Marketing · Issue #6
At a glance
What happened
Customers now ask AI, not Google, to find businesses like yours | |
What to do
Run a 15-minute check to see if AI even mentions you | |
Our pick
Google Business Profile |
Free option
Google Business Profile — Yes, free plan |
Somebody near you just asked ChatGPT who's the best in your line of work, and got three names back. If yours wasn't one of them, you lost that customer before your phone ever rang.
Say you run a landscaping company. Someone new to the neighborhood opens ChatGPT and types 'best landscaper near me.' Three names pop up, none of them yours, and they call the first one on the list.
Why this matters for you
AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are already answering search-style questions with recommendations instead of a list of links, and more buyers are starting there instead of Google. That habit is spreading fast, which means the businesses AI decides to name are the ones getting the call.
This means when someone new looks for a business like yours, they might get handed straight to a competitor before they ever see your name, your ad, or your storefront.
AI tools weigh how recently and often people mention you online. A business with fresh Google reviews and active talk in places like Reddit shows up more than one with just a nice website and nothing said about it.
A business with 10 detailed reviews can beat one with 100 one-line ratings, because AI reads for real detail about what you fixed for someone, not just a star count.
What should I do about it?
- Open ChatGPT (free) and type the exact question a customer would ask, like 'best [your service] near [your town]' (2 min).
- Write down every business name that comes back and where yours lands, if it shows up at all.
- Ask the same question in Perplexity and Gemini's free versions, since each one pulls from different sources.
- If you're missing, text or email 5 happy customers today and ask them to leave a Google review describing exactly what you fixed for them.
- Open Google Business Profile and check your business name, address, and phone number match exactly what's listed on Yelp, Facebook, and any other directory you're on.
you'll know it worked when you ask the same question again in a few weeks and your business shows up in the answer.
The fix
Google Business Profile★ Our pickFree
This is the free listing that controls what shows up when someone searches your business name or type on Google, and it's one of the places AI tools pull clean details from, like your hours, address, and services. For an owner worried about being invisible to AI search, keeping this filled out and accurate is the cheapest way to feed AI tools correct information about you. You'd reach for this the same day you run your 15-minute check, right after you find out your listing details don't match what's on your website or other directories.
Free plan available · from $0/month
ChatGPT WorkJust launched
This is a paid version of the same chatbot you'd use for your 15-minute check, but built for everyday business writing, like drafting review requests, answering common customer questions, or writing the 'how do I choose a [service]' post that AI tools like to pull answers from. For an owner short on time, it's a second pair of hands for the writing tasks that build the online presence AI search rewards. You'd reach for it after your check, when you need to write review requests or a few web pages fast instead of staring at a blank screen.
Check current pricing on their site
What can I do right now, without signing up?
Fill in the highlighted bits, then paste this into a free chatbot like ChatGPT or Claude:
Some links above are partner links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. We only feature tools we'd recommend regardless.
