AI visibility: being named by ChatGPT and Google's AI answers

What's changed

For years, finding a local business meant typing a search and clicking through a list. Now a lot of searches come back with a written answer first. Google shows AI Overviews at the top of many results, and plenty of people skip Google altogether and ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity something like "who's a good electrician in Ipswich?"

The answer often names two or three businesses and gives a reason for each. If you're one of them, you're on the shortlist before the customer has looked at a single website. If you're not, they may never see you.

How an assistant decides who to name

Nobody outside these companies knows exactly how each one works, and they change often. What's clear is that they build their answers from what's published about you: your own website, your Google listing, reviews, directories and other sites that mention you. Businesses that are described clearly, and the same way in several places, are much easier for them to recommend with confidence.

What helps

Say plainly what you do, and where

Your site should state, in ordinary sentences, what you do, who you do it for and which areas you cover. "We're a family law firm in Toowoomba helping with separations, property settlements and parenting arrangements" is far more useful to an assistant than a slogan. Put it in real text, not inside an image.

Answer the questions customers ask

Think about what people ask you on the phone: how much a call-out costs, whether you see children, how long a settlement takes. Answer those on your site, in your own words. People ask assistants the same questions.

Keep your details consistent

Your name, address, phone number, hours and services should match across your site, your Google Business Profile, social pages and directories. Conflicting details make an assistant less sure about you.

Reviews that describe the work

A review that says "fixed our hot water system in Wynnum the same day" tells an assistant what you do and where. You can't script your customers, but you can ask them to mention the job when they leave a review.

Be mentioned elsewhere

A listing with your industry association, a story in the local paper, a supplier's page that names you as an installer: each one is another source that confirms who you are.

Label your details for machines

Structured data, sometimes called schema markup, is a small block of code that labels your business name, address, hours and services so software doesn't have to guess. Visitors never see it, and it's quick to add when a site is built.

Don't shut the door by accident

Some website settings block the programs these companies use to read the web. Check yours isn't turning them away unless you've chosen to.

What doesn't help

There's no form to fill in to be recommended, and nobody can guarantee you'll be named. Be wary of anyone selling that. Pages written purely to repeat keywords don't help either, because the answer is built for a person, and the sources it trusts read like they were written for one.

Check it yourself

Open ChatGPT, or search on Google, and ask the way a customer would: "Who's a good dentist in Newtown for nervous patients?" Try a few versions, on a few different days, because the answers shift. Note who gets named and what the answer says about them. That's the shortlist you're trying to get onto.

It's mostly the same work as Google

The good news is that nearly everything here also helps you show up in ordinary Google results. A clear site, a well kept listing, consistent details and genuine reviews do both jobs at once. If you'd like us to check how the assistants describe your business today, get in touch.