Guide: How to Get ChatGPT to Recommend Your Business (Act Now or Pay 10X Later)

It feels like 2008 all over again. Remember when SEO was the new kid on the block?

Plenty of businesses laughed it off... but a few took SEO seriously. Sure enough, they raced to the top of Google and owned their market for the next 15 years.

History is repeating itself, but this time, with Artificial Intelligence.

27% of customers now skip Google and ask ChatGPT and other AI tools: “Who’s the best lawyer near me?” or “Which roofer in Fort Lauderdale is reliable?”

In this article, I share a 9-step plan to pop up in those prime AI searches. P.S. We've used these on our own clients and saw some pretty impressive results!

Why AI Recommendations Drive High-Value Leads

Over the past year, my team and I have conducted over 200 experiments, testing AI visibility with clients in various industries, including law, roofing, healthcare, and others. Here are the trends we noticed:

• AI leads close faster. Prospects trust the short list AI gives them more than the typical Google results that we all used to.
• Higher conversions. Businesses showing up in AI-driven answers report up to 23x better conversion rates compared to traditional search traffic (Ahrefs).
• Consumer trust is real. 46% of people say they trust an AI-generated recommendation as much as (or more than) a friend’s (Bloomreach).
• The trend is accelerating. By 2026, 25% of all online searches are expected to happen through AI assistants (Gartner).

It's a new frontier. Just like SEO in its early days, those who capitalize on AI search now — like, right now — will lock in the compounding advantage for years to come.

The 80/20 Rule of AI Visibility

One of the biggest questions I hear right now is: “Am I wasting money on SEO?”

My answer: No, SEO is still crucial! You need SEO more than ever.

AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini don’t invent answers; they generate them. They rely on:

• Top Google results – high-ranking, trusted content
• Review sites – Google reviews, Yelp, Healthgrades, Avvo, etc.
• Authoritative directories – industry-specific listings and citations

If you’re invisible in search engines like Google, chances are you’ll be invisible in AI, too.

Think of SEO as the 80%: the foundation of your house.

AI search optimization or GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the final 20%: the smart-home upgrades that make the “AI realtor” recommend you.

With that said, let's go over how to get your brand recommended by AI systems. Keep scrolling!

How to Get Your Business Recommended by AI: Your Roadmap

In this section, I walk you through everything from mapping buyer prompts to building citations. In the next 15 minutes, you’ll know exactly what AI loves to see.

Step 1: Map Your Buyer Prompts

This is really important: with AI, you need to think in questions — not just keywords. Here's the difference:

• Keyword: “eye doctor Dallas, TX”
• Prompt: “Who is the most affordable eye doctor in Dallas?”

Real customers use these question prompts when talking to AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity.

To match that, here’s how I map prompts for my clients in a way AI understands:

• Ask your sales team: “What questions come up before someone buys?”
• Ask customers: “What did you search before you found us?”
• Build a list of 30–50 prompts.

My team used this method with a personal injury client a few months ago. They went from being invisible in ChatGPT to landing a 6-figure case directly from an AI recommendation!

Step 2: Audit Where You Stand

Once you’ve built your list of prompts (e.g., who is the best PI lawyer in NYC), the next step is simple: run this through ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc. Then assess the following:

• Do you appear?
• If not, who does?
• Which websites or directories are being cited?

This is your baseline. Think of it as a starting point for how to get a business recommended by AI.

Step 3: Make Your Pages AI-Ready

AI is very picky and (like Google) refuses to rank a messy site.

If your website isn’t clear, fresh, and structured, it’s going to skip right over you. But don't worry: I have a formula to make your pages irresistible to AI:

• Valuable and unique content: AI will recommend your website if it has truly unique and fresh content that's valuable.
• Well-structured pages: Ensure your website content is strategically organized into logical silos and sections, making it easy for both AI bots and real humans to follow.
• FAQs: Think of them as a cheat sheet; they give quick and clear answers to the exact questions your customers ask.
• Videos: Short and sweet (1–2 minutes). Add transcripts so AI can “read along.”
• Tables & comparisons: Pricing, warranties, timelines; lay it out like a restaurant menu that AI can scan at a glance.
• Mini summaries: 3–5 bullets at the top of each page. It's a "TL;DR" for the bots.
• Schema markup: Name tags for your content. Don’t make AI guess what's what.

In digital marketing, freshness is a must. ChatGPT favors content that’s 26% newer than Google usually does. Perplexity pulls half its sources from the past 7 months. So keep it fresh, and AI will notice.

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Step 4: Master Local SEO

If I pulled out my phone right now and asked ChatGPT, “Who is the best X in [city]?” — would your business show up?

If not, you really (really!) need Local SEO, especially if you have a physical location.

AI assistants heavily rely on "local signals" to determine which local businesses to recommend. Here’s what I tell clients to focus on:

• Claim and improve your Google Business Profile. Accurate hours, photos, and fresh content matter. AI often pulls directly from this data.
• Steady reviews and a positive reputation. It has been and remains a crucial factor in determining whether AI will recommend your business or not. I believe that moving forward, reputation will become one of the most important factors.
• Use location-specific keywords. Don’t just say “coffee shop.” Say “Pittsburgh coffee shop.” Don’t just say “designer.” Say “Austin interior design.” And avoid keyword stuffing at all costs.
• Get listed in directories. Yelp, Avvo, Houzz: these sites are frequently cited by AI tools as sources of truth. This is very important!

