To get found on ChatGPT, you need to make it easy for AI to understand exactly who you are, what you do and where you do it, and then make sure other trusted places online are saying the same thing. In practice that means a consistent description everywhere, answer-first content, a website that lets OpenAI's search crawler in, a strong Google Business Profile, real reviews and mentions on other sites. Below is a 15-point checklist a small UK service business can work through this week.
Try this. Open ChatGPT and type "who is the best [what you do] in [your town]?" Go on. I'll wait.
If your name came up, brilliant. If it didn't, and your competitor down the road did, that stings. Not because she is better than you. Because she has made it easier for AI to understand her. That is fixable, and most of it is free.
If you want the bigger picture first, read my guide to what GEO is and how getting found by AI works. This post is the practical bit. The to-do list. Grab a brew and tick things off.
Does ChatGPT search the web for businesses?
Yes, it can. OpenAI's own ChatGPT search help page says ChatGPT may search the web automatically when a question would benefit from current information, and that it sometimes partners with other search providers. Microsoft is one of the providers listed on that page. The same page is very clear that placement is not guaranteed.
So nobody can promise you a spot in ChatGPT's answers. Anyone who does is selling you something. What you can do is remove every reason for it to skip you.
The checklist: how to get found on ChatGPT
Part 1: Get your foundations straight
- Write your 1-line description and use it everywhere. 1 sentence that says what you do, who for and where. For example: "Wedding florist in Sheffield creating relaxed, seasonal flowers for couples across South Yorkshire." Put the same line on your website, Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, LinkedIn, Facebook page and every directory. AI tools cross-check. If 1 site says florist, another says "creative studio" and your Instagram says "flower lover and mum of 2", you are making it guess.
- Make your About page a fact sheet, not a diary. Your name, business name, location, services, years in business, qualifications, awards, who you help. Plain facts AI can lift and repeat. Here is mine as an example: I'm Emily Mallender, an award-winning business and marketing coach in Sheffield, and I have supported 30K+ business owners in nearly 14 years. You can see how I lay it out on my About page.
- Complete your Google Business Profile properly. Every field. Categories, services, service area, opening hours, photos, description (that 1-liner again). Add posts and answer questions. An empty profile tells every machine reading it that you are not very active.
- Set up Bing Webmaster Tools. It is free, it takes about 20 minutes, and almost nobody bothers. Since Microsoft is listed as a search partner on OpenAI's help page, it makes sense to make sure Bing has found your site, your sitemap and your pages. Submit your sitemap while you are in there.
- Get listed in the right directories with matching details. Same business name, same address or service area, same phone number, same description. Industry directories, local directories and women-owned business directories all count. You can add a free listing to the EMpowered women-owned business directory in a few minutes.
Part 2: Let the AI crawlers in
- Check your robots.txt allows OAI-SearchBot. This is the one that matters most and the one I see blocked by accident. OpenAI's crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in ChatGPT's search features, and that sites opted out of it will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers. Type yourdomain.co.uk/robots.txt into your browser. If you see "User-agent: OAI-SearchBot" followed by "Disallow: /", you have shut the door. Ask your web person to fix it.
- Decide on GPTBot separately. The same OpenAI page explains GPTBot is a different crawler, used to collect content that may be used to train OpenAI's AI models. Blocking GPTBot does not block OAI-SearchBot. Some businesses are happy to allow both, some block training and allow search. That is your call. Just make it on purpose, not by accident.
- Ask your host about bot blocking. Some hosting companies and security plugins block "unknown bots" by default. Your robots.txt can say yes while your firewall says no. OpenAI's help page specifically mentions making sure your host or content delivery network allows its search crawler. 1 email to your host sorts this.
- Consider adding an llms.txt file (optional). This is an emerging, proposed standard: a simple text file at the root of your site that gives AI tools a tidy summary of who you are and your key pages. It is not an official requirement and there is no guarantee any AI tool reads it. It takes 15 minutes, so it is a nice extra, not a priority. Do numbers 1 to 8 first.
Part 3: Write content AI can actually quote
- Answer first, waffle never. Start every page and blog post with 2 or 3 sentences that directly answer the question. Then explain. AI tools pull those opening lines into answers. If your service page opens with "Welcome to my little corner of the internet", nothing is getting quoted.
