A client called me a few weeks ago, genuinely rattled.
She’d been chatting with her teenage daughter, who mentioned she’d used ChatGPT to find a local service, and had booked the first business it recommended without ever opening Google. My client realised she had no idea whether her own business would come up in that same search.
She typed in the question. Her competitor appeared. She didn’t.
That conversation is happening in households across Australia every day. And most small business owners have no idea which side of it they’re on.
First, understand what ChatGPT actually does
ChatGPT isn’t a search engine in the traditional sense. It doesn’t crawl the web in real time and return a ranked list of websites. It’s a language model that has been trained on enormous amounts of text, and it now has browsing capabilities that allow it to pull current information for certain types of queries.
When someone asks ChatGPT “who’s the best accountant in Fitzroy” or “can you recommend a good plumber in Perth,” it synthesises an answer from multiple sources: websites it can access, business directories, reviews, structured data, and the overall information footprint a business has built online.
If your business is well-described, well-structured, and consistently present across multiple credible sources, ChatGPT can confidently include you in its recommendations. If you’re not (or if the information it finds about you is vague, inconsistent, or sparse) it won’t mention you at all.
It’s not personal. It just can’t recommend what it can’t confidently describe.
What ChatGPT looks for
1. A website that clearly says what you do
This sounds obvious, but most small business websites fail it.
ChatGPT needs to be able to read your site and extract a clear, specific description of your business: what you do, who you serve, where you operate, and what makes you different. If your homepage is full of vague phrases like “passionate team,” “quality service,” and “tailored solutions,” it can’t do that.
Specificity is everything. “Melbourne-based accountant specialising in tax returns and bookkeeping for small business owners” is something ChatGPT can work with. “Your trusted financial partner” is not.
2. Consistent information everywhere
ChatGPT cross-references multiple sources. If your business name, address, phone number, and description appear differently on your website, your Google Business Profile, your Instagram bio, and any directory listings, those inconsistencies signal unreliability.
Do a quick audit: search your business name and see what comes up. Is the information consistent everywhere it appears? If not, that’s a straightforward fix with real impact.
3. Schema markup on your website
Schema markup is code that sits in the background of your website and tells AI tools (including ChatGPT’s browsing function) exactly what your business is, what services you offer, where you’re located, and who you serve.
Most small business websites don’t have it. Adding LocalBusiness and Service schema is one of the most effective steps you can take for AI search visibility, and it’s a one-time setup.
4. Mentions and references beyond your own website
ChatGPT builds confidence in a business through volume and consistency of mentions across the web. This includes:
- Google Business Profile (one of the most important sources)
- Industry directories relevant to your business type
- Local business associations
- Press mentions or articles that reference your business
- Reviews on Google, Facebook, and industry-specific platforms
You don’t need to be everywhere. But you need to be present and consistent in the places that matter for your industry and location.
5. Content that directly answers questions
ChatGPT is particularly likely to reference businesses whose content answers the specific questions people are asking. Blog posts, FAQ sections, and service pages that address real customer questions, written clearly and specifically, are the content that gets cited.
If your website has a well-written FAQ section answering questions like “How much does [your service] cost in [your city]?” or “What’s the process for [your service]?”, you’re giving ChatGPT exactly what it needs.
The honest timeline
I want to be straight with you: this isn’t a switch you flip on Monday and see results by Friday.
Google Business Profile improvements can make a difference relatively quickly. Schema markup and on-page changes take weeks to be indexed and interpreted. Building a broader web presence is a longer play: 3 to 6 months before you see meaningful movement in AI search visibility.
But here’s the thing: most of your competitors haven’t started yet. The businesses doing this work now are building an advantage that will compound over time. AI search is accelerating, not slowing down. Starting later just means a steeper climb.
Find out where you stand
The free AI Marketing Snapshot scores your business across five areas (your website and online presence, Google Business Profile, AI search visibility, content and social media, and email and lead nurture) and gives you a prioritised list of what to fix first. No payment step, no obligation.
If you want to go further, see how we approach SEO and AI search and how always-on marketing connects your website, search and marketing into one system.
AI assisted with research and editing. The views and recommendations are GoClearcut's own, and every article is reviewed by a person before it is published.
