Short answer: ChatGPT and other AI assistants recommend local businesses by searching the web, then summarizing what they find in your Google and Bing listings, your reviews, your website, and third-party sites like Yelp, BBB, and Angi. To get recommended, make that information consistent, well-reviewed, easy for AI crawlers to read, and specific about what you do and where. There is no secret switch, but there is a clear list of things that move the needle.
I’ve built websites and marketing systems for contractors since 2014. Over the last couple of years, a new question keeps coming up on calls: “A customer told me they found my competitor by asking ChatGPT. How do I get on that list?” This post is my full answer. It covers how each major AI tool picks local businesses, what you can control, and a checklist you can work through yourself.
How does ChatGPT decide which local businesses to recommend?
ChatGPT recommends local businesses by running a web search in the background and summarizing the results. When someone asks “who’s the best plumber in Tulsa,” ChatGPT doesn’t pull a name from memory. It sends queries to search providers, reads the pages and listings that come back, and writes an answer from them, usually with citations.
OpenAI hasn’t published every detail of how this works. What we do know:
- ChatGPT search uses third-party search providers. Bing has been a major one, and OpenAI also runs its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, to find and index pages for search answers.
- Local answers lean on business listings. When ChatGPT shows a map or a list of local businesses, the details (name, address, hours, rating) come from listing data, not your website alone.
- Reviews and review text matter. AI answers often say things like “known for fast emergency service” or “customers praise their cleanup.” That language comes from reviews and from articles that describe you.
- Third-party mentions carry weight. “Best of” lists, directories, local news, and Reddit threads are all fair game for the search step.
So the practical takeaway is simple. If you are invisible or inconsistent across search engines and directories, ChatGPT has nothing good to say about you.
How do Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini pick businesses?
Google’s AI features pick local businesses mostly from Google’s own index and Google Maps data. That means your Google Business Profile is the single biggest input. AI Overviews and AI Mode build answers from pages Google has already crawled and ranked, and local answers often pull in the same businesses you see in the Maps “local pack.”
A few things worth knowing:
- Your Google Business Profile is the source of truth for Google. Categories, services, hours, photos, and reviews all feed the local results that AI Overviews draw from.
- Regular Google rankings still matter. Google has said AI Overviews are grounded in its search results. Pages that rank well and answer the question clearly are more likely to be cited.
- Google-Extended is not the switch for AI Overviews. Blocking the Google-Extended token in robots.txt controls whether your content is used for Gemini model training and some grounding. It does not remove you from AI Overviews, which use regular Googlebot. Don’t block Googlebot.
If you want a deeper look at the Maps side, read my breakdown of Google Maps ranking factors for home service businesses.
What about Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot?
Perplexity and Copilot work the same basic way: search first, then summarize. The differences are in which index they search.
| AI tool | Main search source for local answers | Crawler to allow | Listing that matters most |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Third-party providers (Bing has been a major one) plus OpenAI’s own index | OAI-SearchBot | Bing Places, Google, major directories |
| Google AI Overviews / AI Mode | Google index and Google Maps | Googlebot | Google Business Profile |
| Gemini | Google search and Maps data | Googlebot | Google Business Profile |
| Perplexity | Its own index plus web search partners | PerplexityBot | Directories, reviews, your site |
| Microsoft Copilot | Bing | Bingbot | Bing Places for Business |
Two things jump out from this table. First, Bing matters more than most contractors think. A lot of owners have never claimed their Bing Places listing, and it feeds both Copilot and, at least in part, ChatGPT. Second, your site has to be crawlable by more than just Google.
What signals do AI assistants use to recommend a local business?
AI assistants use the same trust signals a careful homeowner would: Are you real? Are you nearby? Do you actually do this service? Do other people say you’re good? Here is how each signal shows up.
Business listings and map data
Your Google Business Profile and Bing Places listing tell AI tools your name, category, service area, hours, and phone number in a structured format. Pick the right primary category, list every service you offer, and keep hours current. My Google Business Profile management page covers what I update each month.
Reviews and review text
Review count and rating matter, but the words inside the reviews matter too. A review that says “they replaced our water heater the same day in Broken Arrow” tells an AI tool exactly what you do and where. You can’t write reviews for customers, and you shouldn’t script them. You can ask customers to mention the job they hired you for. I cover this on the review management page.
Third-party lists and directories
AI answers often cite sources like Yelp, BBB, Angi, HomeAdvisor, Nextdoor, Houzz, local “best of” articles, and Reddit threads. You don’t need to be on every directory on earth. You do need accurate profiles on the ones that rank for your service in your city. Search “best [your service] in [your city]” and see which sites show up. Those are the sites AI tools are likely reading too.
Reddit deserves a special note. Threads like “Anyone know a good roofer in Columbus?” show up in both Google and AI answers. Don’t spam them. If a happy customer mentions you there naturally, that’s a strong signal you can’t fake.
Consistent entity and NAP information
“Entity” is just a fancy word for a clearly identified thing, like your business. AI tools try to confirm that the “ABC Plumbing” on Yelp is the same as the “ABC Plumbing LLC” on Google and the one on your website. NAP means name, address, and phone. If those details conflict across sites, the AI tool has less confidence in you. Use the exact same business name, phone, and address (or service area) everywhere.
