How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT

The short answer: ChatGPT recommends businesses it can find through search and that other sources describe the same way you do. So let its search crawler in, get indexed in Bing as well as Google, say plainly what you do and where, and get mentioned and reviewed on sites it trusts. Then test it every month.

How ChatGPT finds businesses

ChatGPT answers from two places:

• What it learned in training. Big, well-known brands live here. A small or new business usually doesn't, and you can't change it quickly.
• Live web search. When someone asks for a recommendation, ChatGPT usually searches the web, reads a handful of pages and summarises them. This is where small businesses can win.

For live search, OpenAI runs its own crawler called OAI-SearchBot and also uses outside search providers. OpenAI has named Microsoft among them, which is why Bing matters more for ChatGPT than most business owners think. OpenAI is clear on one point: sites that block OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers.

The checklist

1. Let the right crawlers in

Open yoursite.com/robots.txt. If you see Disallow: / under OAI-SearchBot or under User-agent: *, ChatGPT search can't use your site. A safe setup looks like this:

User-agent: *
Allow: /

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /

Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Some security plugins and "block AI bots" settings on hosts such as Cloudflare switch these off without telling you, so check after any change.

2. Get indexed in Bing, not just Google

Add your site to Bing Webmaster Tools (you can import it straight from Google Search Console) and submit your sitemap. Turn on IndexNow so Bing hears about new pages within minutes. Many WordPress SEO plugins and Cloudflare can do this for you.

3. Rank on Google too

Studies from 2025 and 2026 keep finding that the pages ChatGPT cites tend to already rank well in normal search. Classic SEO is still the base: a fast site, clear page titles, helpful service pages and links from other sites. AI visibility sits on top of it, not instead of it.

4. Say exactly what you do, for whom, and where

AI tools pull short, clear statements. "Solutions that empower growth" gives them nothing to quote. Put a plain sentence near the top of your homepage and every service page, for example:

"Smith & Co is a family-run roofing company in Leeds that repairs and replaces pitched and flat roofs for homes and small businesses."

Give each main service its own page. One "Services" page with ten bullet points is hard for both Google and ChatGPT to match to a specific question.

5. Add structured data (schema)

Schema is a small block of code that tells machines your business name, what you do, where you work and which profiles are yours. At a minimum, add Organization or LocalBusiness schema with your name, logo, contact details, area served and sameAs links to your social and directory profiles. Add Service schema to service pages and FAQPage schema to real FAQs.

6. Get mentioned on sites AI tools trust

This step matters most, and most businesses skip it. When ChatGPT searches "best accountant in Bristol", it usually reads list articles, directories, review sites and forums, not just your homepage. Aim to appear there:

• Industry directories (Clutch for agencies, Checkatrade for trades, Doctify for clinics, and so on)
• Google Business Profile, Bing Places and Apple Business Connect
• Local "best of" lists, partner websites and supplier pages
• Honest, helpful answers on Reddit and industry forums

Use the exact same business name, website and description everywhere. Matching details are how AI tools work out that all these mentions are the same business.

7. Answer the questions buyers ask

Write pages that answer what people type into ChatGPT before they buy: what it costs, how long it takes, how you compare with alternatives, and who it's not right for. A straight answer in the first sentence, then the detail, is the format AI tools quote most easily.

8. Collect real reviews

Reviews on Google, Trustpilot and industry sites are among the strongest trust signals for recommendation questions. Ask every happy customer, make it easy with a direct link, and reply to every review. Never buy or fake reviews. It breaks platform rules and consumer law in the UK, US and EU.

How to test whether ChatGPT recommends you

Do this once a month and keep a simple spreadsheet:

1. Open a temporary chat (or log out) so your history doesn't affect the answer.
2. Ask 5 to 10 questions a real customer would ask, such as "Who are the best [service] providers in [city]?", "Recommend a [service] for a small business" and "What is [your business name]?"
3. Note whether you're mentioned, what is said about you, and which websites are cited as sources.
4. Repeat the same questions in Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Microsoft Copilot.

The cited sources are the useful part. They show you exactly which directories and articles to get onto next. For the full method, with a tracking sheet and GA4 setup, see How to check if ChatGPT mentions your business.

What doesn't work

• Anyone selling guaranteed ChatGPT rankings. Nobody controls what the model says.
• Stuffing pages with keywords or hidden text. It hurts normal SEO and doesn't help AI answers.
• Fake reviews or self-written "best of" lists on sites you control.
• Relying on llms.txt alone. It's cheap to add but isn't a switch that gets you recommended. I explain why in Does your business need an llms.txt file?

How long it takes

Crawler and indexing fixes can show up within days. New mentions, reviews and rankings usually take one to three months to show up in AI answers, because the pages that mention you need to be found and indexed first. Treat it like SEO: steady monthly work, measured with the test above.

Questions people ask