How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity

When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI features for “a good website developer” or “WhatsApp automation for small business”, the answer is built from pages the system can find, understand and trust. Nobody can guarantee a mention, but you can remove the common reasons businesses are left out.

1. Make sure crawlers can reach you

Check that your robots.txt does not block the crawlers of the assistants you care about, such as OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot and Googlebot. Keep pages server-rendered or statically generated so the text is in the HTML, and submit an XML sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Bing's index feeds several other assistants.

2. State clearly who you are and what you do

AI systems struggle with vague copy. Put a plain sentence near the top of your home page: who you are, what you offer, who it is for and where you operate. Use your exact business name consistently everywhere, and give each service its own page with a direct, quotable answer in the first paragraph. See how we structure ours on the SEO services page.

3. Add structured data that matches the page

• Organization schema on the home page, with your name, logo, contact details and links to your real profiles (sameAs).
• Service or Product schema on each offer page.
• FAQPage schema for questions that are actually answered on the page.
• Article schema with real dates on blog posts.

Only mark up what visitors can see. Schema that contradicts the page can hurt trust.

4. Write pages that answer questions directly

Answer engines quote passages. Use question-style headings, give the answer in the first one or two sentences, then add detail. Include honest specifics such as how a process works, what it depends on and when it is not the right fit. Pages with real expertise are cited more than generic ones.

5. Be mentioned in other places

Assistants cross-check. Consistent profiles on LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, relevant directories and review sites, plus genuine mentions in articles and communities, help them confirm that your business exists and is what you say it is. Keep name, address and phone details identical everywhere.

6. Check and track

1. Ask the assistants questions your customers would ask and note whether you appear.
2. Watch referral traffic from chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai in your analytics.
3. Review Search Console for indexing problems monthly.
4. Update key pages when facts change and keep dates honest.

This is the approach we apply in our growth infrastructure work. If you want an audit of your own site, get in touch.