How to get your business recommended by AI

The way people find local businesses is shifting. Instead of searching Google and scrolling the map, more customers now just ask an assistant: “Who's a good electrician near me?” — and act on the one it names. If that's not you, you never even get the chance to be considered. The businesses that understand this early have a real, winnable edge.

Why ranking on Google isn't the same as being recommended by AI

It's tempting to assume that if you rank well on Google, AI will recommend you too. Often there's overlap — but they're different systems. Google's map pack ranks nearby listings for a search. An AI assistant writes an answer, pulling from many sources at once and deciding which businesses to actually name. It can name one that isn't top of the map, or skip one that is.

So “we're #1 on Google” and “AI recommends us” are two different wins — and right now, far fewer businesses are paying attention to the second one.

How an AI assistant decides who to recommend

No AI publishes its exact recipe, and each one works a little differently. But they draw on the same kinds of signals a careful customer would — just faster:

• Your Google Business Profile. Your category, your services, whether your details are complete and accurate. A thin or out-of-date profile gives an AI little to work with. See how to optimise your Google Business Profile.
• Your reviews.Volume, rating, recency and your replies all signal a trusted, active business — strong evidence for an AI deciding whether to name you. See how to get more Google reviews.
• Your website and how you describe yourself.Clear, honest information about what you do and where — ideally in the plain language customers actually use.
• Consistency across the web.The same name, address and phone number everywhere. If different sites describe you differently, an AI is less confident it's talking about one real, established business.

What to actually do about it

Here's the reassuring part: there's no separate “AI strategy” to learn. The work that makes an AI confident to recommend you is the same work that wins customers and helps you on Google:

1. Complete your Google Business Profile properly — the right category, full services, accurate details, real photos.
2. Earn genuine reviews, steadily, and reply to them — never buy them; that undermines the trust you're building.
3. Keep your details identical everywhere— website, social profiles, directories.
4. Describe what you do in plain, honest language — the words your customers use, on your profile and your site.
5. Be present where your community is— genuine mentions on local and trade sites give an AI more reasons to trust and name you.

Be honest with yourself about the timeline

No one can promise an AI will name your business, and any tool that guarantees it isn't being straight with you. AI answers differ between assistants and change over time. What you can do is steadily become the obvious, best-supported choice in your area — and then check where you standas you improve. That's a far better position than being invisible to the way a growing share of customers now search.