Why your business needs to show up on ChatGPT, not just Google
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| The shift | Customers increasingly ask an AI assistant for "the best X near me" and act on its answer. |
| New goal | Not "rank on page one" — be the business the AI actually recommends. |
| What wins | Clear, structured, trustworthy content an AI can read and quote. |
| Still do Google | The same clean website works for both — the effort overlaps. |
What is "AI search" — and why does it matter for my business?
Instead of typing keywords and scanning a page of links, more and more people simply ask: "who's a good dentist in Nenagh?" or "best carpet cleaner near Thurles?" — and ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Google's own AI answers give them a short, confident recommendation. AI assistants now reach hundreds of millions of people every week, and that habit is only growing.
For a local business that changes the game. If the assistant names three businesses and you're not one of them, you were never even in the running — the customer never saw a list to choose from.
How is being recommended by ChatGPT different from ranking on Google?
Google hands people a list and lets them pick. An AI assistant does the picking for them. It reads across the web, forms an answer, and recommends specific businesses in a sentence or two. So you're no longer fighting to be the tenth link on a page — you're trying to be the source the AI quotes. That rewards clarity and trust over keyword-stuffing.
“A year ago, ‘get me on Google' was the whole conversation. Now half my clients have had a customer say ‘ChatGPT recommended you.' If an AI can't read and understand your website, it can't put your name forward — so that's exactly what we build for.” — Luke Dee, SuirViewDigital
What actually makes an AI assistant recommend a business?
There's no secret button, but the ingredients are consistent:
- A website an AI can read — clean structure, clear headings, and plain answers to the questions people ask.
- Structured data (schema) — behind-the-scenes markup that tells search engines and AI exactly what you do, where, and how to reach you. Google's own structured-data guidance is the standard here.
- A complete Google Business Profile — hours, services, photos and genuine reviews. AI leans heavily on this for local answers.
- Trust signals across the web — being mentioned naturally on local and industry sites, not spammy links.
Put together, that's GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation: the same idea as SEO, aimed at AI answers as well as search rankings. It's part of how we build every SuirViewDigital site.
So should I forget Google?
No — and you don't have to choose. Google still drives the majority of searches, and the same well-structured, fast, trustworthy website that ranks on Google is exactly what an AI assistant reads. Do it once, properly, and you show up in both places.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI search?
When people ask an assistant like ChatGPT or Perplexity a question and get a direct recommendation instead of a list of links. The goal is to be a business it names.
How do I get my business recommended by AI assistants?
Have a real website an AI can read, with clear services and structured data, keep your Google Business Profile complete, earn genuine reviews, and get mentioned across trusted sites. That's GEO.
Should I still bother with Google?
Yes — the same clean website works for both, so the effort overlaps rather than doubles.
Want to be the business AI recommends?
We build websites that Google and AI assistants can both read and trust. Have a quick chat about where your business stands.
Call 085 153 8421 Book a call