How ChatGPT and other AI assistants choose which local business to recommend

Short answerAI assistants don't keep their own list of local businesses. They look things up, mostly in search engines, map listings and review sites, and name the businesses that turn up often, with the same details everywhere and good reviews. So the quickest way to get named is to be listed, correctly, in the places they look.

Where each assistant looks

• ChatGPT. When Search Engine Land tested ChatGPT's local searches, it ran a Bing search, read the top 20–30 results, and narrowed them to a handful of sources: review sites, local publications and business websites. Local Falcon reports that it draws on Bing Places and sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Facebook, and has no direct link to your Google Business Profile.
• Google AI Overviews and Gemini. These use Google's own search index. Google says there's no special file or markup needed. Your pages just need to be indexed and eligible to show in normal search results.
• Siri and Apple Maps. These use Apple's own business listings, which you manage in Apple Business Connect.

What makes them name you

• Being mentioned in several trusted places, not just your own website.
• The same name, address, phone and hours everywhere. Conflicting details make AI less sure about you.
• Reviews on the sites they read. Strong Google reviews help on Google, but ChatGPT may be reading Yelp or TripAdvisor instead.
• A website that says plainly what you do and where, in text, not only in photos or PDFs.

What you can do this week

1. Claim or check your Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect and Bing Places listings.
2. Make sure your hours, phone and address match on all three, plus Facebook and your website.
3. Pick one review site your customers use besides Google, and start asking for reviews there.
4. Add a sentence to your homepage that says what you do and where, e.g. "Family bakery in Richmond, cakes to order".
5. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity what they'd recommend for your type of business nearby, and note who they name.

What doesn't work

You can't pay ChatGPT to be recommended, and nobody can guarantee a spot in an AI answer. Anyone promising "number one on ChatGPT" is guessing.

Related guides

• How to get your business recommended by AI
• Why isn't my business showing up on ChatGPT?
• Which business listings does AI use?

Sources

• Search Engine Land: How does ChatGPT conduct local searches? (May 2025)
• Local Falcon: ChatGPT local search data sources (Nov 2025)
• Google Search Central: AI features and your website