By Surendar Kumar ·

How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT

Try this. Instead of Googling "best dentist in Clifton," open ChatGPT and ask, "Which dentist in Clifton is good for kids and doesn't overcharge?"

You'll get a few names, maybe with a map and some links. Now imagine you run a dental clinic in Clifton and your name isn't on that list. That customer never even sees you.

Let me be honest up front: nobody can guarantee you'll be recommended. Anyone selling "guaranteed ChatGPT ranking" is selling you a story. But there's a lot you can do to give your business a fair chance, and most of it is good old marketing done properly. Here's what actually matters, based on what OpenAI and Google say in their own documentation.

How ChatGPT finds businesses in the first place

When someone asks about local businesses, ChatGPT usually searches the web before answering. OpenAI's help page on searching the web with ChatGPT explains a few things every business owner should know:

  • It uses other search providers. ChatGPT search sometimes partners with other search providers and rewrites the question into targeted search queries. The page points to Microsoft's privacy statement when it explains how those providers handle queries.
  • It uses location. ChatGPT may use an approximate location based on the user's IP address, so "good restaurants near me" can become something like "top restaurants [city]."
  • It can show maps. On iOS and Android, relevant results may include a map.
  • Ranking isn't guaranteed. OpenAI says ChatGPT ranks results using multiple factors, and placement is not guaranteed.

So ChatGPT is reading the web, much like a very fast researcher. Your job is to make sure the web says clear, consistent, positive things about your business, and that ChatGPT is allowed to read your website.

Step 1: Make sure OpenAI's search crawler can reach your website

This one is technical, but it takes five minutes and it's the step most businesses miss.

OpenAI's crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is the bot used to show websites in ChatGPT's search results. Sites that block it won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers (though they can still appear as navigational links). The help page adds that you should also make sure your website host or CDN allows traffic from OpenAI's published search bot IP addresses.

What to check:

  1. Open yourwebsite.com/robots.txt in a browser. If you see User-agent: OAI-SearchBot followed by Disallow: /, you're blocking it.
  2. If your site is behind a firewall or bot protection service, check its bot settings. Some security tools have options to block AI crawlers, so make sure OAI-SearchBot isn't caught by them.

A simple robots.txt rule that allows it looks like this:

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /

There's a separate bot called GPTBot that's used for AI training. OpenAI says the two settings are independent, so you can allow OAI-SearchBot for search while blocking GPTBot if you don't want your content used for training. Your call.

Step 2: Get your business on Bing

Most small businesses in Pakistan and India never touch Bing. I think that's a mistake now. OpenAI's help page references Microsoft when it talks about search providers, and Microsoft's own Bing Places announcement mentions deeper integrations with Copilot. Bing is no longer a search engine you can ignore.

Two free things to do:

  • Bing Places for Business. Microsoft has moved it to bing.com/forbusiness in October 2025, and its announcement says you can import your listings from Google. If you already have a Google Business Profile, this takes minutes.
  • Bing Webmaster Tools. Verify your website and submit your sitemap, the same way you would in Google Search Console. I'm setting this up on my own site too.

Step 3: Complete your Google Business Profile

Google has its own AI features: AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search. Google's guide on AI features and your website is refreshingly direct: there are no extra requirements to appear in them, and no special optimization is needed. The same SEO basics apply, and the guide specifically lists keeping your Business Profile information up to date. I've written a fuller small-business version of that advice in Google AI Overviews: what small business owners should do now.

So fill in everything: categories, services, hours, photos, area served, and a description written for humans. Wrong hours on Google are a small thing that can cost you a customer.

Starting from zero, or stuck at verification? Here's my step-by-step Google Business Profile setup guide for Pakistan, including how video verification works.

Step 4: Keep your details identical everywhere

AI tools pull information from many places: your website, Google, Bing, Facebook, directories, delivery apps, news sites. If your phone number is different on three of them and your address is spelled four ways, you look less certain.

Pick one version of:

  • Business name (exactly how it's written)
  • Address
  • Phone and WhatsApp number
  • Website URL
  • Opening hours

Then update it everywhere. This is the same consistency idea I explain for personal brands in how to rank for your own name on Google. It works for businesses too. My local SEO checklist for small businesses lists the places to update, including Bing Places and Apple Maps.

