How Can You Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Search?

A year ago, almost every conversation I had with clients was about Google.

How do we rank higher?

Why has our traffic dropped?

How do we generate more enquiries?

Those questions haven’t gone away, but another one is quickly replacing them.

“Can ChatGPT recommend my business?”

It’s a great question, and one I’m being asked more every month.

People are changing the way they search online. Instead of typing a few keywords into Google, they’re asking complete questions using AI assistants like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.

Questions such as:

• Who are the best SEO companies in Doncaster?
• Can you recommend a commercial electrician in Sheffield?
• Which family solicitor has the best reviews?
• Who provides vacuum excavation across the UK?

Instead of showing ten blue links, AI attempts to recommend the most relevant businesses.

So how do you become one of them?

AI hasn’t replaced SEO

Let’s clear up one of the biggest misconceptions straight away.

AI hasn’t replaced SEO.

In fact, businesses that perform well in AI search usually have one thing in common.

They already have strong SEO foundations.

Think about it.

Before an AI platform recommends your business, it first needs confidence that you’re genuine, trustworthy and capable of answering the user’s question.

Where does it find that confidence?

Your website.

Your content.

Your reviews.

Your reputation.

Your online mentions.

Your Google Business Profile.

Your expertise.

Good SEO has always been about helping search engines understand your business.

AI Visibility builds on exactly those same foundations.

How does AI decide who to recommend?

Although every AI platform uses different technology, they all have the same challenge.

If somebody asks:

“Who are the best commercial electricians in Doncaster?”

the AI has to decide which businesses deserve to appear in its answer.

It doesn’t simply look for the words “commercial electrician.”

Instead, it tries to understand which businesses appear to have genuine authority within that subject.

That’s a huge difference.

Traditional search focused heavily on matching keywords.

AI search is increasingly focused on understanding businesses, expertise and trust.

What makes a business more visible in AI search?

From everything I’ve seen so far, several factors consistently appear to make a difference.

A website that clearly explains what you do

This sounds obvious, but it’s amazing how many websites fail this simple test.

Within a few seconds, both visitors and AI should understand:

• Who you are.
• What you do.
• Where you work.
• Why somebody should choose you.

If your own website struggles to explain those things clearly, AI will struggle too.

Helpful content

One genuinely useful article is often worth far more than twenty average blog posts.

Businesses that consistently publish helpful, original content demonstrate expertise.

That’s exactly what both Google and AI platforms are trying to identify.

Rather than writing for search engines, focus on answering the questions your customers are already asking.

Strong business reputation

AI looks beyond your website.

It also sees reviews, business directories, industry associations, news articles and mentions across the web.

The more consistently your business appears in trusted places, the easier it becomes for AI to understand that you’re a genuine organisation rather than just another website.

Consistency

One thing I’ve learnt after auditing hundreds of websites is that consistency matters.

Your business name, services, contact details and messaging should be consistent wherever your business appears online.

Conflicting information creates uncertainty.

Clear, consistent information builds confidence.

What won’t improve your AI Visibility?

As soon as a new technology appears, people start looking for shortcuts.

I’ve already been asked questions like:

“Can I optimise specifically for ChatGPT?”

“Can I submit my website to Gemini?”

“Is there an AI SEO plugin?”

The honest answer is no.

There isn’t a magic button that suddenly makes AI recommend your business.

Instead, AI appears to reward businesses that have invested in building trust over time.

That’s actually good news.

Because the businesses already investing in quality websites, useful content and good SEO are starting with a significant advantage.

SEO and AI Visibility work together

One of the reasons I’m so positive about AI search is because it doesn’t replace everything we’ve learnt over the last twenty years.

It reinforces it.

Technical SEO still matters.

Helpful content still matters.

Reviews still matter.

Authority still matters.

Building a recognisable brand still matters.

The difference is that those signals are now being used by both traditional search engines and AI assistants.

Rather than thinking of AI Visibility as a replacement for SEO, I see it as the next evolution of search.

Why businesses should start thinking about AI now

AI search is still evolving.

Nobody can honestly tell you exactly how it will look in five years’ time.

What we do know is that more people are already using AI to research products, compare suppliers and ask for recommendations.

Businesses that start preparing today will almost certainly be in a stronger position than those who wait until AI search becomes mainstream.

That’s exactly why we’ve started helping clients understand their AI Visibility alongside their traditional SEO performance.

How Need More Clicks measures AI Visibility

At Need More Clicks, we’ve recently become an Otterly Agency Partner to help clients understand how AI platforms currently describe and recommend their business.

Rather than guessing whether ChatGPT or Gemini knows who you are, we can monitor how your business appears across leading AI platforms, identify opportunities for improvement and measure progress over time.

It’s a natural extension of the SEO work we’ve been doing for years.

My advice

Don’t panic.

Don’t abandon SEO.

And don’t chase the latest AI trend every time somebody posts about it on LinkedIn.

The businesses that are most likely to succeed in AI search over the next few years will be the ones that continue building strong foundations.

Clear websites.

Helpful content.

Technical SEO.

Consistent business information.

Great reviews.

Genuine expertise.

Those things helped businesses succeed in Google.

They’re helping businesses succeed in AI search too.

If you’d like to understand how visible your business currently is across ChatGPT, Google Gemini and other AI platforms, get in touch with Need More Clicks. We’d be happy to explain where you stand today and what practical steps you can take to improve your AI Visibility.