How to Get ChatGPT to Recommend Your Business
ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI answers recommend businesses they can find and trust. They look things up on the web, then name the businesses whose websites, reviews and listings say clearly what they do, where, and for whom. To be one of them, make your own website answer those questions plainly, keep your details identical everywhere you're listed, and get your business mentioned on the sites AI assistants read. You can't pay to be placed inside the answer itself.
How AI assistants decide who to recommend
When someone asks "who's a good bookkeeper in Brisbane?", the assistant doesn't recall a list from memory. For local and current questions, it runs web searches, reads the results and writes an answer from them. Gemini and Google's AI Overviews draw on Google Search. ChatGPT's search feature draws on web results too.
That means three things decide whether you're named:
- Can it find you? Your business needs to appear in the search results the assistant reads for that question. A page that never ranks for "bookkeeper Brisbane" rarely gets quoted for it.
- Can it understand you? The page has to say what you do, where and for whom in plain sentences. A homepage that only says "Solutions that move you forward" gives an assistant nothing to quote.
- Does everything agree? If your website says Brisbane, your Google Business Profile says Logan and an old directory listing has a different phone number, the assistant has less reason to trust any of it.
AI assistants also lean heavily on other people's sites: review platforms, directories, industry lists, local news and forums. A business that only talks about itself on its own website is easy to leave out.
Can you pay ChatGPT to recommend your business?
No, not in the answer itself. At the time of writing, OpenAI has started showing ads in ChatGPT, but only in the United States, only to people on the free and lower-cost plans, and only as clearly labelled sponsored placements shown separately from the answer. Paying for an ad doesn't change who ChatGPT names when it answers the question.
Be wary of anyone selling "guaranteed ChatGPT placement" in Australia. Nobody controls what an AI assistant says, and answers change from day to day. What you can do is make your business the easiest one to find, understand and trust.
The practical steps, in order
1. Answer the questions on your own website
Write a page for each main service that answers, in the first paragraph: what it is, who it's for, where you do it, and roughly what it costs. Then answer the questions customers ask before they buy, in their words, with an FAQ on the page.
AI assistants quote clear, specific sentences. "We repair commercial refrigeration across Brisbane's northside, usually within 24 hours, from $180 a call-out" is quotable. "We deliver excellence in every job" isn't.
2. Publish your prices, or at least a range
A large share of the questions people ask AI include cost: "how much does a…", "who's affordable for…". If your site never mentions price, the assistant will quote a competitor that does. A range works fine.
3. Make your Google Business Profile complete and accurate
Choose the right primary category, list every service, set your service areas, add photos and keep your hours current. Gemini and Google's AI Overviews draw directly on Google's local data, so this matters more for local questions than almost anything else.
4. Keep your details identical everywhere
Your business name, address or service area, phone number and website should match character for character across your website, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Facebook, LinkedIn and the directories in your industry. Search your own business name and fix every listing that disagrees.
5. Get mentioned on the sites AI assistants read
Ask happy customers for Google reviews, and, if it's relevant to your industry, reviews on the platform people in your industry use. Get listed on the main directories for your trade. Contribute to local or industry publications. Every credible mention elsewhere is another source that says you exist and are good at what you do.
6. Add structured data
Structured data is a small block of code that tells search engines, in a fixed format, your business name, location, services, opening hours and FAQs. Customers don't see it, but it removes guesswork for the systems that do. Most website platforms support it, and a developer can add it in an afternoon.
7. Check what the assistants actually say
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your customers would ask, on more than one day, and write down who gets named. Then fix the gaps they reveal. If a competitor keeps being named, look at what the assistant cites for them: often it's a directory or review site you're missing from.
How long it takes
Fixing your website, Google Business Profile and listings can change what AI assistants say within weeks for less competitive questions, because they look things up fresh each time. Questions where many businesses compete take longer: usually a few months of steady work on content, reviews and mentions. Treat it like SEO, which it builds on. It compounds, but it isn't instant.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my business to show up in ChatGPT?
Make sure your business appears in web search results for the questions customers ask, because ChatGPT's search feature reads those results. Then make your website say plainly what you do, where and for whom, keep your details consistent across every listing, and collect reviews and mentions on other credible sites.
Can you pay ChatGPT to recommend your business?
No. At the time of writing, ChatGPT ads are only available in the United States, and they appear as labelled sponsored placements separate from the answer. Paying for an ad doesn't change which businesses ChatGPT recommends in its answer.
How do I get Google's AI Overviews to mention my business?
Rank well in Google for the question, answer it clearly on your page, and keep your Google Business Profile complete and accurate. Google's AI Overviews draw on Google Search results and Google's local business data.
What is answer engine optimisation (AEO)?
Answer engine optimisation is the work of getting your business named, with accurate details, when people ask AI assistants for recommendations or answers. It builds on SEO but focuses on clear, quotable answers and consistent information across the sources AI assistants use.
VareonHQ helps Australian businesses get found in Google and recommended by AI assistants. Our AI & Search Visibility Audit checks 12 real customer questions in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity and shows exactly who gets named instead of you, for $950. See how AEO works, or ask us a question.
