Why AI does not recommend your business and what to check

Check whether the question matches your customer

I start with the offer. What service do you want to sell, to whom and where? “Recommend an accounting firm” covers a different need from “Who handles bookkeeping for a small construction business in my city?” If you serve one region, include it in the test. If you do not take on a particular type of customer, there is little reason to compete for that enquiry.

Write down questions from enquiries, calls and first emails. I also look at the conditions that affect the choice: availability, a particular specialism, how the service is delivered or a required qualification. I leave the business name out of these questions. Adding it would tell the AI whom to mention.

I keep questions such as “What do you know about company X?” separate. They can reveal an old contact or an inaccurate description, but they do not show whether a customer would discover the business while choosing a service. For each question, write down the decision the customer needs to make after reading the answer.

Read the whole answer and open its sources

I record the date, service, model, web search setting, language and any location used in the test. In a consumer app, I also record whether the conversation contained earlier messages. If I measure through an API, I say so. I do not present that result as the answer every customer will see in their app.

Then I check whom the AI recommended and why. Did it suggest real suppliers? Did it choose a different region? Did it only give general advice? Did it name your business under an old name? These findings lead to different checks.

Open the links the answer actually cites. I look for the specific sentence that supports the claim about a business. A link to a homepage does not by itself establish a specialism, opening hours or a current offer. If a source is unavailable, I mark it as unverified rather than guessing what it says.

Check whether the important page can be read

I check the page that answers the question, as well as the homepage. I open it without signing in, check redirects and look for the important information as readable text. I pass any robots.txt block, indexing restriction or hosting challenge screen to the developer.

For a supporting link in Google AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page needs to be indexed and eligible to appear with a snippet. Google says these features have no additional special technical requirements. Meeting the requirements does not guarantee inclusion. [1]

With ChatGPT, distinguish between the crawlers. OpenAI uses OAI-SearchBot for search and GPTBot for content that may be used in training. Their settings are independent. I therefore check the specific rules rather than allowing every crawler with AI in its name. [2]

Find the facts a customer needs to choose

On the service page, I look for a clear answer: what you do, whom you serve, where and on what terms. “Comprehensive solutions tailored to you” does not give me enough information to assess a supplier. In the illustrative accounting example, I would look for the types of businesses served, the scope of the work and how records are handed over.

Someone in the business needs to confirm each claim. If you offer a specialism, show who provides it and what supports their expertise. If timing or capacity matters, explain how a customer can check the current situation. I do not add invented testimonials, results or services the business does not deliver.

I also compare the name, address, contact details and offer with business profiles and the external pages cited by AI. I record any conflict with its URL. I can verify a change on the business’s own website directly; I need to check a change in an external directory again after publication.

Prepare one fix you can verify

I turn the findings into a short task list. Each row contains the customer’s question, the relevant URL, the missing or incorrect fact, the proposed change and the person who will confirm it. If I cannot find the page, I first check the site structure and links. Only then do I propose a new page.

1. Save the starting point

   Keep the AI answer, the exact question and the original page. Without them, it will be harder to establish what changed.

2. Fix the biggest obstacle

   Choose one important service and one evidenced problem. Record the publication date and the exact change.

3. Repeat the same test

   Keep the question and conditions. Compare the whole answer, recommended businesses and cited sources. Treat a possible change as a finding to track further.