How to Help AI Recommend Your Business

Ask an artificial intelligence assistant where to find a good plumber, accountant, restaurant, or marketing firm, and the response may look very different from a traditional web search.

Instead of returning a page full of links, AI tools may return only a few business names. For the companies included, that can feel like a personal recommendation. For those left out, it can mean becoming harder for potential customers to find.

Marketers call the effort to improve a company’s chances of appearing in those responses “answer engine optimization,” or AEO.

The idea is similar to search engine optimization, but the goal is different. Traditional SEO aims to help a website rank higher in search results. AEO focuses on helping tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini understand, trust, and cite a business when users ask direct questions.

The stakes may be growing. Marketing firm Sapt has reported that about 90% of business buyers use AI during purchasing decisions and that roughly half begin their research with a chatbot rather than a search engine.

Those figures reflect the firm’s findings, but the broader trend is clear: more consumers and business buyers are turning to AI tools for recommendations.

Getting mentioned is not simply a matter of using the right keywords.

Optimization specialists say AI systems tend to favor clear, factual pages that directly answer common customer questions. A business website should plainly explain what the company does, where it operates, who it serves, and how customers can get help.

Simple service descriptions and useful FAQs may work better than pages filled with slogans or vague marketing language.

Credibility also matters.

Pages are more likely to be trusted when they include a named author, visible publication or update dates, specific facts, and clear contact information. AI tools need information they can quote or summarize with confidence.

Businesses should also make sure their websites are easy for search engines to find and understand. Some specialists recommend submitting sites to Bing Webmaster Tools, particularly because Microsoft’s search systems may help supply information used by certain AI services.

A company’s own website is only part of the picture.

AI systems may also consider how the business is described elsewhere online. Accurate listings in respected directories, mentions in local news coverage, professional association pages, and genuine customer discussions can all strengthen a company’s visibility.

Consistency is important. A business name, address, phone number, hours, and service area should match across websites and directories.

Reviews can also help establish trust, but shortcuts carry risks.

Fake reviews, planted comments, and phony customer accounts may create a temporary boost, but they can damage a company’s reputation if discovered. Honest feedback and real third-party mentions are far more valuable over time.

Businesses can test their visibility by asking several AI tools the same questions their customers might ask.

A roofing company might ask, “Who repairs metal roofs in this area?” A law office could ask, “Where can I find an attorney who handles estate planning nearby?” A restaurant might ask for recommendations based on cuisine, location, or price.

The results can reveal which competitors are being mentioned and what information the AI is using.

When another company appears, and yours does not, the answer may point to the next marketing task: improve service pages, add clearer facts, update directory listings, answer more customer questions, or build stronger local credibility.

As AI changes the way people search, businesses may need to think beyond appearing in a list of links.

Increasingly, the goal is to become one of the few names an AI assistant is confident enough to recommend.