More people now ask an AI assistant where to eat, who to call for a leak or which dentist is taking new patients. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey, 45% of consumers said they had used ChatGPT or another generative AI tool for local recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier.
Nobody outside those companies knows exactly how each assistant picks its answers, and anyone who promises a guaranteed spot is guessing. But the assistants draw on the same public information people do: your website, your listings, your reviews and what others say about you. The checklist below makes that information clear, consistent and easy to quote.
We wrote about why this matters in AI assistants and local recommendations. This is the practical version.
1. Get your basics identical everywhere
Your business name, address, phone number and hours should match exactly on your website, Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook and the directories in your trade. Assistants compare sources. Conflicting details make you look less reliable.
2. Keep your Google Business Profile complete
Choose the most accurate primary category, add services, hours, photos and a clear description. Many assistants and search features lean on it. Our Google Business Profile checklist goes step by step.
3. Collect recent, detailed reviews
Assistants summarise what reviewers say. Reviews that mention specifics, such as "gluten-free options", "open late", "great with nervous patients", give them something concrete to repeat. Ask every customer for an honest review, and reply to them. See how to ask by text and email.
4. Say plainly what you do, on your own website
Write in the words customers use. One page per main service. Include your area, prices or price ranges if you can, and answers to common questions. Assistants quote clear sentences more easily than clever slogans.
5. Add structured data
Structured data is a small block of code that tells machines what your page is about: your business type, address, hours, services, and frequently asked questions. The standard vocabulary is schema.org. LocalBusiness and FAQPage are the most useful types for most local firms. Many website builders have a setting or plugin for it.
6. Do not block the crawlers you want
Your website's robots.txt file can allow or block automated visitors. Some sites block AI crawlers by accident. If you want to be found by AI assistants, make sure you are not blocking their crawlers, such as OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and Google-Extended. Ask whoever manages your site to check.
7. Consider an llms.txt file
Some sites now publish a plain-text file at /llms.txt that summarises who they are and links their key pages, written for AI assistants. It is a new, informal convention and support varies, but it is quick to add and does no harm.
8. Be mentioned by others
Local news, trade associations, community sites and "best of" lists all count. Assistants give weight to what independent sources say about you.
9. Keep it current
Holiday hours, new services, a move. Update your profile and website first, the same day.
10. Make your reviews checkable
As AI answers become a bigger part of how people choose, being able to show that your reviews are genuine matters more. Sealed reviews, and a seal on your website that checks itself, give both people and machines something solid. More in your seal beyond your website.
How Reputfy helps
Reputfy's LLM visibility tools track whether assistants mention your business, keep your reviews flowing and answered, and seal them so they can be checked. Reputfy also runs an MCP server, so assistants that connect to it can read sealed reviews directly. We explain that in connecting Reputfy to Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants.