Schema markup
Schema is code on your website that labels facts for machines: this is a business, this is its phone number, these are its services, this is its service area. The common types for contractors are LocalBusiness (or a more specific type like Plumber or RoofingContractor), Service, and FAQPage. Schema doesn’t guarantee anything, and no AI company has published exactly how they weigh it. But it removes guesswork, and it’s cheap to do right.
Answer-first service pages
AI tools quote passages that directly answer a question. A page titled “Water Heater Installation in Tulsa” that opens with “We install tank and tankless water heaters in Tulsa and nearby suburbs, usually within 1 to 2 days” is easy to quote. A page that opens with “Welcome to our family-owned company where quality is our passion” is not.
Each core service should have its own page with:
- A first paragraph that says what you do, where, and for whom.
- Clear headings shaped like customer questions (“How much does a water heater replacement cost?”).
- Real details: brands you install, licensing, warranty terms, typical timelines.
- The cities or neighborhoods you serve.
Can AI crawlers actually reach your website?
Many contractor websites are blocking AI crawlers without the owner knowing it. Check this first, because if the bots can’t read your site, nothing else on your site counts for those tools.
The main crawlers to know:
- OAI-SearchBot: OpenAI’s crawler for ChatGPT search. Allow it if you want to appear in ChatGPT search answers.
- ChatGPT-User: fetches a page when a user’s request in ChatGPT needs it.
- GPTBot: OpenAI’s training crawler. Blocking it is a separate choice from search visibility.
- PerplexityBot: Perplexity’s crawler for its search answers.
- Bingbot and Googlebot: these feed Copilot, ChatGPT (via Bing), and Google’s AI features. Never block them.
The Cloudflare problem
If your site runs through Cloudflare, check your bot settings. Since mid-2025, Cloudflare has blocked known AI crawlers by default on new domains, and it offers one-click settings that block AI bots on existing ones. Plenty of web designers flip those on without asking. The result: your site loads fine for you, but OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot get turned away.
To check, log in to Cloudflare, look under Security and the bot settings for any “Block AI bots” or AI crawl control options, and review your robots.txt (yoursite.com/robots.txt). If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, that’s a normal thing to ask for help with. I check it on every AI search optimization setup.
A practical checklist to get recommended by ChatGPT and other AI tools
Work through this list in order. The early items are the foundation, and the later ones build on them.
Foundation (week 1)
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile. Set the most accurate primary category.
- Claim and verify Bing Places for Business. You can import from Google to save time.
- Write down your official business name, phone, address or service area, and website URL. Use it everywhere from now on.
- Check robots.txt and Cloudflare (or your host’s firewall) to confirm OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Bingbot, and Googlebot are allowed.
- Confirm your site is indexed: search
site:yourdomain.comon Google and Bing.
Listings and reputation (weeks 2 to 4)
- Update or claim profiles on Yelp, BBB, Angi, Nextdoor, Houzz, and any trade-specific directory that ranks in your city.
- Fix any old listings with a previous phone number, address, or business name.
- Set up a simple review request process after every completed job. Ask customers to mention the service and their town.
- Respond to every review, good and bad, in a calm, specific way.
Website (weeks 2 to 6)
- Build one page per core service, opening with a direct answer: what, where, how long, and roughly what it costs if you’re comfortable sharing.
- Add an About page with your real name, license numbers, years in business, and service area.
- Add LocalBusiness and Service schema with details that match your listings exactly.
- Add a short FAQ section to key pages using questions customers actually ask you on the phone.
- Make sure the site loads fast on a phone. Slow, bloated sites get crawled less and convert worse.
Ongoing (monthly)
- Post on your Google Business Profile and add new job photos.
- Keep reviews coming in steadily rather than in one burst.
- Look for chances to earn real mentions: local news, sponsorships, supplier “find a dealer” pages, trade associations.
- Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, and Google AI Mode the questions your customers ask, such as “best [service] near [city],” and note who gets recommended and which sources get cited.
What doesn’t work (or isn’t proven)
Some advice floating around about “ChatGPT SEO” is either wrong or unproven. Be careful with:
- Stuffing keywords or city names into your business name. This breaks Google’s guidelines and can get your profile suspended.
- Fake or bought reviews. They violate Google, Yelp, and FTC rules, and platforms are getting better at catching them.
- llms.txt as a magic fix. It’s a proposed file format for AI tools. It’s harmless to add, but I haven’t seen evidence that the major assistants rely on it for local recommendations. Don’t skip the basics for it.
- Anyone promising “#1 in ChatGPT for everything.” AI answers change by user, location, and wording. Nobody controls them.
Why this matters for home service businesses
Homeowners are starting to ask AI tools the same questions they used to type into Google: “Who should I call for a roof leak?” “Is this HVAC company legit?” The businesses that show up have clean, consistent, well-reviewed footprints across the web. That’s the same groundwork that wins on Google Maps, so you’re not choosing between old SEO and AI SEO. You’re doing both at once.
This is the core of what I do at SEO Slushie. The $1,000 setup includes the schema and entity groundwork, and the monthly plan covers ongoing AI-search optimization alongside local SEO. For agreed-upon target terms we pick together, I guarantee page one on Google plus being recommended by AI chatbots. If you want to see what that costs compared to other options, my post on local SEO pricing for contractors breaks it down.
Want to know what ChatGPT says about your business today?
If you’d like me to check how ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity currently see your business, book a free SEO audit. I’ll look at your crawler access, listings, reviews, and service pages, and tell you plainly what to fix first, whether or not you hire me.