How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?

Step by step: what should I do first?

1. Check where you stand. Ask ChatGPT and Gemini the questions your buyers ask, without your name in them, and note who gets named. A free check does this across four engines at once.
2. Let AI crawlers in. Make sure your robots.txt doesn't block OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, PerplexityBot or Google, and that your pages load without a login.
3. Write one clear sentence about your business (what you are, where, for whom, one proof point) and use it on your homepage, Google Business Profile and main listings.
4. Answer questions directly on your pages. Put a 40–60 word answer at the top of each service page, use question-style headings, and include real facts: prices, years, areas served.
5. Add structured data (Organization or LocalBusiness, Service, FAQPage) so engines can read the facts without guessing.
6. Get onto the sources AI cites for your questions: directories, review sites, "best of" articles and marketplaces.
7. Collect reviews that mention the service and the city.
8. Track the same questions every week and keep the fixes that move your share.

Why does ChatGPT name my competitors and not me?

Usually because other websites talk about them more clearly: they appear on the directories and roundup articles the AI read, they have more reviews that name the service, or their own pages state facts AI can lift. The fix is rarely one big change; it is several small, consistent signals. See how AI chooses sources.

What should I avoid?

• Hidden text or instructions aimed at AI. Engines treat it as manipulation.
• Different business names, phone numbers or addresses on different sites.
• Pages that need a login or heavy scripts to show their text.
• Fake reviews or made-up claims. AI cross-checks sources, and they can harm trust.