How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT

A growing number of people no longer start with a Google search. They open ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity and ask: “Who is a good accountant for a small business in Palm Beach?” or “Which roofer near me handles insurance claims?” The assistant answers with a few names. Being one of those names is the new page one.

The work of getting there is called GEO, generative engine optimization. It sounds technical, but most of it is the same good practice that helps you on Google, done more carefully.

How an assistant decides who to name

When an AI assistant recommends a business, it is putting together what it can find and trust:

• Clarity. Can it tell exactly what you do, for whom and where?
• Consistency. Do your name, address, phone, services and hours agree everywhere it looks?
• Evidence. Do reviews, directories, articles and other sites confirm you are real and good at it?
• Quotable answers. Is there a clear sentence on your site it can use to answer the question?

If any of these is weak, the assistant plays it safe and names someone else.

1. Fix your facts everywhere

Search for your business on Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook and the main directories in your industry. Write down every version of your name, address and phone you find, then make them identical. An assistant that sees three different addresses becomes less sure about you.

2. Complete your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile feeds Google’s own AI answers and many other assistants for local questions. Choose the right primary category, list every service and area you cover, add real photos, keep your hours exact, and answer every review. Ask happy clients for reviews regularly, so the newest one is never months old.

3. One page per question

Assistants love pages that answer one thing clearly. Instead of one “Services” page with a list, write a page per service, and where it matters, per city or area: “Roof replacement in West Palm Beach”, “Tax preparation for contractors”. Open each page with a two sentence answer, then the details.

4. Write like you are answering on the phone

Use the exact questions your clients ask as headings, and answer each one in the first sentence below it. “How much does a roof inspection cost? Most inspections are free when…” That first sentence is what gets quoted. Avoid vague marketing language; it gives an assistant nothing to repeat.

5. Add schema markup

Schema markup is a set of hidden labels in your page code that say “this is a local business, this is its phone, these are its services, these are its reviews”. Search engines and assistants use it to be certain of facts. Most website platforms can add it with a plugin; a custom site can add it directly.

6. Publish an llms.txt file

An llms.txt file is a short, plain text map of your site written for AI models: who you are, what you offer, and which pages matter. It is a young convention and not a ranking switch, but it is quick to add and helps assistants read your site efficiently.

7. Get mentioned elsewhere

Assistants trust what other sites say about you. Local news, industry associations, podcasts, partner websites, guest articles and community sponsorships all count. One mention on a respected local site can do more than ten pages on your own.

Check where you stand

Ask the assistants yourself, in a private window, the way a client would: “Who would you recommend for [your service] in [your city]?” Try ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google with AI Overviews. Note who gets named and why, then repeat the test every month. The businesses that appear are your real competition in AI search.

The short version

Be easy to understand, identical everywhere, and confirmed by others. Fix your facts and your Google profile first, then build one clear page per question your clients ask, and let reviews and mentions do the rest.