Guide

How to get ChatGPT to recommend your business

Short answer. You cannot submit a form or pay to be recommended in ChatGPT's answers. ChatGPT answers from what it learned in training and, when it searches the web, from pages it can reach and read. To become a candidate, let its search crawler in, say plainly on your site what you sell and where, keep the same facts everywhere, get mentioned on other trusted sites, and test with real customer questions. Answers change between runs, so test more than once.

Published 15 November 2026 by AINameCheck.

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Step by step

Write down the 10 questions a new customer would ask, with your place and language, for example "Where can I get a same-day phone repair in Leeds?". Ask them in ChatGPT while logged out and note which businesses are named. The free check does this for ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
Check that robots.txt does not block OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI documents separate crawlers: OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search results, GPTBot for training, and ChatGPT-User for pages a person asks ChatGPT to open. OpenAI says these settings are independent, so you can block GPTBot and still allow OAI-SearchBot.
Put the basics in plain text on your own site: what you sell, who it is for, where you operate, prices if you publish them, opening hours, contact details, delivery and returns. Use one page per service or location. Text inside images or PDFs is harder for a crawler to use.
Keep the same name, address, phone number, hours and description everywhere: your site, Google Business Profile, directories, and social profiles. Conflicting facts make a business harder to describe with confidence.
Get mentioned on pages that are not yours: local directories, industry listings, local press, supplier or partner pages, and genuine customer reviews. Do not buy reviews or mentions.
Add structured data (JSON-LD) that matches the visible text, for example Organization or LocalBusiness and FAQPage. It helps machines read the page. No engine promises to use it to recommend you.
If you are eligible, claim your business in ChatGPT. See how to claim a business in ChatGPT. OpenAI's article says claiming lets you manage information you provide. It does not control ChatGPT's independent recommendations.
Check again every month and compare counts, not single answers. The same question can give a different answer on the next run.

What this does not do

No step here makes a recommendation certain, and nobody outside the engine can promise one. This guide covers organic answers, not advertising. If a competitor is named instead of you, look at the sources the engine used: that shows which pages shape the answer.

Questions

Can I pay ChatGPT to recommend my business?

Not for organic answers. There is no form or fee that places a business in ChatGPT's answers. This guide covers the organic side: being easy to find, read and trust.

Does blocking GPTBot hide my business from ChatGPT search?

OpenAI documents GPTBot (training) and OAI-SearchBot (search results) as separate crawlers with independent settings. Blocking GPTBot alone does not remove you from search results. Blocking OAI-SearchBot can.

Why does ChatGPT name my competitor and not me?

Usually because the competitor is described more clearly or mentioned more often on pages the engine found. The paid kit lists who was named instead of you and the sources each engine used, so you can see what to match.

How long until ChatGPT starts naming my business?

Nobody can say. It depends on when crawlers revisit your pages and on how the engine builds each answer. Re-check monthly and compare counts over time.

Do I need an llms.txt file?

It is cheap and harmless, but we have not seen any engine say it uses llms.txt to decide recommendations. Clear pages on your own site matter more.

Sources

See where your business stands

The free check asks ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews 10 customer questions and counts how many named your business.

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