How to Get Your Business Mentioned in ChatGPT and AI Search Results
To get your business mentioned in ChatGPT and other AI search tools, you need to build a strong, consistent online presence with structured content that AI systems can easily understand and cite. This means optimizing your website with direct-answer content, FAQ sections with schema markup, consistent business information across directories, and authoritative citations—a practice known as Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
AI search isn't a future trend anymore. ChatGPT now handles 2.5 billion prompts per day and has grown to 800 million weekly active users. Google AI Overviews appear on roughly 20% of all search results. And Gartner predicts traditional search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 due to AI chatbots.
If someone asks ChatGPT "What's the best HVAC company near me?" or "Who does AI automation for service businesses?"—and your business doesn't come up—you're invisible to a growing segment of potential customers.
Here's how to fix that.
How AI Search Tools Decide What to Recommend
Before optimizing, you need to understand how AI tools choose which businesses to mention. It's fundamentally different from Google's traditional ranking.
What AI Tools Look For
Consistent entity signals. AI systems build an understanding of your business from everything they can find online—your website, Google Business Profile, directory listings, social media, reviews, and mentions on other sites. The more consistently your business name, services, location, and credentials appear across the web, the more confidently an AI can recommend you.
Authoritative, structured content. 81% of web pages receiving AI citations include schema markup (AccuraCast study). AI systems prefer content that's well-organized with clear headings, direct answers, and structured data they can parse.
Citations and sources. The original Princeton GEO research found that content with citations, statistics, and quotations achieves 30-40% higher visibility in AI responses. When your content cites authoritative sources, AI tools trust it more.
Front-loaded answers. 44.2% of all AI citations come from the first 30% of a page's content. If your key information is buried in paragraph 15, AI tools may never find it.
What AI Tools Don't Care About (As Much)
Traditional SEO signals like backlink count matter less for AI citations. Only 12% of URLs cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot rank in Google's top 10 results. Brand recognition and content quality matter more than domain authority in the traditional SEO sense.
The 7-Step Plan to Get Mentioned in AI Search
1. Make Your Website AI-Readable
AI tools need to crawl and understand your site. Start with the basics:
Allow AI crawlers in your robots.txt. Many websites accidentally block AI crawlers. Make sure your robots.txt file allows access from ChatGPT (OAI-SearchBot), Google's AI systems (Googlebot), and Perplexity (PerplexityBot).
Use clear site structure. Logical URL paths, descriptive page titles, and hierarchical headings (H1 → H2 → H3) help AI systems understand your content structure.
Load fast. AI crawlers, like search engine crawlers, may skip slow-loading pages. Keep your site lean and responsive.
2. Write Direct-Answer Content
When someone asks ChatGPT a question, the AI looks for content that directly answers that question. Structure your content accordingly.
Open every page with a direct answer. The first 2-3 sentences of any page should clearly state what the page is about and answer the primary question it targets. Don't bury the answer after 500 words of introduction.
Example for an HVAC company:
"The average cost of a new AC unit in New Jersey ranges from $3,500 to $7,500 installed, depending on the system size, brand, and efficiency rating. A basic 2-ton unit for a small home starts around $3,500, while a high-efficiency 5-ton system for a larger home can run $7,500 or more."
This format gives AI tools a clean, citable answer they can extract and reference.
Create content targeting questions your customers actually ask:
- "How much does [service] cost?"
- "What are the signs I need [service]?"
- "How long does [service] take?"
- "What's the best [product/service] for [situation]?"
Each of these is a question someone might type into ChatGPT. If your website has the best answer, you're more likely to be cited.
3. Add FAQ Sections With Schema Markup
FAQ sections serve double duty: they answer common questions (good for AI extraction) and can include FAQPage schema markup (which helps both Google and AI systems understand the content structure).
Pages with FAQPage schema are 3.2x more likely to appear in Google AI Overviews (Frase.io). And since AI Overviews pull from the same content pool that feeds other AI tools, this optimization benefits your visibility across the board.
What good FAQ schema looks like:
- 5-8 questions that match real customer queries
- Clear, specific answers (not vague marketing language)
- Answers that stand on their own when extracted from the page
- Schema markup that matches the visible FAQ content exactly
4. Build Consistent Business Listings
AI tools cross-reference multiple sources to verify business information. If your business name, address, phone number, and services are consistent across the web, AI systems can confidently recommend you.
Where to build listings:
- Google Business Profile (most important)
- Yelp
- Better Business Bureau
- Industry-specific directories (Angi, HomeAdvisor for home services)
- Local chamber of commerce
- Facebook business page
- LinkedIn company page
What to keep consistent:
- Exact business name (don't use abbreviations on some platforms and full names on others)
- Address and service area
- Phone number
- Business categories and services offered
- Business hours
ChatGPT sources for local queries come from business websites (58%), business mentions on other sites (27%), and online directories (15%). Your directory listings directly feed AI recommendations.
5. Get More Google Reviews
Reviews are one of the strongest signals AI tools use to evaluate business quality. When ChatGPT recommends "the best plumber in [city]," it's weighing review count, average rating, and recency.
75% of consumers regularly read reviews before choosing a local business, and AI systems reflect this same pattern—they tend to recommend businesses with strong review profiles.
The fastest way to build reviews is automated review collection. A system that texts every customer after a completed job can generate 10-15+ new reviews per month.
