How to Get Recommended by ChatGPT: A Step-by-Step Guide

“Which painter in Lucerne do you recommend?” — More and more Swiss residents are directing their questions not to Google, but to an AI. And the answer ChatGPT gives isn’t a list of ten blue links. It’s a concrete recommendation. A name. Sometimes yours — sometimes your competitor’s.

In this article, we show you step by step how to massively increase the probability that ChatGPT and other AI assistants recommend your business.

Before we get to the concrete steps, we need to understand how ChatGPT works. It’s not a phone book or a search engine index. It’s a language model that generates text based on probabilities.

When someone asks “Which web agency in Switzerland builds fast websites?”, ChatGPT calculates: Which answer is most likely correct and helpful based on my training data and available sources?

This means: ChatGPT recommends businesses that are mentioned frequently, positively, and in the right context within its data sources. It’s not about advertising or who pays the most. It’s about relevance, authority, and consistency.

ChatGPT’s Data Sources

ChatGPT draws its information from multiple sources:

Training data: Everything on the internet up to the training cutoff — websites, blogs, forums, Wikipedia, professional articles
Bing Search (when browsing is enabled): Current search results
Structured data: Schema.org markup on websites
Trusted directories: Google My Business, industry directories, LinkedIn

Step 1: Become a Citable Source

ChatGPT preferentially recommends sources it deems trustworthy. And trust comes from visibility in the right places.

What you should do:

Publish expert content: Write regular blog articles on your core topic. Not marketing fluff, but genuine expertise. If you’re a dentist, write about dental implants, costs, procedures, risks. If you’re an electrician, explain what to watch out for during a renovation.

Appear in industry media: Guest contributions in trade publications, interviews in local media, quotes in relevant articles — every mention in an authoritative source strengthens your position.

Wikipedia and professional directories: If your business is relevant enough, a Wikipedia entry or listing in a professional directory can enormously boost AI visibility. But be careful: Wikipedia has strict relevance criteria.

Case studies and whitepapers: Detailed case studies are gold for AI systems. They demonstrate expertise, provide concrete data, and are exactly the type of content that AI models use as references.

Step 2: Optimize Your Website for AI Crawlers

Your website is your home base. When an AI crawler visits your page, it needs to understand in fractions of a second: Who are you? What do you do? Where? For whom?

Technical foundations:

Fast loading times: AI crawlers abort on slow pages. Aim for under 1 second. More on this
Clean HTML: No JavaScript rendering needed to see the content
SSL certificate: HTTPS is mandatory
Sitemap.xml: Helps crawlers find all important pages
Mobile optimization: Many crawlers simulate mobile devices

Content foundations:

Clear H1 heading on every page: Immediately says what it’s about
FAQ sections: Answer the questions users would ask an AI
About page with concrete facts: Year founded, location, team, specializations
Service pages with detail: Not “We offer web design” but “We build performant websites with Astro.js for Swiss SMEs. Typical price: CHF 5,000–15,000. Typical duration: 4–8 weeks.”

Step 3: Implement Structured Data

Structured data is machine-readable code that tells AI systems in a standardized language who you are and what you offer. This isn’t magic — it’s a technical standard called Schema.org.

The most important schema types for SMEs:

LocalBusiness or ProfessionalService: Company name, address, phone, opening hours, coordinates.

Service: Each service described individually with name, description, and pricing information.

FAQ: Your frequently asked questions in machine-readable format.

Review/AggregateRating: Customer reviews that AI systems can parse.

Article (for blog posts): Author, publication date, topic.

Once you’ve implemented these, AI systems can read your website like a data sheet — quickly, precisely, and without guessing.

Step 4: Perfect Your Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) is one of the most important data sources for AI assistants when it comes to local recommendations. A complete, optimized GMB profile isn’t optional — it’s essential.

Your GMB profile should include:

Full company name (exactly as on your website)
Correct category (main category + up to 9 secondary categories)
Current opening hours (including holidays!)
Detailed service descriptions
High-quality photos (office building, team, work results)
Regular posts (at least once per week)
Responses to all reviews (positive and negative)

Actively collect reviews

AI assistants heavily weight reviews. A business with 4.8 stars from 50 reviews is recommended significantly more often than one with 5 stars from 3 reviews.

