How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot

When someone asks ChatGPT “who’s a good electrician in Shrewsbury?”, the answer is built from what the tool can find and trust about local electricians: websites, business listings, reviews, directories and local news. Google’s AI Overviews draw on Google’s own search index and your Google Business Profile. Copilot leans on Bing. Each tool works a little differently, and they all change often.

What they have in common is simple. They prefer businesses whose details are clear, specific and the same everywhere. If your website says you’re a “property solutions provider”, your Google listing says “builder” and an old directory lists a phone number you stopped using in 2019, an AI tool has very little to go on. If every source says you’re a builder in Oswestry who does extensions and loft conversions within 20 miles, it can describe you with confidence.

What we can’t promise

Nobody can guarantee that ChatGPT or any other AI tool will recommend your business, or put you first. Anyone who promises that is guessing. What we can do is remove the reasons an AI tool might leave you out or describe you wrongly, and those are mostly the same things that help you in normal Google search.

Clear service and area pages

This is the biggest job for most small businesses. One page per main service, saying in plain words what you do, who for, where and roughly what it costs. One clear line about the towns and villages you cover. A short FAQ with real answers. AI tools quote this kind of plain fact far more readily than a homepage full of slogans.

Structured data

Structured data (often called schema) is a small block of code on your website that tells search engines and AI tools your business name, address, phone number, opening hours, services and area in a format they can read without guessing. We check what you have, fix anything wrong and add what’s missing. If you’d like to try it yourself, our free local business schema generator is a good start.

Consistent business listings

Your Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Facebook page and the main directories should all show the same name, address, phone number and description. We make a list of where you appear, and show you which ones to correct. Old listings with wrong details are surprisingly common, especially if you’ve moved or changed number.

Reviews that say what you did

Reviews matter to AI tools as much as to people, and the useful ones mention the actual job and place: “fixed a leaking flat roof in Llanidloes”. You can’t write reviews for customers, and you mustn’t offer anything in return for them, but you can make it easy to leave one. Our free Google review link generator gives you a direct link to send after each job.

Checking what AI tools say about you now

We ask the main AI tools the questions your customers would ask, and note what comes back: whether you’re mentioned, whether the details are right, and which sources they seem to use. We repeat the check after the changes. It’s a snapshot, as answers vary from day to day and person to person, but it shows where the gaps are.

For the wider local search picture, our local SEO checklist for Shropshire and Powys covers the basics in more detail.