“Who’s a good plumber in Laval?” “Which Thai restaurant should I pick in Sherbrooke?” Your customers are now asking these questions to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity or Copilot. Google’s AI Overviews also show a ready-made answer at the top of the results. The answer takes a few lines and names a handful of businesses. Not ten. A few. If yours isn’t there, the customer calls someone else, often without comparing any further. Here’s how assistants choose who to name, and what you can do to be in the answer.
An answer, not a list
A traditional search engine shows a page of links. The customer sorts through them. An AI assistant does the sorting for them. It reads, summarizes and recommends. That’s convenient for the customer. It’s demanding for you: there’s no second page to hide on.
That answer also changes from one tool to the next, depending on how the question is worded and when it’s asked. No one controls what an AI will say. But we can understand what helps it choose.
How an assistant decides who to name
An AI assistant has no opinion about your business. It builds its answer from the information it finds. Depending on the tool and the question, it may draw on:
- knowledge acquired during its training, from public texts;
- real-time web searches or a search index;
- sources such as directories, review sites, associations and media articles.
From there, it aims to answer with confidence. So it tends to name businesses it can describe clearly and confirm with several sources. Three questions sum up what it “checks.”
Do I understand what this business does?
If your site says “complete solutions for all your needs,” the AI doesn’t know what to do with you. If a page clearly says “residential heat pump repair in Drummondville and the surrounding area,” it can match you to the right question.
Do several sources say the same thing?
A business described the same way on its site, in directories and in local media is easy to confirm. A business whose address, phone number or services vary from one source to another is much harder to confirm.
Are others talking about it?
Your site says what you think of yourself. Mentions elsewhere show what others think of you. Customer reviews, chamber of commerce, associations, articles: these independent signals make a recommendation safer.
Steps that improve your chances
Say clearly what you do, and where
- Create a separate page for each of your main services.
- Name the cities and areas you serve, plainly.
- Describe who you work for: residential, commercial, families, businesses.
Answer the questions your customers ask
People ask AI assistants full questions. Your site should answer them directly. A short FAQ on each service page works well. Start each answer with the essentials, in one or two sentences, then add the details.
Keep the same information everywhere
Same name, same address, same phone number, same hours, on your site and on every platform where you’re listed. We go into this in our article on what AI reads before it recommends you.
Get mentioned by credible sources
- Well-known directories and those in your industry.
- Your chamber of commerce and professional associations.
- Local media: an article, an interview, an event sponsorship.
- Partners and suppliers who can feature you on their site.
The best content for AI is content that genuinely helps a human: precise, verifiable and specific to your business.
The common mistake to avoid: chasing promises
Some offers promise “guaranteed ranking in ChatGPT.” No one can guarantee that. Assistants decide on their own what they answer, and their rules aren’t published.
Another trap: publishing dozens of generic texts stuffed with keywords and city names. That content adds nothing new. It dilutes your message and can hurt your credibility, with machines and customers alike.
Your 6-step action plan
- Ask a few AI assistants to recommend a business like yours in your city. Note who gets named.
- Rewrite the description of your services in simple, precise terms.
- Create one page per main service, with a short FAQ.
- Standardize your name, address, phone number and hours everywhere.
- Look for two or three credible mentions to earn in your region or industry.
- Rerun your tests regularly, with the same questions, to track progress.
When testing, vary the wording. Your customers don’t all ask the same question. Try “best,” “near me,” your neighbourhood’s name or a specific need.
Being the AI’s answer isn’t a stroke of luck. It’s the result of information that’s clear, consistent and confirmed by others. To go further, read our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT, discover our service or request your free audit.
