By the Rank in Chat team · Updated 22 October 2026 · About a 7-minute read
An honest note first. Nobody outside OpenAI, Google and Perplexity knows exactly how each assistant chooses which businesses to name, and they change their tools often. So there's no secret formula here, only things you can see and check for yourself.
First, check it's really a pattern
One answer isn't a ranking. Before you change anything, ask several questions a customer would ask, in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, on a few different days. If the same competitor keeps coming up and you don't, that's a pattern worth acting on. Our step-by-step guide shows how to check whether ChatGPT recommends your business fairly.
Then look at the competitor the way an assistant would: their website, their reviews and who else mentions them. Compare that with your business. The differences usually fall into six areas.
1. They have more reviews, and more useful ones
Assistants often pass on what customers say about a business, so a steady stream of recent reviews gives them more to work with. Detail matters: "fixed our boiler the same evening in Stamford" says far more than "great service".
What to check: how many reviews each of you has on Google and your trade's review sites, how recent they are, and whether they mention real services and places. What to do: ask every happy customer, send a direct link, and reply to reviews. Never buy or write fake reviews; they're banned under UK consumer law.
2. Their business details are the same everywhere
If your name, address, phone number or opening hours differ between your website, your Google Business Profile and your directory listings, it's harder for any system to be sure it has the right business, or that you're still trading. Tidy, matching details are easier to recommend with confidence.
What to check: your website, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Maps (through Apple Business Connect), Facebook, Yell and any trade directories. Look for old addresses, old phone numbers, a previous business name, or hours that no longer apply.
3. Their website says clearly what they do and where
A home page that says "Emergency plumber in Peterborough, 7 days a week" is easy to match to "who can fix a leak in Peterborough on a Sunday?". One that only says "Quality you can trust" isn't. A page per main service, and a clear list of the towns you cover, help in the same way.
What to check: can a stranger tell what you do and where within a few seconds of landing on your home page? Does each main service have its own page? Are the key facts written as text, rather than only in images, PDFs or a downloadable price list?
4. Other websites mention them
Assistants that search the web read more than the business's own website. Local news, trade body member lists, "best of" round-ups, supplier pages and community sites all add to the picture. A competitor listed by their trade association and thanked on the junior football club's website has more places to be found.
What to check: search for your competitor's name and see which other sites mention them, then do the same for yours. What to do: join the trade bodies you qualify for and say yes when local press or partners offer to mention you.
Want to see who gets named instead of you?
Our free check asks ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your customers ask, and shows you whether you were named, where, and which businesses were suggested instead.
Get my free check5. They answer the questions customers ask
Customers ask specific things: "who does same-day callouts?", "which salons do curly hair?", "who covers the villages near Oakham?". A website that answers questions like these in plain words is easier to name for them. A short, honest FAQ page does a lot of this work.
What to check: list the questions customers ask you on the phone, and see whether your website answers them. Then look at your competitor's.
6. Their website can actually be read
If search engines can't find or read your pages, assistants that rely on search probably can't either. Some websites also block the crawlers AI companies use, sometimes by accident through a "block AI bots" setting at their web host.
What to check: search for your business and main services and see whether your pages appear. Ask whoever runs your website whether anything blocks search engines or AI crawlers, and whether that's what you want.
Self-audit checklist
Go through this list for your business, then for the competitor who keeps getting named. Each "no" for you that's a "yes" for them is a good place to start.
- We have a steady flow of recent reviews, and we reply to them.
- Our reviews mention the actual services we provide and the places we work.
- Our name, address, phone number and hours match on our website, Google Business Profile and every directory listing.
- Our Google Business Profile has the right category, our services, our area and current hours.
- Our home page says in plain words what we do and where, near the top.
- Each main service has its own page, written as text (not only in an image or a PDF).
- Other websites mention us: a trade body, local news, a supplier or a community page.
- Our website answers what customers ask before they call (areas, availability, how pricing works).
- Our important pages appear when we search for them.
- We know whether our website blocks AI crawlers, and we're happy with that setting.
- Any wrong information about us online has been corrected where it lives.
It's rarely one single thing. Nobody can promise that ticking every box puts you in the answer, but each one makes your business easier to find, understand and recommend. For the background, read how AI assistants choose which local businesses to recommend.
The free Rank in Chat check shows where you stand today, and our services page explains the optional help with fixing what it finds.
Questions people ask
Is my competitor paying to be recommended by ChatGPT?
Usually the reason is more ordinary: they're easier to find and describe online, with more detailed reviews, consistent details, clearer service pages or more mentions on other websites. Run the checklist on this page for your business and theirs, and the differences tend to show up quickly.
How long does it take for changes to show up in AI answers?
There's no fixed timescale, and nobody can promise one. Assistants that search the web can pick up changes once search engines have seen them; what an assistant learned in training changes far more slowly. Make the changes, then check again with the same questions every month or two.
Do I need a new website to show up in AI answers?
Usually not. Most of the reasons in this guide are about clear, consistent information, which can often be fixed on the website you already have: a clearer home page, a page per service and honest answers to common questions.
Will more reviews guarantee that I get recommended?
No single thing guarantees a place in an AI answer. Real, detailed reviews help because they give an assistant something specific and trustworthy to say about you, but they work alongside the other points in this guide. Never buy or fake reviews: fake reviews are banned under UK consumer law.
What if an AI assistant says something wrong about my business?
Find where the wrong information probably comes from, such as an old directory listing, an out-of-date page or a closed social media profile, and correct it there. Correcting the assistant in your own chat doesn't change what it tells other people.