Step 5: Write pages that answer the questions people actually ask

People don't type "dentist Karachi" into ChatGPT. They ask full questions with conditions:

  • "Which bakery in DHA does sugar-free cakes and delivers on Sundays?"
  • "Best English tutor in Lahore for O Level students, under 20,000 a month?"
  • "Is there a clinic in Gulberg with a female dermatologist?"

If the answer to those questions isn't written anywhere on the web, no AI can recommend you for them. So put the specifics on your website:

  • One page per main service, saying who it's for, where you serve, and what makes you different.
  • Real details: areas you cover, price ranges or starting prices, hours, languages spoken, delivery options.
  • An FAQ page answering the questions customers ask you on WhatsApp every day. Your WhatsApp chat history is honestly the best keyword research you'll ever do.

One myth to drop: Google's guide says you don't need new machine-readable files, "AI text files" or special markup to appear in its AI features. Write clear pages for people. That's the work. If you use AI to help write those pages, follow a process that keeps your real details and facts in. Here's my workflow for writing SEO blog posts with AI.

Step 6: Earn reviews, and lots of them

Think about what an AI tool reads when someone asks for the "best" or "most trusted" anything: listings, ratings and reviews. Customers who mention specifics like "kids," "Sunday delivery" or "female doctor" in their reviews also add those details to the web for you, without you asking for them.

And you can't fake it. Incentivized and fake reviews break Google's rules and can get your profile restricted. Here's how to get more Google reviews without breaking Google's rules, plus how I reply to reviews with ChatGPT so every reply adds something useful.

Step 7: Get mentioned on other websites

Your own website saying you're great is one thing. Other websites saying it carries more weight, for people and for AI tools.

Realistic ways to get mentioned:

  • Local "best of" lists and city guides (reach out and offer details or photos).
  • Industry directories and associations you're actually part of.
  • Local news or community pages when you do something newsworthy, like a charity drive, a new branch or an event.
  • Partnerships: suppliers, venues or brands that can list you as a partner on their sites.

Don't buy links in bulk from strangers. A few real mentions on relevant sites beat hundreds of junk ones.

Step 8: Test it like a customer would

Once a month, open ChatGPT, turn on search, and ask the questions your customers would ask. Try different wordings and different areas. Note who gets recommended and which sources ChatGPT cites.

Those citations are gold. If ChatGPT keeps citing one local listicle or directory, that's where you need to be listed. Remember that results vary between people and change over time, so look for patterns over a few months, not one screenshot.

What not to do

  • Don't hide text on your pages "for AI." Write for people.
  • Don't pay for guaranteed AI rankings. Nobody controls what ChatGPT recommends.
  • Don't post fake reviews or fake listicles. It's against platform rules and it can backfire badly once customers notice.

FAQ

Can I pay ChatGPT to recommend my business?

There's no option to buy a place in ChatGPT's search recommendations. OpenAI says results are ranked using multiple factors and placement isn't guaranteed. Focus on being easy to find and well reviewed across the web.

Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing?

OpenAI says ChatGPT search partners with other search providers but doesn't list them all. Its help page references Microsoft's privacy statement when explaining how search providers handle queries, which is one reason I recommend setting up Bing Places and Bing Webmaster Tools.

How do I check if my website blocks ChatGPT?

Open your robots.txt file at yourwebsite.com/robots.txt and look for a rule disallowing OAI-SearchBot. Also check that your firewall or CDN isn't blocking OpenAI's search bot IP addresses.

Do I need an llms.txt file or special schema for AI search?

Not for Google. Google says you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup to appear in its AI features. Clear pages, accurate business details and good reviews matter more.

Keep reading

Want more like this?

AI search visibility is one of the topics in the digital marketing course I'm launching soon. Follow me on LinkedIn to hear about it first.

Surendar Kumar is a digital marketing consultant and founder. He started PixelTrackMedia (acquired), is building Reviewtor for online reputation management, and runs All AI Directory and TalkToKrishna. He talks about AI, digital marketing and entrepreneurship.

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