How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT and Gemini

For an AI tool like ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity to recommend your business, it needs to clearly understand what you do, for whom and where, then find the same information in several reliable places on the web. This is called GEO, generative engine optimization. The good news: you don't need a huge budget to get started.

Why AI is changing how people find you

More and more people no longer just type “plumber near me” into Google. They ask an AI: “Which plumber do you recommend in my area for an emergency?”. The AI doesn't give ten blue links. It names two or three businesses, with a short explanation.

If you're not in that answer, you don't exist for that person. That's why it matters to understand how the AI chooses.

How an AI decides who to name

An AI doesn't “know” your business the way a loyal customer does. It pieces together what it finds: your website, your Google profile, directories, articles, reviews. The more these sources say the same thing, clearly, the more comfortable it is naming you.

So it favours three things:

• Clarity: one simple sentence that says what you do, for whom and where.
• Consistency: the same name, address and services everywhere.
• Proof: reviews, past work and mentions somewhere other than your own website.

5 steps that improve your chances

1. Write your brand sentence

In one sentence: what you do, for whom, where, and what sets you apart. Put it at the top of your home page, in your Google profile and in your social profiles. AI tools often repeat this sentence almost word for word.

2. Answer your customers' real questions

Write down the questions people ask you on the phone: price, timelines, service area, the difference between two options. Answer them on your website, in an FAQ page or in articles. Start each answer with the answer itself, in one or two sentences. AI tools love this format.

3. Take care of your Google Business Profile

The right category, up-to-date hours, your services listed, recent photos, and replies to your reviews. Gemini relies heavily on Google's ecosystem: an incomplete profile hurts you directly.

4. Keep your presence consistent everywhere

Check your name, address, phone number and description on Facebook, LinkedIn, your industry directories and your chamber of commerce. An old address or a former name makes the AI doubt.

5. Show proof

Ask happy customers for reviews, show your past work with concrete details, and look for mentions in local media or partner websites. An AI trusts what others say about you more than what you say about yourself.

What about SEO?

GEO doesn't replace SEO: it builds on it. A fast, well-structured website with clear headings and structured data is easier to read for Google and AI tools alike. The two work together. We explain the difference on our Visibility: SEO, GEO and Google Ads page.

Where to start this week

1. Write your brand sentence and put it on your home page.
2. List 5 questions your customers often ask you.
3. Open your Google Business Profile and fix what's out of date.

It'll take you an hour. Want to know where your website stands? Run our free website check.