To get your business recommended by ChatGPT, let its search crawler into your site, make your Google Business Profile complete and consistent, earn a steady flow of real reviews, and make your website say plainly what you do, who it is for and where you work. For a service business, there is no submission form. In a study of 10,000 US local businesses published in July 2026, review volume was the strongest signal by a wide margin, while llms.txt and schema markup showed little effect.
That is good news for most small businesses, because none of it is technical trickery. It is the same work that helps you in Google, done with a bit more care. This guide is for owners who have noticed customers saying "I asked ChatGPT" and want to be in the answer.
How does ChatGPT decide which businesses to recommend?
When someone asks ChatGPT for a recommendation, it can search the web and summarise what it finds. OpenAI runs a crawler for this called OAI-SearchBot, and its documentation is direct: "OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in search results in ChatGPT's search features." It also says that "Sites that are opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though can still appear as navigational links."
OpenAI does not publish how ChatGPT chooses which businesses to name. What we do have is its crawler documentation, and outside data on what tends to go with being named.
What does the data say?
Insites, a website audit company, asked ChatGPT and Perplexity about 10,000 US local businesses and published the results in July 2026. The headline findings:
| Finding | ChatGPT | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses the tool knew about | 93.59% | 93.15% |
| Never recommended in unbranded, intent driven searches | 40.88% | 68.79% |
| Results that fully matched the Google Business Profile | 55.58% | 48.05% |
| Results with the wrong phone number | 30.09% | 38.81% |
And the finding that matters most: businesses surfaced by both tools averaged 133.4 Google reviews, against 10.7 for those surfaced by neither. Insites called it "the single strongest correlating signal in the entire dataset." Structured data, llms.txt and Core Web Vitals showed minimal correlation.
Two cautions. These are US businesses, and correlation is not cause: businesses with many reviews are often older and better known in other ways too. Still, it points clearly at where to spend your effort.
Step 1: Let ChatGPT's crawler in
Check your robots.txt file (it lives at yourdomain.com/robots.txt). If it blocks OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT will not show your site in its search answers.
OpenAI treats search and training separately. OAI-SearchBot is for search; GPTBot collects content for training its models. You can allow the first and block the second if you prefer not to contribute to training. Firewalls, security plugins and hosting settings can block crawlers too, so check what your setup does rather than assuming.
Step 2: Make your facts identical everywhere
In the Insites data, nearly half of ChatGPT's answers got some business detail wrong, most often the phone number, then the website. In the same study, being described accurately went with "Google Business Profile strength (reviews, completeness, photos, claimed status), local pack presence, directory coverage and consistency."
- Complete every field in your Google Business Profile: categories, services, hours, service area, website, photos.
- Use the same business name, address and phone number on your website, Google, Apple Maps, Yelp, industry directories and social profiles.
- Remove or update old listings from previous addresses or phone numbers.
This is dull work, and it is one of the highest value hours you can spend.
Step 3: Earn reviews steadily and honestly
Reviews were the strongest signal in the data, and Google says the same for local search: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking."
- Ask every happy customer, at the moment they are happiest, with a direct link to your review page.
- Reply to every review, good and bad, briefly and like a person.
- Never pay or offer anything in exchange for a review, positive or not. Google's policy bans "payment, discounts, free goods and/or services" in exchange for reviews.
A steady flow over months beats a burst in one week.
Step 4: Make your website easy to quote
In the Insites data, website content depth correlated with being found accurately, and website freshness was the strongest factor in whether a business was described positively.
- State what you do, who it is for and where you work in plain words near the top of your homepage and in your footer.
- Give each main service its own page that answers the questions customers ask, with prices or "from" prices if you can share them.
- Put the answer first on every page, then the detail.
- Make sure the site loads, works on a phone and has no broken pages, so crawlers can read all of it.
Does llms.txt or schema markup help?
Probably not much, on current evidence. An llms.txt file is a plain text summary of your site written for AI tools. We publish one on embark-studio.com, because it is cheap to keep up to date and keeps our facts consistent. But in the Insites study it showed minimal correlation with being recommended, and I would not tell anyone it is a ranking lever.
Schema markup is similar. It helps machines read your pages, and it is worth having on a well built site. Google says plainly that there is "no special schema.org structured data" you need for its AI features. If someone sells you either one as the key to AI visibility, ask them for evidence.
What about Google AI Overviews?
The same rules apply. Google's guidance says: "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary." A page only has to be indexed and eligible to show in normal results with a snippet. Good SEO is AI search work.
And as I noted in my guide to hiring a web design agency, nobody can guarantee you a ranking in Google. Nobody can guarantee you a mention in ChatGPT either.
Where to start this week
- Open your robots.txt and confirm OAI-SearchBot is not blocked.
- Complete your Google Business Profile and fix any mismatched details.
- Send a review request to your last ten happy customers.
- Read your homepage as a stranger and check it says what you do, who for and where, in one sentence.
If you want a second pair of eyes, our free website audit covers crawlability, indexing, structured data and the technical issues that stop search engines and AI tools from reading your site. You get a recorded walkthrough, usually within 5 business days, and we do not need any logins. And if running costs matter to you as much as visibility, see what website maintenance costs each month.
Sources
- Insites, The AI visibility benchmark: how 10,000 local businesses actually perform in ChatGPT and Perplexity (27 July 2026)
- OpenAI, Overview of OpenAI crawlers
- Google Maps User Generated Content Policy, Prohibited and restricted content
- Google Search Central, AI features and your website
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my business to show up on ChatGPT?
Allow OpenAI's search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, in your robots.txt file, keep your Google Business Profile complete and accurate, earn real reviews steadily, and make sure your website states plainly what you do, who for and where. For a service business, there is no form to submit.
Does llms.txt help my business appear in ChatGPT?
There is no evidence that it does yet. In a study of 10,000 US local businesses, llms.txt, structured data and Core Web Vitals showed minimal correlation with being recommended. It is cheap to add, so add it if you like, but do not expect it to move anything on its own.
Why does ChatGPT show the wrong phone number or website for my business?
OpenAI does not say exactly where ChatGPT gets business details, but in a study of 10,000 US businesses, accurate answers went with a complete Google Business Profile and consistent directory listings. Only 55.58% of ChatGPT results fully matched the profile, and wrong phone numbers were the most common error.
Do reviews affect whether ChatGPT recommends my business?
They appear to matter a lot. Businesses surfaced by both ChatGPT and Perplexity averaged 133.4 Google reviews, against 10.7 for businesses surfaced by neither, the strongest signal in the study. Google also says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking.
Is getting into Google AI Overviews different?
Not really. A page has to be indexed and eligible to show in normal Google results with a snippet; beyond that, Google lists no extra requirements and no special schema to add.
Where to go next
Written by
James Rhodes
Founder and Lead AI Design Engineer at Embark Studio. Former Art Director at adidas and former Director of E-commerce and Digital Marketing at Roots. James directs every Embark engagement. About Embark
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