AI assistants recommend businesses they can find and trust on the open web. Make sure your website says clearly what you do, where and for whom; let AI crawlers read it; keep your Google Business Profile and reviews strong; and get mentioned on other trusted sites. There is no form to submit your business to ChatGPT, but these steps make you much easier to recommend.
How AI assistants find businesses
When someone asks "what's a good barber near Union Square?", tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews search the web, read the pages they find and summarise them. So the basics of search still apply. The difference is that AI tools reward pages that state facts plainly, because those are easy to quote.
Step 1: Do not block AI crawlers by accident
AI companies use named crawlers. The main ones are:
- OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search results, and GPTBot for OpenAI's model training
- PerplexityBot for Perplexity
- Claude-SearchBot and ClaudeBot for Anthropic's Claude
- Google-Extended, which controls use in Google's Gemini models. It does not affect normal Google Search.
Check your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Some website hosts and security services block AI crawlers by default. Cloudflare, for example, has a "Block AI bots" setting. If you want to be recommended, make sure at least the search crawlers are allowed.
Step 2: Write plain, quotable facts
Write the sentences you would want an assistant to repeat:
- "Lopez Dental is a family dental clinic in Miami, open Monday to Saturday."
- "Haircuts start at $35. Walk-ins are welcome before 2 pm."
- "We serve Brooklyn and Queens and offer same-day emergency repairs."
Avoid hiding key facts in images, PDFs or vague slogans. A short FAQ section that answers real questions works especially well.
Step 3: Add structured data
Structured data is a small piece of hidden code that labels your business type, address, hours, prices and FAQs in a standard format. Search engines read it directly, and AI tools built on search results benefit too. Your web designer can add it in an hour.
Step 4: Keep your details the same everywhere
Use the exact same business name, address, phone number and hours on your website, Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook and industry directories. When sources agree, both search engines and AI tools trust the information more.
Step 5: Build reviews
AI answers about local businesses often lean on reviews and ratings. Ask happy customers to review you on Google, reply to reviews, and mention specifics in your replies, such as the service they had.
Step 6: Get mentioned on other sites
Assistants are more confident recommending a business that others talk about. Good sources include local news, community and business associations, "best of" lists in your city, supplier or partner pages, and interviews or guest articles.
Step 7: Consider an llms.txt file
llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file that summarises a website for AI tools, placed at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It is not an official standard and no major assistant guarantees it uses it, but it takes minutes to add and does no harm.
How to check where you stand
Ask a few assistants the questions your customers would ask, such as "best family dentist in Miami" or "barber near me open Sunday". Note who gets mentioned and which sources are cited. Those cited pages show you where you need to appear.
What does not work
- Stuffing pages with keywords or city names.
- Fake reviews. They break platform rules and can get your listings removed.
- Paying for "AI ranking" services that promise a guaranteed spot. Nobody can guarantee what an assistant will say.
Every site Stackmane builds comes with clear facts, structured data, an FAQ and an llms.txt file, and allows AI search crawlers. We will make you a free preview first.