Showing up in AI answers

Ask an AI assistant: “Who’s a good dentist in Leeds?” It names three practices, with reasons. Is your business one of them? And if it is, is what it says about you right?

In this lesson, you’ll see where AI assistants get their information about local businesses, in the companies' own words, what actually helps, and how to run a simple check on your own business.

Let’s start with Google, because its AI Overviews and AI Mode sit inside Google Search.

Google says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special optimisations needed. A page just has to be indexed and eligible to show in Google Search with a snippet. Google’s best practices are ones you already know: let search engines crawl your site, keep important content in text, make any structured data match what’s on the page, and keep your Business Profile up to date.

In July 2026, Google updated its guide to optimising for its AI features. In short, it says this is still SEO. You don’t need special files, Google Search ignores llms.txt files, and you don’t need to chop your content into tiny pieces or write in a special style for AI.

What about the other assistants? Here’s what each company says itself.

OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes works with other search providers, and can use your approximate location for local results. A website can only be included if it lets OpenAI’s search crawler, called OAI-SearchBot, read it. And OpenAI says plainly: placement is not guaranteed. It also warns that results and citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect.

Microsoft’s advice for appearing in Copilot answers: clear headings and question-and-answer sections, content that’s fresh and accurate, consistent names, and, for local businesses, up-to-date details in Bing Places.

Perplexity says it searches the internet in real time, and gives numbered sources with each answer. Its crawler, PerplexityBot, is what lets websites appear and be linked there.

See the pattern? They all read the web: your website, your listings, your reviews. So the foundations from this course are the foundations here too. Ask your web person to check that your site doesn’t block these search crawlers.

How many people use AI to find local businesses? Here’s the latest US data. In a BrightLocal survey published in July 2026, 31 percent of people used AI tools for local recommendations at least once a month. But only 8 percent started their latest local search there, and 43 percent of those went on to check Google. And of people already using AI for local searches, only 18 percent felt ready to contact a business it recommended. The rest kept looking.

So AI helps people make a shortlist. Google often still gets the final check.

Let’s run the check. You’ll need W12, your AI answer check, and your W3 facts sheet.

Pick three assistants your customers might use: for example ChatGPT, Copilot and Perplexity. Start a fresh chat each time. OpenAI says ChatGPT can use your saved memories when it searches, so a fresh chat gives a fairer picture.

Ask two questions. First: “Who’s a good”, then your service, “in”, then your town. Second: “What do people say about”, then your business name.

Try it now for your own business.

For each answer, fill in a row. Were you mentioned? What did it say? Which sources did it cite? You can usually open them. And did it get any facts wrong, like your hours, phone number, services or area?

Now look at those sources. If an answer has your old hours, the source it cites often shows you where it found them. That’s the listing to fix first.

A trade tip. If you have time, add a third question that fits your business. A restaurant might ask whether it takes bookings, or when it’s open on Sunday. A trade or a clinic might ask which areas it covers. Those are the facts customers act on.

Answers change from day to day and from person to person, so treat this as a snapshot, not a score. Do it again in three months.

A rules check. You’ll hear about “AEO” and “GEO” services: answer engine and generative engine optimisation. Google’s advice on hiring an SEO, updated in June 2026, says to ask whether that advice matches Google’s own guidance, and to be wary of tools that claim to be approved by Google Search. It also says no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google. And OpenAI says ChatGPT placement isn’t guaranteed. So if someone promises you an AI recommendation, walk away.

And never fake it: no fake reviews, no planted mentions, and never ask reviewers to use particular words. That breaks Google’s review policy.

A country note. The survey figures are from the US. We don’t have equally recent figures for the UK or Australia, so your own check matters even more. Some features differ too: OpenAI says ChatGPT’s restaurant bookings use OpenTable worldwide, but Resy only in the US, and Yelp in the US and Canada.

Let’s recap. One: Google says there’s nothing special to add for its AI features. Normal SEO and an up-to-date profile are what count. Two: the other assistants read the web through search partners and providers, so accurate listings, genuine reviews and clear pages help everywhere. Three: nobody can guarantee an AI recommendation, so check what they say and fix what’s wrong.

Your task: complete W12 with three assistants and two questions each. Then fix one or two wrong facts at the source. That’s Module 4 done. In Module 5, we’ll make sure every call and message gets answered.

And if you’d like this checked every week, Flexi Local’s AI visibility tracking checks whether ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity recommend you, and who they name instead. Nobody can guarantee an AI recommendation, and the course works the same either way.