AI Recommendation Checklist: 17 Checks to Get ChatGPT to Name Your Business

If you only have 15 minutes

1. Check robots.txt (2 min)

   Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Remove any 'Disallow: /' under OAI-SearchBot.

2. Run prompt 1 and 5 (5 min)

   Search on. Write down every business named and every source cited.

3. Fix your top line (5 min)

   Homepage first sentence: what you do, for whom, where. Use the words buyers used in the prompt.

4. Send one review request (3 min)

   Text your last happy customer the direct Google review link.

Baseline: what ChatGPT says today

With search on, ChatGPT reads live web pages and shows sources. Without search, it answers from what it learned in training. Run each prompt both ways, logged out or in a temporary chat, and save the answers.

Who are the best {service} providers in {city}? I'm a {type of customer} and care about {price / speed / quality}.

What do you know about {business name} in {city}? What do they offer and what do customers say?

I'm comparing {your business}, {competitor 1} and {competitor 2} for {job}. Which would you pick and why?

1. Can ChatGPT reach your site?

• robots.txt does not block OAI-SearchBot.

  CONFIRMED (OpenAI crawler docs): sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot won't appear in ChatGPT search answers, apart from navigational links.

• Your firewall or CDN isn't blocking OpenAI's published IP ranges.

  Some security settings block AI crawlers by default even if robots.txt allows them.

• Your key facts are in plain HTML text, not only in images, PDFs or JavaScript widgets.

  Crawlers read text most reliably.

• Your site is indexed in Bing (check in Bing Webmaster Tools, free).

  LIKELY. OpenAI says ChatGPT search uses third-party search providers; Bing has been reported as one. Being indexed in Bing is free insurance.

2. Can it understand what you do?

• One page per service, each saying what, for whom, where and roughly what it costs in the first two sentences.

  Clear pages are easy to quote. Vague ones get skipped.

• Your homepage names your category in words a buyer would use.

  If you say 'growth solutions' and buyers ask for 'SEO agency', you don't match.

• An About page with founder name, location, years in business and real credentials.

  Gives AI tools concrete facts to repeat.

• Name, address, phone, hours and service area are the same everywhere online.

  Conflicting facts make you harder to describe confidently.

• An FAQ answering the questions buyers actually ask (price, timeline, guarantees).

  Many recommendation prompts include a condition like 'affordable' or 'fast'.

Why the same businesses keep getting named

When search is on, ChatGPT reads a handful of pages for your question and writes an answer from them. If the same few list articles, directories and review pages rank for "best {service} in {city}", the same few businesses appear in what it reads. That is LIKELY, not confirmed: it follows from how OpenAI describes search (live pages, cited sources), but OpenAI has not published how it weighs them.

So the practical question is not "how do I trick ChatGPT". It is "which pages does it read for my category, and am I on them?". Your 10-prompt log answers that. A business that appears on four of the five cited pages has a much better chance of being named than one with a great website that nobody else mentions.

This also explains why results can change fast. When a new list article starts ranking, or a directory updates, the sources change and so can the names. Re-test monthly instead of trusting one screenshot.

3. Do others vouch for you?

LIKELY, not confirmed: AI answers tend to repeat what many trusted sources agree on. This comes from looking at what ChatGPT cites, not from an OpenAI rule.

• Google Business Profile complete, with recent reviews you've replied to.

  Reviews are public trust signals and often show up in local answers.

• Listed on the 2–3 review or directory sites that ChatGPT cited in your baseline test.

  Those are the pages it already reads for your category.

• Mentioned in at least one 'best {service} in {city}' or 'best {tool}' list article.

  Category prompts often cite list articles.

• Real customers or partners mention you on their sites or social profiles.

  Independent mentions are harder to fake than your own claims.

• If your buyers use Reddit or niche forums, you're mentioned there honestly (no fake accounts).

  Forum threads are often cited for recommendation questions.

4. Keep it accurate

• Update prices, services and hours on your site and profiles whenever they change.

  Search-based answers pull from whatever is live.

• Ask old directory listings with wrong info to correct it.

  Wrong facts elsewhere can be repeated.

• Re-run the 3 baseline prompts monthly and log the answers.

  Answers change. A log shows if your fixes work.

5 fixes to become recommendable this week

1. Unblock OAI-SearchBot

   Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt. If you see 'User-agent: OAI-SearchBot' followed by 'Disallow: /', remove it.

2. Rewrite your top service page opening

   Two sentences: what you do, for whom, where, and the price range or how pricing works.

3. Ask five customers for a review

   Send a direct link to your Google review form.

4. Claim the listings ChatGPT cited

   Use the Sources list from your baseline test. Claim or create your profile on each.

5. Pitch one list article

   Email the author of a 'best {service}' article ChatGPT cited and give them a reason to include you.

The 10-prompt test (log template)

1. Who are the best {service} providers in {city}?
2. Best {service} in {city} for {customer type}
3. Affordable {service} in {city}
4. {service} near {neighbourhood} with good reviews
5. Who should I hire for {specific job} in {city}?
6. {your business} vs {competitor}: which is better?
7. What do customers say about {your business}?
8. How much does {service} cost in {city}?
9. Is {your business} legit?
10. Recommend a {service} that does {niche thing you do}

Date | Prompt # | Search on? | Businesses named (in order) | Were we named? (Y/N, position) | Sources cited (URLs) | Wrong facts about us | Fix

Email to a list article ChatGPT cited

Subject: Update for your '{article title}' list

Hi {first name},

Your list of {category} in {city} is one of the pages people find when they research this. I run {business}, a {what you do} in {area} since {year}.

One fact you could check: {specific, verifiable fact: price range, speciality, award, number of reviews with link}.

If it fits your criteria, I'd be glad to be considered for the next update. If not, no problem, and thanks for keeping the list current.

{name}
{phone} · {website}

Fix-first table

Common mistakes

• Testing once and drawing conclusions.

  Answers vary by run, user and location. Log at least 10 prompts, monthly.

• Blocking all 'AI bots' in Cloudflare.

  That can include OAI-SearchBot and remove you from ChatGPT search.

• Writing fake reviews or Reddit posts.

  Breaks Google's review policies and Reddit's rules, and can get you removed from the sources ChatGPT reads.

• Buying 'guaranteed ChatGPT ranking'.

  How ChatGPT picks businesses is UNKNOWN. Nobody can guarantee it.

• Describing yourself in jargon.

  If buyers ask for 'SEO agency' and you say 'growth solutions', you don't match the words.