thecopygrind3rArticles · by Nathan
How ChatGPT and other AI assistants decide which local business to recommend
Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI for “the best rental agent in Almere” and you get a few names. Those names are not random, and they are not paid ads. They come from what the assistant reads.
What happens behind the answer
For a question about something local and current, most assistants do not rely on memory. They run a web search, read a set of sources they consider trustworthy, and then name the businesses those sources describe clearly. Ask the same question twice and you may get different names, because the answer is generated fresh each time.
That means you cannot “own” the top spot the way you sometimes can on Google. What you can change is how often you are named.
A test you can do in five minutes
- Open ChatGPT or Perplexity with web search on.
- Ask: “I'm looking for a [your service] in [your town]. If you had to recommend a few, which would they be?”
- Then ask: “Which websites did you look at to answer that?”
- Then ask: “I run [your website]. What is my business missing compared to the ones you recommended?”
The assistant will usually tell you exactly which directories, review sites and pages it used, and what it could not find about you.
What usually needs fixing
- Google Business Profile: every field filled, the right categories, a tight service area, services written out, recent reviews.
- Consistent details: the same business name, address and phone number on your site, your profile and every directory.
- A website that machines can read: a title and main heading that say your service and town, an FAQ that answers real questions, and structured data that labels who you are.
- Being on the lists the assistant reads: local directories and comparison sites. Many are free.
Do not forget Google
AI search is growing, but normal Google search and Google Maps still send far more visitors. The good news: almost everything above helps both.
If you want this done for you, start with the free AI visibility check.
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