ChatGPT recommendations

    Also called how ChatGPT recommends businesses, ChatGPT local search.

    A ChatGPT recommendation is when ChatGPT names your business in answer to a question like 'who's a good emergency plumber in Round Rock'. For local questions it usually searches the web first, reads a handful of pages and listings, and writes its answer from them. Businesses get named when those pages clearly say what they do and where, and when their details and reviews agree.

    Doug's Field Guide · Updated

    Where ChatGPT gets its answer

    The model's training data is months or years old and holds little about any one small business. So for a local question, ChatGPT search looks things up live. It uses third-party search providers, content from partners, and OpenAI's own crawler, OAI-SearchBot. Bing has long been one of its search sources, so a site that Bing hasn't indexed is easy to miss.

    OpenAI's crawler documentation says sites that block OAI-SearchBot won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers. That is a real setting worth checking, since some security plugins and hosting templates block AI bots by default. GPTBot is a separate crawler used for training, and blocking it doesn't keep you out of search answers.

    There is no paid placement in ChatGPT's normal recommendations. You can't buy the spot.

    What makes it name one business over another

    ChatGPT writes from what it reads, so it names the businesses the sources make easy to describe. If three sources agree that a roofer in Tulsa does storm repair, answers the phone on weekends and has fresh reviews, that roofer is an easy name to write down. These are the things that make you easy to describe.

    • A page that answers the question in its first sentences: service, town, speed, rough price.
    • The same name, phone, hours and service area across your site, Google, Bing Places, Apple, Yelp and trade directories.
    • Recent reviews that mention the actual work, which it often quotes or summarizes.
    • Being named in the local roundups, directories and forum threads it cites.
    • Being clear about who you serve, like 'we only do commercial HVAC' or 'we take Delta Dental'.

    Why the answer changes from day to day

    Ask the same question twice and you may get different names. Answers vary with wording, location, the model version and what the search returned that moment. That is why one screenshot proves little. Ask the same few questions the same way each week and count how often you're named, and which sources show up again and again. Those repeat sources are where your effort pays back.

    Answers also differ by phrasing. 'Best dentist in Plano', 'dentist in Plano that takes Cigna' and 'emergency dentist open Saturday Plano' can name three different offices. Check the questions your customers really ask, not only the 'best' version. The narrow ones are often easier to win, because fewer businesses say plainly that they do that exact thing.

    See how ChatGPT sees you

    1. Ask ChatGPT three questions your customers ask, including your town, and note who it names and what it cites.
    2. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your sitemap if you haven't.
    3. Check robots.txt and any security plugin to make sure OAI-SearchBot isn't blocked.
    4. Claim or correct your Bing Places and Apple Business Connect listings so they match Google.
    5. Ask this week's happy customers for a review that mentions the job they had done.

    Common mistakes

    • Blocking all AI bots in robots.txt, which also blocks OAI-SearchBot and keeps you out of ChatGPT search.
    • Ignoring Bing because nobody you know uses it, when Bing feeds ChatGPT search and Microsoft Copilot.
    • Asking ChatGPT once, getting named, and assuming you're set.

    How Doug does it

    Doug asks ChatGPT your customers' questions every week, alongside Perplexity, Gemini, Google and Google Maps, and records if you're named and which sources the answers cite. He drafts the fixes in your queue, and if you opt in he lists your business inside ChatGPT, Claude and Muse so an assistant can book you directly.

    Check if ChatGPT recommends you, freeHow Doug works

    Terms on this page

    OAI-SearchBot
    OpenAI's crawler for ChatGPT search. OpenAI says sites that block it in robots.txt won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers.
    Retrieval
    The step where an AI tool looks up pages or documents before it answers, so the answer rests on current sources instead of memory alone. Also called retrieval augmented generation, or RAG.
    Training data vs live search
    Training data is the fixed text a model learned from, often months old. Live search is when the tool looks things up at the moment of the question. Local recommendations mostly come from live search.

    Keep exploring

    Sources

    Written by Doug's team from these sources and our own work with local businesses. Search engines change their rules, so check the source before a big decision.

    Someone is asking ChatGPT who to call right now.

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