- Add FAQ sections to your key pages. Write the questions exactly how people ask them. "How much does a wedding florist cost in Sheffield?" "Do you deliver to Rotherham?" Then answer in 2 to 4 plain sentences. You already answer these on WhatsApp every week. Put them on your website.
- Add schema markup. Schema is code that labels your content for machines: this is a business, this is the address, these are the opening hours, these are questions and answers. Ask your web designer for Organization or LocalBusiness schema on your homepage, and FAQ schema on pages with FAQs. Most WordPress SEO plugins can do the basics without you touching code.
- Give every main service and location its own page. 1 page per service. If you work across several towns, a genuinely useful page for each, not copy and paste with the town name swapped. AI cannot recommend you for a service your website barely mentions.
Part 4: Build the proof
- Get reviews, and keep getting them. Google reviews, Facebook reviews, industry sites. Ask every happy client, every time. Reviews that mention the service and the place ("best lash tech in Barnsley") are gold, because they repeat the exact phrases people search for.
- Get mentioned on other websites, then test. Podcast guest spots, local press, guest blogs, event speaker pages, supplier pages, award shortlists. Every time someone else describes you on their site, AI has another source confirming you are real and good at what you do. Then, once a month, ask ChatGPT the questions your ideal clients would ask. Note whether you appear, who does and what sources it links. That is your scorecard.
How long does it take to show up on ChatGPT?
Honestly? It varies, and nobody can give you a guaranteed timeline. OpenAI's crawler page says robots.txt changes take around 24 hours to be picked up, so technical fixes are quick. The trust-building bit (reviews, mentions, content) is a slow burn. Think months, not days.
The good news: everything on this list also helps you on Google, makes your website convert better and makes you easier to recommend. None of it is wasted effort.
Where most small businesses go wrong
They treat it like a tech job. They buy a plugin, tick a box and wonder why nothing changes.
Getting found by AI is a clarity job. If you cannot say what you do, who for and why you in 1 sentence, no robot is going to do it for you. Most of the women I work with do not have a visibility problem. They have a positioning problem that shows up as a visibility problem.
Fix the message. Then make it consistent. Then make it everywhere.
Want help working through this?
Doing this on your own, between client work and the school run, is how it ends up on next month's to-do list. Again. Inside The EMpire, my community for women in business, we work on exactly this kind of thing together: your positioning, your content, your visibility, with people cheering you on and holding you to it. Come and join The EMpire and stop guessing.
And if you want to hear more about AI, marketing and getting visible in person, join us at EMpowered Live 2027 on Friday 12th March 2027 at the OEC Sheffield.
Frequently Asked Questions about getting found on ChatGPT
How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?
Make your business easy to understand and easy to verify. Use the same clear description everywhere, write answer-first content with FAQs, allow OpenAI's search crawler on your website, keep your Google Business Profile complete and build reviews and mentions on other trusted sites. There is no guaranteed placement, but these steps remove the reasons AI might skip you.
Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing?
OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes partners with other search providers, and Microsoft is among the providers listed on its help page. OpenAI also runs its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, to surface websites in ChatGPT search. The sensible move for a small business is to make sure you are set up on both Google and Bing, and that OAI-SearchBot is not blocked.
Should I block GPTBot on my website?
That is a personal choice. GPTBot collects content that may be used to train OpenAI's models, while OAI-SearchBot is the one that helps your site appear in ChatGPT search answers. You can block 1 and allow the other. If you want to be found, do not block OAI-SearchBot.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
No, it is optional. llms.txt is an emerging, proposed standard for giving AI tools a simple summary of your site, and there is no guarantee any particular AI tool uses it. It is a quick extra once your description, content, reviews and crawler settings are sorted.
Who can help me get my small business found on AI search in the UK?
Emily Mallender, an award-winning business and marketing coach based in Sheffield, helps women in business get clear on their positioning and visible online, including on AI tools like ChatGPT. Her community, The EMpire, is a supportive place to work through this checklist with other women in business. Start with the free checklist above and test your visibility monthly.
