Key takeaways

  • AI tools recommend businesses they can read, understand and confirm in other sources.
  • Your website must be open to search crawlers and say clearly what you do, for whom and where.
  • Direct answers to real questions, like an FAQ section, are the easiest format to cite.
  • Reviews, mentions on other websites and a complete Google Business Profile build trust.

Search has changed shape

For years, being online meant climbing Google’s rankings. Today, many clients ask an AI tool the full question, something like “which interior design studio in Bristol is good with small flats?”, and get a short answer with a handful of names.

If your business isn’t among those names, for that client it simply doesn’t exist. Traditional SEO still matters, not least because these tools rely on search indexes, but the goal has shifted: ranking well is no longer enough. You need to be cited.

How AI decides who to recommend

There’s no public formula, but there is a clear pattern. The tools tend to recommend businesses that meet three conditions:

  1. They can access the content: the website doesn’t block the crawlers that collect information.
  2. They understand what the business does: the information is explicit, structured and unambiguous.
  3. They find confirmation elsewhere: reviews, directories, press and consistent details.

The five steps below work on exactly these three conditions.

1. Make sure crawlers can read your website

It sounds obvious, but it’s the most common mistake. Some websites block search crawlers without knowing it, through the robots.txt file, a security plugin or a hosting setting.

  • Check that robots.txt doesn’t block Googlebot, Bingbot or AI crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT search) and PerplexityBot.
  • Register your website in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your sitemap. Several AI tools rely on existing search indexes, and Bing’s is one of them.
  • Make sure important information is written as text, not only inside images, videos or PDFs.

2. Say clearly what you do, for whom and where

Pretty but vague slogans are hard to interpret, for people and machines alike. The first sentence on your homepage should answer three questions: what you do, for whom and where.

VagueTailored solutions to transform your space.

ClearInterior design studio in Bristol, specialising in flat renovations and small retail spaces.

Give each service its own page too, with a title that names it the way clients search for it.

3. Answer the questions your clients ask

AI tools exist to answer questions. The more directly your website answers your clients’ real questions, the easier it is to be used as a source.

  • How much does your service cost, on average?
  • How long does it take?
  • Which areas do you cover?
  • How does the process work, from first contact to the end?

Put the answer in the first sentence and expand afterwards. An FAQ section on each service page is a great way to do this.

TipTo find the right questions, reread the emails and messages from the last few months. The questions that keep coming up are the ones your website should answer.

4. Use structured data

Structured data (schema.org) is code, invisible to visitors, that describes your business without any ambiguity: name, address, opening hours, services, service area and reviews.

For a small business, the most useful types are LocalBusiness (or the more specific type for your sector), Service and FAQPage. None of them change how your website looks, but together they remove any doubt about who you are and what you do.

5. Build trust beyond your website

An AI tool won’t recommend a business just because its own website says it’s the best. It looks for confirmation elsewhere:

  • A complete Google Business Profile, with real photos and up-to-date information.
  • Recent, detailed reviews that mention the service and the location.
  • The same name, address and phone number across every directory and social network.
  • Mentions in local press, trade associations and partner websites.

What about llms.txt?

llms.txt is a recent proposal: a plain text file at the root of your website that summarises the business and points to its most important pages, written with language models in mind. It isn’t a standard yet and it guarantees nothing, but it only takes minutes to create. Worth having, as long as the five points above come first.

Where to start

  1. Ask ChatGPT and Perplexity what your clients would ask, and note who shows up.
  2. Check your robots.txt and register the website in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  3. Rewrite the first sentence of your homepage to say what you do, for whom and where.
  4. Add FAQs to your service pages.
  5. Complete your Google Business Profile and ask your latest clients for reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay to appear in ChatGPT’s answers?

No. Organic recommendations can’t be bought: they depend on the information the tools find and can confirm about your business.

Are SEO and AI optimisation different things?

They share the same foundation: a website that’s accessible, fast and clearly written. AI optimisation puts more weight on direct answers, structured data and confirmation of your reputation in other sources.

How long does it take to see results?

Technical fixes, such as unblocking crawlers or submitting your sitemap, take effect within weeks. Reputation beyond your website, with reviews and mentions, builds over months.

How do I know if my business already shows up?

Ask the tools the questions your clients would ask, phrased in several ways, and note the results. In your website statistics, also check for visits coming from chatgpt.com or perplexity.ai.