Strong local SEO gets you on Google, sure, but it also trains AI to recommend you as the obvious local choice when clients ask.

Step 5: Build Your Citation Network

In the world of AI, citations are currency.

Citations are any online mentions of your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites.

They "pay" your way into the algorithm by saying, “This business is trusted by others.” The more credible your citations, the more likely you are to get recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini.

Focus on:

• High-authority directories: Avvo for lawyers, Houzz for contractors, Healthgrades for doctors — plus staples like Yelp, BBB, and Chambers.
• “Best Of” lists: Local roundups such as “Top 10 lawyers in Chicago” or “Best roofing companies in Chicago.”
• Wikipedia & knowledge bases: Hard to crack, but a huge trust signal once you’re there.

I’ve seen premium directory listings spark AI visibility almost overnight.

To determine which citations are relevant, you can start by googling your major keywords and determining which websites show up. If you're not listed on these websites, you need to determine how to get in.

Step 6: Leverage Forums and Communities

Generative AI models are constantly scraping Reddit, Quora, and niche forums.

If your business is mentioned there, your odds of being cited in AI results are astronomical!

But let me be clear — this isn’t something you can fake. Spammy posts or throwaway accounts get flagged fast. What works is earning authentic mentions.

Here’s how I would approach getting cited on forums and communities:

• Share genuinely helpful guides showcasing your expertise in the communities your customers trust.
• Answer real questions with substance as if you were talking to a paying client.
• Encourage happy customers to drop an organic comment about their experience.

It takes longer than running an ad, but the payoff is big: AI trusts this type of conversational content, and that trust gets passed on to you.

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Step 7: Digital PR for AI Visibility

Press releases are so 2010... or are they?

AI loves news mentions. It's one of the best stamps of approval. AI systems adore fresh, trending, credible content, so if a top news outlet mentions you, you’ve got a shot at showing up in these AI answers.

Here's what I would go after:

• New service or big hire. Turn it into a story; people love a "fresh-out-of-the-oven" update.
• Show up locally. Sponsor or participate in community events and let the press cover it.
• Share your smarts. Offer data, insights, or expert commentary that journalists can quote.

One of my roofing clients got quoted in a hurricane prep story. A few weeks later, ChatGPT started recommending them as a “trusted roofer in Hollywood, FL."

So go out there and get some press!

Step 8: Strengthen Your Trust Footprint

AI has a painfully simple rule: trust the businesses that appear trustworthy.

That means authority and consistency matter more than ever.

Here’s how I coach clients to build their “trust footprint”:

• Encourage clients to leave reviews: And keep them coming in. Once in a blue moon won't do.
• Media mentions: As I mentioned, local news, trade publications, or credible blog posts signal authority.
• Professional involvement: Join respected associations and attend events.

And don’t forget — AI agents are pulling from multiple sources. They scan reviews, forums, news, and social profiles all at once. If your reputation is shaky, it shows.

Step 9: Track, Measure, and Improve

If you’ve followed along this far: mapping prompts, refreshing pages, building citations... I’m proud of you! This is a lot of work.

But hey, now comes the most important step of all: tracking your progress. You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Here’s how to keep score:

• Ask directly. Add “How did you hear about us?” with AI as an option on your feedback forms.
• Check your prompts monthly. Are you showing up more often? Are you cited more?
• Adjust smartly. Visible but not cited? Improve your site's structure with FAQs, schema, or tables. Cited but not visible? Expand your content and authority mentions.

Let's make all that hard work count toward a strong digital presence. Track, tweak, rinse, and repeat!

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How AI Determines Trust

Like I said, no matter how polished your strategy is, AI won’t recommend you unless it trusts you.

Here’s what we know for a fact AI looks at:

• Consistency: Your business info (name, address, phone number) must match everywhere.
• Freshness: Regular updates in your content strategy to prove you’re active.
• Reputable mentions: Citations from trusted blogs, news, and industry sites.
• Positive chatter: Reviews and real conversations on places like Reddit or Quora.
• Backlinks: Quality links that signal authority.

Think of this as the final piece: your reputation folder. Build this, and AI will start sending high-value clients your way.

Why You Probably Shouldn’t DIY This

As you can see, there’s a LOT that goes into popping up on AI's radar.

Could you do it yourself? Sure. But should you?

It’s like building your own house. You could figure it out, but it’ll take 5X times longer, and you’ll make costly mistakes. Plus, the final structure won’t look (or perform) the way it should.

AI optimization is the same thing. It’s not any "one skill" — it’s SEO, GEO, citations, PR, your website, reviews, social media, and reputation management all working together.

Miss one piece, and the whole structure weakens.

Become AI's #1 Recommendation

SEO is the engine that powered your growth for the last 15 years. AI is the engine for the next 15.

Move early and you'll lock in your visibility, while everyone else fights over scraps.

If you’ve been wondering how to get a business recommended by AI, now is the time to act.

Contact my team at Comrade Digital Marketing today. Our expert marketers have run 1,000+ experiments on AI search, and know exactly how to get you more leads as the AI takes over.

Secure your pipeline or get locked out for good.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Found by AI