How to get more reviews:

Ask satisfied customers for a review immediately after completing a job
Send a direct GMB review link via email or SMS
Respond to every review — this motivates others to review as well

Step 5: Build a Consistent Online Presence

AI models pull information from hundreds of sources. If your company name, address, or description is slightly different everywhere, it confuses the AI. Consistency is critical.

Checklist for consistent information:

Company name: Written identically everywhere (including GmbH, AG, Ltd., etc.)
Address: Same spelling on website, GMB, LinkedIn, industry directories
Phone number: Uniform format (e.g., +41 44 123 45 67)
Description: Core message consistent, even if wording varies
Opening hours: Current everywhere

Where you should be present:

Your own website (most important source)
Google My Business
LinkedIn (company profile + owner’s personal profile)
Industry-specific directories (local.ch, search.ch, etc.)
Social media (at least 1 active channel)

Step 6: Create Content That Answers AI Questions

Think about what questions potential customers would ask an AI. Then create content that answers exactly those questions.

Examples for different industries:

Dentist in Zurich:

“How much does a dental implant cost in Zurich?”
“Which dentist in Zurich is open on Saturdays?”
“Teeth whitening Zurich: costs and methods”

Painter in Bern:

“How much does it cost to paint a 3-room apartment?”
“Which painter in Bern is affordable and reliable?”
“Facade painting cost per m² Switzerland”

Web agency in Switzerland:

“Which web agency builds the fastest websites?”
“How much does a professional website cost in Switzerland?”
“Astro.js agency Switzerland”

Create a detailed blog article or subpage for each of these questions. The more precise and helpful your answer, the more likely AI will use it as a source.

Step 7: Build Authority Through Backlinks

Backlinks — links from other websites to yours — are a strong signal of trustworthiness for AI systems. Not all links are equally valuable:

High-value backlinks:

Links from industry associations and trade publications
Mentions in news media
Links from partner companies and suppliers
Guest posts in relevant blogs
Directory listings on authoritative portals

Less valuable:

Purchased links (can even cause harm)
Links from irrelevant directories
Spam links from forums or comments

Step 8: Test and Adapt Regularly

AI visibility isn’t a one-time project — it’s an ongoing process. Test regularly:

Ask ChatGPT about your business: “Do you know [company name]?” and “Which [industry] in [city] do you recommend?”
Test Perplexity: Same questions, different results
Check Google AI Overviews: Do you appear as a source?
Analyze your competition: Are your competitors being recommended? What are they doing differently?

Document the results and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Realistic Expectations

Let’s be honest: there’s no guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend your business. AI systems are complex, and their answers vary depending on how the question is phrased, the timing, and available data.

What you can expect:

Within 1–3 months: Improved technical foundations, structured data implemented
Within 3–6 months: Initial mentions in AI answers for specific queries
Within 6–12 months: Regular recommendations for relevant queries
Long-term: A position as an authoritative source in your field

The most important factor is persistence. Those who consistently deliver good content, maintain their online presence, and stay technically current will be preferentially recommended by AI systems.

Conclusion: Act Now, Before Your Competition Does

AI visibility in 2026 is what SEO was in 2010: a competitive advantage that early movers secure and latecomers must expensively catch up on. The steps in this article aren’t rocket science — but they require consistent execution.

Start today with Steps 1 and 4 (content and Google My Business), and work systematically through the list. Or talk to us — we’ll help you build an AI-optimized website that gets found not just on Google, but also by ChatGPT and its peers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

No. ChatGPT has (as of 2026) no advertising system like Google Ads. Recommendations are based on training data and search sources, not payment. This makes organic optimization all the more important.

Does this work for very small businesses too?

Yes — especially for local niches, the opportunity is significant. If there are only 5 providers in your industry in your city, the probability of being recommended is higher than in a market with hundreds of providers. The key is being more visible online than the other 4.

How often do ChatGPT’s recommendations change?

ChatGPT’s training data is periodically updated. With browsing enabled, it accesses current Bing results. This means: improvements to your online presence can show effects relatively quickly — but there’s no real-time guarantee.

Do I need to be active on every platform?

No. Focus on the platforms most relevant to your industry. For local service providers, Google My Business is the most important platform. For B2B companies, LinkedIn is often more important. Quality beats quantity.

What does this actually mean in terms of revenue?

That depends on your industry and customer value. If a new customer brings CHF 5,000 in revenue and you receive 2 additional inquiries per month through AI visibility, we’re talking about CHF 120,000 in additional annual revenue. The investment in optimization is typically a fraction of that.