How to get your business recommended by AI assistants like ChatGPT

Why this is suddenly relevant

AI assistants increasingly answer direct questions like "find me a good electrician near me" by summarising what they can find, rather than just linking out to a page of search results. That means being findable and clearly described online now affects whether you get mentioned at all, not just where you rank.

What these tools actually read

AI assistants and their crawlers read a website's text directly, not just its design. They favour clear, factual, well-structured content over marketing language, and they weigh consistent information across your website, your Google Business Profile and other listings, much like Google's own local search does.

Practical things that help

Writing direct, factual answers to the questions customers actually ask, what you do, where you cover, roughly what things cost, rather than vague copy. Making sure AI crawlers can actually access your site, some sites accidentally block them without realising. Keeping a clean, fast, readable page rather than one that needs heavy interaction just to see the content. And keeping your details consistent everywhere, the same principle that helps local SEO.

An emerging idea worth knowing: llms.txt

Some websites now publish a small, plain text file summarising what the business does, in a format AI systems can read quickly and cite accurately. It's a new and still-evolving practice, but a low-effort one if your site already has clear information laid out.

What this doesn't replace

Being recommended by an AI assistant still depends on the fundamentals, real information, real reviews, and a business that's genuinely good at what it does. No file or format change substitutes for any of that.