AI Visibility: Does ChatGPT recommend your business?
Some clients now ask an AI to recommend a tradesperson, a restaurant or a firm. By the end, you will know what AI visibility is, how assistants choose the businesses they mention, how it differs from Google, and how to check today if yours appears.
- AI visibility is being mentioned when you ask an assistant for advice.
- An assistant gives a few names, not a page of ten links.
- It relies on what it has learned and, sometimes, on a direct search.
- Clear and consistent information everywhere increases your chances.
- It is measured by asking yourself the questions your clients would ask.
One evening, a family is looking for a plumber for a leak under the sink. Instead of opening Google, they ask ChatGPT: "Which reliable plumber can intervene quickly in Nantes?". The assistant responds with three names, with a sentence about each one. If your business is not among them, this client will never see you. That is the whole stake of AI visibility.
IWhat is AI visibility?
The ability of a business to be cited by AI assistants when someone asks them for a recommendation in its field.
It concerns ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Le Chat or Copilot. We also speak of AI search engine optimization or GEO, for generative engine optimization. It is not decreed: it depends on what the assistants know and find about you.
The question asked is similar to one you would ask a friend: "Where can I eat good market cuisine near the station in Lyon?", "What accountant supports young artisans in the Var?". The answer fits in a few lines. Being in these lines means having AI visibility. Being absent from them means not existing for that person, at that moment.
IIHow is this different from Google search engine optimization?
On Google, a customer sees a list of results, a map, profiles. He compares, he clicks, he goes back. An assistant does this sorting for him and keeps only a few names. There is no second page to fall back on. However, the work to be well seen is very similar: accurate, clear information confirmed by other sources.
IIIHow assistants choose the businesses they mention
The internal workings of these tools are not publicly detailed, and they change. What we know comes down to two sources. First, the training data: the assistant has read a large amount of public texts up to a certain date. Then, for some assistants and some questions, a live web search, whose results they summarize by sometimes citing their sources. Perplexity, for example, displays its sources next to the answer.
- 1The question arrives
A customer types or dictates their request, with a profession, a location and a specific need. The more precise the question, the more the assistant looks for businesses that match exactly these three elements.
- 2The assistant gathers
It draws on what it has learned and, depending on the tool, launches an online search. It consults company websites, profiles, directories, reviews and articles.
- 3It cross-checks
It favors information it finds consistent in multiple places. A business whose address, services and hours match everywhere seems more reliable than one with conflicting information.
- 4He writes
He chooses a few names, writes a sentence about each one and, sometimes, indicates his sources. What is clear and verifiable is more likely to be picked up.
Remember the central idea: an assistant more readily cites what it understands easily and what other sources confirm. A page that clearly states what, where and for whom helps more than a slogan.
IVWhy your business may be absent from the answers
Absence often has simple causes. A website that talks about "excellence" and "passion" without saying what profession it practices or in what city. A Google Business Profile with old hours. A different address depending on the directory. No recent reviews. Pages that robots cannot read. Each of these flaws makes your business less clear, therefore harder to recommend.
VHow to measure your AI visibility
The simplest method is also the most telling: ask your customers' questions yourself. Note three to five real questions, with your profession and your city, and submit them to several assistants. Repeat at regular intervals, as the answers change.
Check what applies to you: the list remembers your answers on this device.
To save time, ABYS's free AI visibility test does this tracking for you: it indicates whether your business is cited by these assistants when asked the question your customers would ask. It's a starting point, not a final verdict.
VIWhere to start this week
Start with the essentials, which also serve your Google ranking: a homepage that says what you do, where and for whom; a complete and up-to-date Google Business Profile; the same contact details everywhere. Then ask for reviews from your satisfied customers. Details of the levers, sorted by effort, can be found in our guide to being cited by ChatGPT. I recommend you redo your tracking one month later, with the same questions.
One evening, a family asks ChatGPT for a reliable plumber in Nantes. What changes compared to a regular Google search?
?Questions we're asked
How do I know if ChatGPT is talking about my business?
Ask it the questions your customers would ask, with your profession and your city, rather than your name alone. Do the same with Perplexity, Gemini, Le Chat and Copilot, as the answers differ. Note the results and try again later. An AI visibility test automates this tracking and shows you where you appear.
What is GEO in marketing?
GEO stands for generative engine optimization. The term refers to all actions that make a business easier to understand and cite for generative AI assistants. It extends traditional search engine optimization: clear, consistent information confirmed by third-party sources, and content that answers real questions.
Can you pay to appear in ChatGPT?
Beware of any offer that promises a place in written answers: no one can guarantee it. The commercial rules of assistants evolve, verify them directly with each one. The sustainable path is to make your information clear, accurate and confirmed by other sources, knowing that no result is guaranteed.
Does AI visibility replace Google SEO?
No, the two coexist and reinforce each other. Many customers still use Google, and some assistants rely on web searches to answer. A clear website, an up-to-date Google Business Profile and good reviews therefore serve both at the same time.
Check for free whether assistants cite your business when asked the question your customers would ask.
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