6. Create Service Pages That AI Can Extract
Don't put all your services on a single page. Create individual pages for each service you offer, and structure them for AI extraction:
Each service page should include:
- A direct-answer opening (what the service is, who it's for, what it costs)
- Your service area (cities, regions, or states you serve)
- How the process works (step-by-step)
- FAQ section specific to that service
- Your credentials and differentiators
- A clear call-to-action
This gives AI tools specific, citable content for each service query. When someone asks "Who does [specific service] in [location]?", the AI can pull directly from your dedicated page.
7. Publish Helpful Content Regularly
AI tools prioritize fresh, authoritative content. A blog that answers customer questions positions you as an expert source that AI systems learn to trust over time.
Content that gets cited by AI:
- Cost guides ("How much does [service] cost in [region]?")
- Comparison content ("X vs Y: Which is better for [situation]?")
- How-to guides ("How to [solve common problem]")
- Industry statistics and data
- Local market insights
Content with citations and statistics achieves 30-40% higher visibility in AI responses. When you back up your claims with data, AI tools are more likely to cite your content as authoritative.
What's Changing: Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews deserve special attention because Google is still where most people search. Here's what's happening:
AI Overviews now appear on approximately 20% of Google searches, and that number has been growing. When an AI Overview appears, it fundamentally changes the click dynamic:
- Being cited in an AI Overview means 35% more organic clicks than competitors who aren't cited (Seer Interactive)
- Not being cited means a 65% drop in organic click-through rate
- AI Overviews reduce clicks to the #1 organic result by 58% on average (Ahrefs)
In plain terms: when Google shows an AI answer at the top of search results, the businesses cited in that answer get most of the clicks. Everyone else gets dramatically fewer. This is why GEO matters right now—not someday.
What This Means for Service Businesses
For local service businesses—HVAC contractors, plumbers, roofers, electricians—AI search is changing how customers find you. 40% of local business queries now trigger Google AI Overviews.
The good news: only 16% of brands systematically track AI search performance and 47% lack a deliberate GEO strategy. That means there's a massive first-mover advantage for businesses that optimize now.
The businesses that will win aren't the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They're the ones with:
- Strong, consistent online presence across directories
- Well-structured websites with direct-answer content
- Growing review profiles on Google
- Regular content that answers customer questions
- Schema markup that helps AI systems understand their services
Most of your competitors aren't doing any of this. That's your opportunity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get my business mentioned in ChatGPT?
Build a strong, consistent online presence that AI tools can find and verify. This means having a complete Google Business Profile, consistent listings across directories, a website with direct-answer content and FAQ schema markup, strong Google reviews, and regular blog content that answers customer questions. ChatGPT sources local business information from websites (58%), business mentions (27%), and directories (15%).
How do I show up in Google AI Overviews?
Optimize your content structure for AI extraction. Open pages with direct answers, use FAQ sections with schema markup, cite authoritative sources, and keep your content fresh. Pages with FAQPage schema are 3.2x more likely to appear in AI Overviews. Being cited in AI Overviews means 35% more organic clicks versus not being cited.
Does SEO still matter if AI search is growing?
Yes. Traditional SEO and AI search optimization overlap significantly. A well-structured website with good content, strong reviews, and consistent listings performs well in both traditional Google results and AI search. Think of GEO as an extension of SEO, not a replacement. The core work—great content, good site structure, strong online presence—benefits both.
How long does it take to show up in AI search results?
It varies. Businesses with strong existing online presence (many reviews, established website, consistent listings) can see AI mentions within weeks of optimizing their content structure. Businesses building from scratch should expect 2-4 months of consistent effort before seeing meaningful AI visibility. The fastest wins come from adding FAQ schema and restructuring existing content with direct answers.
Is AI search important for local service businesses?
Yes, and increasingly so. 40% of local business queries trigger AI Overviews, and Gartner predicts traditional search volume will drop 25% by 2026 as consumers shift to AI tools. For service businesses, being the one recommended by ChatGPT or cited in a Google AI Overview can be the difference between getting the call and being invisible.
The Bottom Line
AI search is here, it's growing fast, and it's changing how customers find businesses. The good news: the fundamentals of being visible in AI search—strong online presence, structured content, good reviews, helpful answers—are the same things that make a business successful in traditional search too.
The businesses that optimize for AI search now will have a significant head start as the shift accelerates. The ones that wait will spend more to catch up later.
Want to see how visible your business is in AI search?
Book a free audit. We'll check your current AI search visibility, review your content structure, and show you the specific changes that would make AI tools more likely to recommend your business. 30 minutes, no cost, no pressure.
Or take our AI Readiness Assessment to get a quick snapshot of where you stand.
Opus Labs helps service businesses across the United States get found in AI search results and traditional search through AI-powered automation and lead generation systems. If your competitors are showing up in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews and you're not, we build the systems that fix it.
Sources and Citations
- First Page Sage — ChatGPT Usage Statistics
- DemandSage — ChatGPT Statistics 2026
- Gartner — Search Engine Volume Will Drop 25% by 2026
- Semrush — AI Overviews Study
- Seer Interactive — AIO Impact on Google CTR
- Ahrefs — AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 58%
- Princeton University — GEO: Generative Engine Optimization
- Search Engine Journal — Structured Data's Role in AI Search Visibility
- Position Digital — 90+ AI SEO Statistics
- BrightLocal — Local Consumer Review Survey 2024
- BrightLocal — Local SEO Statistics
- BrightLocal — AI Search Makes Local Listings More Important
- Frase.io — FAQ Schemas for AI Search
- Conductor — AEO/GEO Benchmarks Report
- Sequencr AI — GEO Key Statistics and Trends