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SEO · 24 Oct 2026 · 7 min read

How to get your business mentioned by ChatGPT, Claude and Google’s AI answers

More people are asking AI tools for recommendations instead of scrolling Google. Here’s what makes a business show up in those answers, and what you can do about it this month.

Marcus · SEO & Content Strategist

Search is changing, not disappearing

People still search Google. But more and more, they also ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity or Google’s own AI answers things like "who’s a good web designer in Melbourne?" or "what should a dental website include?". Instead of ten blue links, they get a short answer that mentions a handful of businesses and sources.

If your business isn’t one of them, you’re invisible in that moment. The good news is that AI tools mostly pull from the same signals good SEO has always relied on: clear, trustworthy information that’s easy to find and easy to quote.

How AI tools decide who to mention

There’s no secret ranking list, but the pattern is consistent. AI answers lean on:

• Pages that answer a question directly and clearly, near the top
• Businesses that are mentioned consistently across the web, not just on their own site
• Reviews and ratings on platforms like Google
• Structured information about who you are, where you are and what you do
• Content that shows real experience, with specifics a generic article wouldn’t have

Write pages that answer real questions

Think about the questions your customers ask before they buy. "How much does it cost?" "How long does it take?" "Do you work with businesses like mine?" Then answer them on your site, plainly, in the first couple of sentences of a page or section.

AI tools love a clear answer they can quote. A page that rambles for three paragraphs before getting to the point is much less likely to be used.

Use FAQs and structured data

FAQ sections are one of the easiest wins. Each question becomes a neat, self-contained answer an AI tool can lift. Mark them up with FAQ schema so search engines understand the structure.

While you’re there, make sure your site has organisation or local business schema: your business name, address, service area, contact details and social profiles. It’s invisible to visitors but helps machines understand exactly who you are.

Be consistent everywhere

If your business name, address, phone number and description vary between your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and directories, AI tools have less confidence in any of it. Pick one version and use it everywhere.

Get mentioned on other sites

AI answers favour businesses other people talk about. That means:

• Reviews on Google, from real customers, mentioning what you did
• Listings on reputable directories for your industry
• Mentions in local media, industry blogs, podcasts and partner websites
• Case studies or testimonials published on your clients’ sites

You can’t fake this, and you shouldn’t try. But you can make it a habit to ask for reviews, say yes to interviews and share your work.

Show real experience

Generic content is everywhere now, partly because AI made it cheap to produce. What stands out is first-hand detail: real numbers, real projects, real opinions. A post that says "here’s what happened when we rebuilt a café’s website" is far more quotable than "five tips for a better website".

Don’t block the bots you want

Some websites accidentally block AI crawlers in their robots.txt file, or hide content behind scripts that never load for them. Check that your important pages are crawlable and that your content appears in the page itself, not only after someone clicks.

What to do this month

• Add a short FAQ to your three most important service pages
• Check your Google Business Profile is complete and matches your website
• Ask your five happiest recent clients for a Google review
• Rewrite your homepage intro so it says exactly what you do, who for and where
• Search for your business in ChatGPT and Claude and see what they say

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