bike brakes the same day"). Detailed reviews give the AI real words to quote. Reply to reviews, including the negative ones.

Step 5: Answer the questions customers ask AI

People ask AI full questions: "Which dentist in Vilnius is good with children?", "How much does a car service cost in Kaunas?" If your website answers questions like these directly, in an FAQ section or on service pages, the AI can use your own words. Write the question as a heading and answer it in the first sentence underneath.

Step 6: Get mentioned on other websites

AI trusts what others say about you more than what you say about yourself. Local news, industry associations, supplier and partner pages, "best of" lists and directories all count. One mention on a respected local site is worth more than dozens of low-quality listings. Don't buy fake reviews or spam links: they break platform rules and can get your listings removed.

Step 7: Add structured data to your website

Structured data (schema markup) is a small piece of code that tells machines your business type, address, phone and opening hours in a standard format. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it removes guesswork. Most website builders and SEO plugins can add LocalBusiness markup without any coding.

How long does it take?

Website fixes can be picked up within days or weeks, depending on how often bots visit your site. Reviews and mentions on other websites build up over months. AI answers also vary from one question to the next, so judge progress over several checks, not a single answer.

What doesn't work

• Paying someone who "guarantees" you'll be recommended by ChatGPT. Nobody controls its answers.
• Repeating keywords all over your pages. AI reads for meaning, and it makes your site worse for people.
• Fake or bought reviews. They break Google's rules and can get removed, along with your credibility.
• Expecting a single file or trick to fix everything. For example, there's no evidence so far that AI assistants use llms.txt files.

How do you know if it's working?

Ask ChatGPT the questions your customers would ask, in their language, several times, and note whether you're named. Our guide on how to check if ChatGPT recommends your business shows how to do it properly. Or run a free RecoPulse check, which asks ChatGPT for you and shows exactly what it said.