How do businesses get recommended by ChatGPT?

More and more people now ask ChatGPT, Google's AI answers or Copilot for recommendations: 'who's a good plumber in Stockton?' So how do these tools decide who to name?

Where the answers come from

These tools don't know local businesses personally. They search the web and pull together what they find: websites, Google and other listings, reviews, local guides and 'best of' lists. ChatGPT's search, for example, leans heavily on Bing's results.

What helps a business get named

A website that says clearly what you do and where. Plain text, your services, your towns, your prices or a guide price.

Good reviews in more than one place. Google first, plus Facebook or a trade site.

Being mentioned elsewhere. Local guides, lists, news and directories all count, even without a link.

The same details everywhere. Name, phone and address matching on every listing.

Not blocking them. Some website set-ups accidentally block the bots these tools use to read your site.

What it means for you

The same things that help you on Google help you with AI. If you'd like to see what ChatGPT says about your business right now, Oakpress Studio, a web designer from Teesside, includes it in a free check.