How a local business gets recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.
When someone near Wichita asks an AI assistant who to call, the answer is assembled from pages and listings it can read. You cannot buy your way in or guarantee a mention, but you can make sure the facts are there and agree with each other everywhere they appear.
The short answer
AI assistants recommend local businesses they can find and cross-check: a website with services, prices, hours and area written as plain text; the same name, address and hours on Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp and Facebook; listings in directories they read; and recent reviews. Google says AI Overviews need no special optimization beyond normal search practice. Nobody can guarantee a mention, but missing or conflicting facts make one unlikely.
Where AI answers get their facts
- Google AI Overviews and AI Mode draw on Google's search index. Google's guidance lists the same basics as normal search, including keeping Business Profile information current, and says no special schema is needed.
- ChatGPT search was described by BrightLocal's December 2024 study as mostly powered by Bing's index. Across 800 local searches, 58% of the sources it cited were business websites, 27% were mentions in articles and publications, and 15% were directories.
- Perplexity shows numbered sources under each answer, so you can see which pages it read. Ask it about your trade and town and look at what it cites.
The pattern is the same everywhere: your own website is the most cited source, and listings and mentions elsewhere confirm it.
Write your facts so a machine can read them
- Put your menu, prices and hours in text, never only in a photo or PDF.
- Give each main service its own page or clearly headed section.
- Name the towns you serve in a sentence, such as Wichita, Andover, Derby and Augusta.
- Answer the questions customers ask, in plain question and answer form.
- Add structured data for your business type, hours and FAQ that matches what the page says. Google's guidance is to keep structured data aligned with the visible text.
- Keep one set of facts and update it everywhere at once when anything changes.
Consistent listings and directories
An assistant that finds different hours on your site, Google and Yelp has no reason to trust any of them. Claim and match these first:
- Google Business Profile
- Bing Places for Business, since Bing's index feeds ChatGPT search
- Apple Business Connect, for Apple Maps and Siri
- Yelp and Facebook
- Your chamber of commerce directory and the Better Business Bureau
- Directories for your trade, and for service businesses, Clutch or Thumbtack
Reviews, gathered honestly
Reviews are part of what Google calls prominence, and assistants lean on them when choosing whom to name. Ask every customer for a review, with a direct link and a card at the counter. Google's policy forbids offering incentives for reviews and forbids selectively asking only happy customers, so do not filter who gets the request. Reply to every review, including the bad ones, in your own voice.
llms.txt, and what it can and cannot do
llms.txt is a plain Markdown file at the root of a website that summarizes what a business does and links to its key pages. It was proposed by Jeremy Howard in September 2024, and the specification is at llmstxt.org. It takes an hour to write and does no harm.
Treat it as a cheap extra rather than a switch. Google's own guidance says no special files or markup are needed for its AI features, and the facts on your pages and listings count for far more.
What we do on every site
- Hours, prices, services, address and area written as text, with matching structured data.
- A question and answer section built from what your customers actually ask.
- An llms.txt file with your facts in plain words.
- Google Business Profile setup, included with every website.
- Pages that load in under a second on a phone, so crawlers and people both get the full page.
To keep listings matched across Google, Apple, Bing, Yelp and Facebook and answer reviews each month, add Get Found on Google for $99 a month.
Questions owners ask us
Can anyone guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. Nobody controls what an AI assistant says in a given answer. What you can control is whether your facts are there to be found, consistent across listings and backed by reviews, which is what the assistants draw on.
Why does ChatGPT give the wrong hours for my business?
It is usually reading an outdated listing or an old page. Update your hours on your site, Google, Bing, Apple, Yelp and Facebook at the same time so every source agrees, then check again after a few weeks.
Does my Google Business Profile affect AI Overviews?
Google lists keeping Business Profile information current among its best practices for AI features. A complete, accurate profile with recent reviews is one of the most useful things a local business can do for both the map and AI answers.
Which review sites matter most for AI answers?
Start with Google, which most local searches lean on. BrightLocal's 2024 study found ChatGPT search pulled review information from Google and Google Maps, and cited directories such as Expertise more than Yelp or Facebook.
Should I add an llms.txt file to my website?
It is cheap and harmless, so yes if your developer can add it. Do not expect it to change much by itself: the facts on your pages and listings matter more, and Google says no special files are needed.
How long before AI assistants pick up changes to my site?
There is no fixed time. Engines pick up changes when they next crawl the page, which can be days or weeks. Keeping listings consistent and pages fast and readable helps them trust what they find.
Related
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