In the AI Era: How ChatGPT Finds and Recommends Your Business
What every SMB needs to understand to stay visible in the AI era
The way people discover businesses is changing radically. When someone asks ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity for a restaurant recommendation, a plumber, or a marketing agency, they no longer go through Google. They ask an artificial intelligence to choose for them directly.
But how do these systems actually decide which business to recommend? And most importantly, how can an SMB ensure it appears among these recommendations?
⚙️ The New Discovery Layer
AI assistants have become the new gatekeepers of online visibility. Unlike search engines, they don't just return a simple list of links: they actively evaluate, compare, and recommend businesses based on the conversation context.
Example: When a user asks "What is the best Italian restaurant in Tbilisi for a romantic dinner?", ChatGPT takes into account:AI no longer just "finds": it filters, reasons, and chooses. And this changes everything for digital marketing.
🔍 How AI Assistants Find Business Information
AI models draw their data from several complementary sources:
1. Real-time web search
Modern AIs can explore the Internet to verify current information: menus, hours, reviews, news...
➡️ Your website must be AI-readable, not just human-readable: structured text, up-to-date data, clear vocabulary.
2. Databases and APIs
AI systems consult platforms like Google Business, TripAdvisor, Yelp, or local directories.
➡️ A complete and consistent business profile on these platforms increases your chances of being recommended.
3. Model's internal knowledge
Some AIs already have information about your business from their training, but this data quickly becomes obsolete.
➡️ Hence the importance of keeping your information fresh and consistent everywhere.
4. Cross-platform verification and consistency
Before recommending a business, AI cross-checks data from multiple sources.
➡️ If your hours differ between Google and Facebook, AI will probably choose another, more reliable business.
💡 What Makes an AI Recommend Your Business
For an AI assistant to cite or recommend your SMB, several signals count:
1. Complete digital presence
AIs favor businesses with rich, detailed, and uniform information across all platforms: description, hours, contact, photos, services, FAQ...
2. Reputation and reviews
AIs aggregate reviews to assess overall trust and satisfaction.
➡️ Encourage your customers to leave authentic reviews and respond to them: this improves your AI "trust profile".
3. Contextual relevance
When a user searches for a "family restaurant" or "emergency plumber", AI needs clear signals.
➡️ Your descriptions must contain the right contextual keywords (e.g., "24/7 service" or "romantic atmosphere").
4. Recent content and activity
An AI interprets an inactive website or Facebook page as a sign of abandonment.
➡️ Publish regularly: photos, updates, news, posts.
5. Authority and trust signals
Press mentions, certifications, labels, links from reputable sites — all strengthen the probability of being recommended.
🚧 The New Gap: AI Optimization
Today, the majority of small and medium businesses are invisible to AI assistants. They've optimized their site for Google... but not for conversational AIs.
The old world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) was based on keywords and backlinks. The new world of IAO (Intelligence Assistant Optimization) relies on:
It's no longer about "tricking" an algorithm, but providing clear, reliable, and AI-exploitable information.
🚀 How to Prepare Your Business for the AI Era
Businesses that adapt now will have a pioneer advantage. Here are the first simple steps to follow:
1. Test your AI visibility
Open ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity and ask the question a customer would ask:
"Which plumber in Lyon intervenes in emergency on weekends?"
"Which Italian restaurant in Paris offers a romantic atmosphere?"
See if your business appears. If not, ask the AI:
"What do you know about [your business name]?"
This will give you an immediate diagnosis: is your information accurate, complete, current?
2. Update your key profiles
3. Encourage recent reviews
AIs value fresh signals. An avalanche of positive reviews from 2022 is no longer useful.
➡️ Better to have 5 recent authentic reviews than a hundred old ones.
4. Create useful and clear content
Write answers to your customers' frequently asked questions:
"How much does an emergency call cost?"
"Do you deliver on Sundays?"
"What are your specialties?"
This content helps AIs understand your business and recommend it more precisely.
🧠 In summary
The future of visibility is no longer played at the top of Google results, but in the answer ChatGPT will give to your future customers.
Small and medium businesses that:
Will be the first to appear in AI recommendations.
🏁 The new reflex to adopt
From today, consider each online update as data for AI. The more accurate, consistent, and current your information is, the more ChatGPT and other assistants can recommend you with confidence.
About the Authors
Darina Tedoradze
Co-Founder & Project Director
Project manager with experience coordinating educational programs and implementing quality standards. Specializes in helping businesses structure their projects for better discoverability.
Valentin MONTEIRO
Co-Founder & Technical Director
Business Data Analyst at Google. Applies data-driven approaches to help businesses optimize their online presence and measure visibility across digital platforms.
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