How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT
ChatGPT does not simply reproduce Google rankings. When someone asks for a local business, it may draw on websites, directories, profiles and other sources to decide which businesses are relevant enough to name. Findable shows UK local businesses where ChatGPT names them, what competitors appear instead and what evidence can be improved.
Based on reviews and reputation, I'd recommend:
AI doesn't name you.
It recommended your competitors in your town. You weren't in the answer.
The short answer
ChatGPT needs enough clear evidence to name you
A local recommendation connects a business identity, a service and a place. If your competitors provide clearer evidence for that combination, ChatGPT may name them instead. That is a possible explanation to test, not a confirmed OpenAI ranking factor.
Read the wider AI visibility guide or see the local-business guide.
Why ChatGPT may recommend competitors instead
What makes ChatGPT recommend one local business over another? There is no public, fixed checklist that explains every ChatGPT answer. Depending on the question and available sources, possible reasons can include:
- Competitors explain their services more specifically.
- Their pages make the relevant location clearer.
- Their website is easier for an AI system to read and connect to the question.
- Profiles, directories and other third-party sources reinforce their business details.
- Your business is present online, but the evidence is not consistent or strong enough to be named in that answer.
Findable tests the actual customer-style questions and records the sources returned. It does not pretend to control ChatGPT or infer a hidden score from one result.
Absent
Based on reviews and reputation, I'd recommend:
AI doesn't name you.
It recommended your competitors in your town. You weren't in the answer.
Named
Based on reviews and reputation, I'd recommend:
AI names your business.
It recommended you alongside others for a real customer question in your town.
Being on Google is not the same as being recommended by ChatGPT
Google search
Where a business can be present
Being indexed is not the same as being named.
ChatGPT answer
Who actually gets named
A source may be present without the business becoming one of the names in the answer.
A Google ranking can help people discover a page, but it does not guarantee that ChatGPT will name the business in an answer. Being indexed is not the same as being named.
Being listed on a directory is also not the same as being recommended. A source may be present without the business becoming one of the names in the answer. The methodology defines those signals separately.
What ChatGPT needs to understand
Make the business, service and place legible
How do you get a local business recommended by ChatGPT? There is no switch to flip. The practical route is to make four things about the business unambiguous wherever ChatGPT might read them, then measure whether the answer changed.
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Who the business is
A consistent name and business context that distinguishes you from similarly named companies.
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What you do
Specific services and useful pages rather than vague wording about doing everything.
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Where you work
Accurate service areas and location context, without unsupported town-name stuffing.
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What supports it
Website content, profiles, directories and other relevant sources that agree about the business.
What Findable checks
Measure the answer, not the assumption
ChatGPT visibility audits
Findable audits whether a UK local business appears in ChatGPT recommendations. For an approved set of customer-style questions about your trade and town, it asks ChatGPT, records whether you were named, who was named instead and which sources were cited, then improves the evidence ChatGPT can read and asks the same questions again after four weeks. Gemini is scored alongside it, and Google AI Overview is recorded where Google shows one.
- 01 Whether your business is named for relevant customer-style questions.
- 02 Which competitors are named instead, where the answer makes that visible.
- 03 Which websites, directories and other sources are cited.
- 04 Where service, location, content or technical evidence may be improved.
The public methodology explains the definitions and limitations. Findable remeasures the same approved questions after the work so the comparison is not quietly changed. For the other surfaces, see Google AI visibility and the wider AI visibility service.
The kinds of questions customers ask
Examples of local intent include:
- Who is a good plumber in Aylesbury?
- Which locksmith should I use in Canterbury?
- Who installs EV chargers near me?
- Best boiler engineer in [town]
- Local electrician for an emergency callout
These examples are illustrative. Actual questions are tailored to the business, service and location context being measured.
What Findable can actually change
Findable cannot change ChatGPT or choose its answers. It can improve the evidence and clarity available to AI systems by working on technical crawl problems, missing or unclear service pages, service and location signals, internal site structure, factual business information and third-party consistency.
Findable’s public research covers 941 businesses across 17 trades and 223 towns, with 61,848 citations logged. Results vary by trade and source type. Read the research.
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Measure
Record where your business is and is not named.
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Find gaps
Prioritise the clearest service, location and technical opportunities.
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Improve evidence
Make the relevant pages and supporting evidence easier to understand.
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Remeasure
Ask the same approved questions again after four weeks.
What Findable cannot guarantee
- ChatGPT answers can vary between runs.
- Models and available sources can change.
- Recommendation positions are not fixed rankings.
- Findable cannot guarantee “number one” or control ChatGPT.
- AI visibility does not guarantee leads or sales.
- Improvement is measured, not assumed.
Questions businesses ask
ChatGPT visibility, answered plainly
How does ChatGPT choose which businesses to recommend?
ChatGPT can draw on the information and sources available to it when answering a customer-style question. A business website, profiles, directories and other references may all contribute. Findable measures the answers and sources rather than claiming to know a fixed hidden ranking formula.
Why does ChatGPT show my competitors but not me?
Possible reasons include clearer service information, stronger location relevance, easier-to-read pages or more consistent supporting evidence. The only reliable way to know what is happening for your market is to measure the questions and sources rather than assume one cause.
Is ChatGPT visibility the same as SEO?
No. They overlap because AI systems may read websites and other search-visible sources, but a Google position does not guarantee a ChatGPT recommendation. SEO and AI visibility are related disciplines with different measurements.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT recommends me?
No. ChatGPT answers can vary and models change. Findable measures whether your business is named, improves the evidence available to AI systems and checks the same questions again; it cannot control or guarantee a particular answer.
Does my website matter?
It can. Clear, crawlable pages help explain who you are, what you do and where you work. We check the current site first, so the right improvement may be better existing pages rather than a new website.
Do directories matter?
Directories and profiles can be sources an AI system reads, but being listed is not the same as being recommended. Findable records which sources appear in measured answers and works on relevant evidence without promising that one listing will change the result.
How do you measure ChatGPT visibility?
We ask customer-style questions for the business, trade and location, record whether the business is named and which sources are cited, then compare the same approved questions again after four weeks.
How long does it take to measure improvement?
We take a baseline first, make the agreed improvements and remeasure after four weeks using the same questions and engines. Answers are not fixed positions, so the comparison is a measurement rather than a permanent ranking promise.
Do I need a new website?
Not necessarily. We identify the evidence gap first. That may lead to clearer service or location pages, better internal structure, consistent business information or technical fixes on the site you already have.
The offer
Start with £99 and measure the change
It is £99 upfront, with remeasurement after four weeks. If measured AI visibility has not improved under the guarantee terms, the initial £99 can be claimed back. From week 6, ongoing service is £99/month: 12 payments in total, with a 12-month minimum term. See full pricing or read the guarantee terms.
Free check
See whether ChatGPT is naming your business
Start with a free AI visibility check and see what the answers say about your business today.
Free. Takes a minute to request. No card.