When someone asks an AI assistant “who should I hire for X near me?”, it doesn’t pull names from nowhere. It draws on what it can find and trust about businesses across the web. Here’s what actually influences whether you’re the one it names.
Where does ChatGPT get its information?
From two places: what it learned during training, and — increasingly — live web results it looks up when answering (ChatGPT search and similar can browse). For recommendations, the live lookups matter most, because they reflect the current web: your site, your reviews, directories, and articles that mention you.
What makes a business more likely to be recommended?
The same things that signal a real, trusted business to Google — read from across the web, not just your own site:
- Consistent presence — your name, location, and what you do, stated the same way everywhere.
- Reviews and reputation — what customers and third parties say about you.
- Clear, readable content on your own site that plainly states what you do and where.
- Mentions on other reputable sites and directories.
→ Read more: How to rank higher in local search results
Can I just put the right words on my website?
It helps, but your own site is only part of it. AI assistants weigh independent signals heavily — it’s harder to fake what others say about you than what you say about yourself. A site claiming you’re “the best” means little; a steady stream of genuine reviews means a lot.
→ Read more: How customer reviews affect your Google ranking
Does being unreadable hurt me here too?
Yes. If your site is blocked, thin, or image-only, the AI has nothing to read and will lean on competitors it can read. Readability is the entry ticket for AI recommendations just as it is for Google.
→ Read more: How to check if Google can see your website
What to do next
Make it easy for AI to find a clear, consistent, well-reviewed picture of your business: readable site, plain content about what you do and where, and genuine reviews. There’s no trick beyond being a legible, trusted business.
GhostSite checks whether your site is readable and clearly structured — the part AI reads first. Free, in minutes.