How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI
Let’s start with something that might surprise you.
Right now, people are asking AI tools like ChatGPT to recommend local businesses. Restaurants in Nottingham. Plant hire in Leicester. Marketing agencies in Derby.
And AI is giving them names. The businesses it recommends are getting calls, enquiries, and new customers. The ones it doesn’t well, they don’t even know they’re being overlooked. So the real question is simple. When someone asks AI to find a business like yours does your name come up?
If you’re not sure, keep reading.
First, Let’s Talk Numbers
This isn’t a small trend. It’s a fundamental shift in how people find businesses.
- Over 50% of Google searches now show an AI-generated answer at the top before any traditional results
- ChatGPT has over 100 million active users asking it questions every single day
- Research shows that AI-cited businesses see a significant jump in brand trust even when users don’t click through
For small and medium businesses across Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, and Castle Donington, this represents a genuine opportunity. Most local competitors haven’t adapted yet. The window to get ahead is open but it won’t stay open forever.
How Does AI Actually Choose Who to Recommend?
Good question. And it’s simpler than you might think.
AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews pull from content across the web. They look for sources that are:
- Clear and easy to understand: no waffle, no corporate speak
- Structured well: proper headings, short paragraphs, FAQ sections
- Trustworthy: reviews, credentials, consistent information online
- Specific and helpful: content that actually answers real questions
If your website ticks those boxes, you’re in the running. If it doesn’t, AI will find someone else who does.
6 Practical Steps to Get Recommended by AI
Here’s exactly what you can do starting today.
1. Answer real questions on your website
Think about what your customers actually ask you. Write content that answers those questions directly and clearly. A Derby-based plumber might write “how quickly can you fix a boiler in Derby?” and answer it properly. Simple, specific, useful.
2. Add an FAQ section to every key page
FAQ sections are one of the biggest wins for AI visibility. AI loves them because they’re structured, clear, and question-led exactly the format it’s looking for.
3. Tidy up your Google Business Profile
Make sure your profile is fully filled out, up to date, and consistent. Your business name, address, and phone number should be identical everywhere online your website, Google, Facebook, directories. All of it.
4. Get more genuine reviews
Reviews are trust signals. AI notices them. After every good job, ask your customer to leave a Google review. A Nottingham restaurant with 200 glowing reviews is far more likely to be recommended than one with 12.
5. Write in plain, conversational English
Seriously. Ditch the jargon. Write the way you’d explain your business to someone at a Castle Donington networking event. Natural language performs far better with AI than stiff, formal copy.
6. Make your website fast and mobile-friendly
AI tools factor in technical quality too. If your site loads slowly or looks broken on a phone, that works against you. A quick technical health check can flag issues you didn’t even know were there.
What This Means for Local Businesses
If you run a business in Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, or the surrounding areas this is genuinely exciting news.
Local AI search is still wide open. Unlike national markets where big brands dominate, local recommendations are up for grabs. A well-optimised local business website can absolutely compete and win against much larger players.
But timing matters. The businesses putting in the work now will be the names AI recommends six months from now. The ones that wait will be playing catch-up.
Where Do You Start?
Honestly? Start with your website content. Read it back as if you’re a customer seeing it for the first time.
- Does it clearly explain what you do?
- Does it answer the questions your customers actually ask?
- Does it feel warm and human or stiff and corporate?
If something feels off, it probably is. And that’s fixable.
We help businesses across the East Midlands make sure their websites are built for the world we’re actually living in not the one from five years ago. Want to find out if your website is ready for AI search? Get in touch with the team today, we’d love to help.