Published on November 4th, 2025.

When I built my first website and implemented SEO so people could find it, there was a clear benchmark for where I was trying to get to. When people searched Google, there was a ranking system, and my goal was to climb to #1. I knew I had to be on the first page, and I could see how close I was getting to the top whenever I wanted to. The website was the single source of truth, and the website was the thing I prioritized. Now, AI is shaking search up in a big way.

ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Apple don’t “rank websites.” AI is not SEO. AI recommends businesses as entities, with their identities split across the internet. AI recommends you when it feels confident about three things:

1. Who you are (NAP - your name, address, phone, services)
   
   

2. What proof you have (recent reviews, photos, licenses, warranties)
   
   

3. That multiple places say the same thing (your site, Google Business Profile, directories)

If it’s easy to find you, trust you, and see proof, your business entity will appear more.

How a recommendation actually works

Imagine, in the middle of the night, you call a friend panicked. Your sewage is backing up, and you need a plumber. Your friend says they know someone. If we were to replace friend with an AI assistant, here is the process they would go through selecting a plumber for you:

1. Understand the ask. “Best emergency plumber near Mesa, open now.”

For the AI assistant, it will become a process of breaking down what you are actually looking for. Here is how it will break down our current query: 

• Location (Mesa) 

• Category (Plumbing) 

• Best (Ratings/Reviews) -> it will likely set a threshold of 4.5 stars and above!

• Availability (Listed Hours)

Once it knows which categories it needs to satisfy, it can look for businesses that match the description.

2. Find candidates. Look at Google Business Profiles, your website, and a few trusted sites.

Based on these qualities that AI is looking to fulfill, it will scrape through multiple sources like your Google Business Profile, your website, reviews pages, and other places to find which plumber best meets these qualifications. If your plumbing company does service Mesa, can handle emergencies, is highly recommended, and currently open, then AI is likely to notice you.

3. Check it’s the same business. Are the name, address, and phone exactly the same everywhere?

AI hates to be wrong. The first step will be making sure, over as many sources as it can find, that your business is a real business and everything that it claims to be. Expect AI Assistants to scrape over multiple websites to confirm you are a business that exists.

4. Look for proof. Recent reviews, photos of real jobs, licenses, warranties, hours.

AI also hates to be tricked. While SEO favors having a high quantity of feedback, AI looks deeply into recent review velocity and content. More important than 5,000 five-star reviews from last year are the 20 3-star reviews from this month. 

5. Pick the safest bet. Close by, open now, lots of fresh praise, zero conflicting info.

Once AI has sorted through businesses, making sure it has a list of REAL businesses, it will suggest the business that feels, on average, the most safe.

When any of those steps are fuzzy like old phone numbers, mismatched names, no recent reviews - you look risky, and your competitor gets the nod in AI instead.

Common thread: If your facts match everywhere, you’re easy to recommend.

The “Confidence Recipe”

AI recommending you = Consistency + Fresh, Good Reviews + Clear Services + Proximity + Proof

Raise those ingredients and your recommendations go up.

What each assistant tends to care about

If each ingredient is essential to being ranked, the AI assistants that are taste-testing your meal will have different preferences. Here is a simple, clear break down of what each connoisseur might care most for:

• ChatGPT: Likes clear pages it can quote: services, service areas, licenses, warranty, FAQs.

• Gemini (Google): Loves when your Google stuff (GBP) and your website tell the same story.

• Perplexity: Shows sources for everything. If your proof is easy to cite, you show up.

• Apple (Siri/Maps): Really values clean Apple Business Connect info and solid photos/reviews.

What to fix this week

1. Lock your NAP. One exact name, address, phone per location—letter-for-letter—on GBP, your website, Yelp, BBB, Facebook, etc.

   
   

2. List your services clearly. “Water heater install,” “drain cleaning,” “emergency AC repair,” etc., not vague “we do it all.”

   
   

3. Publish your license & warranty. Put IDs/terms on your site and GBP. Assistants love hard facts.
   
   

4. Create or update city pages. “Plumber in Mesa” with hours, what you do, and how to book.
   
   

5. Make reviews easy. Use badges/links at the end of every job. Aim for steady, recent reviews, not one big spike.
   
   

6. Reply to reviews. Mention the service and city in your replies (“Thanks for trusting us with your Mesa water heater!”).
   
   

7. Add fresh photos. Real jobs, real techs, weekly if you can.
   
   

8. Kill duplicates. Old addresses/phones online? Update or remove them.
   
   

9. Post simple FAQs. “Do you offer same-day service in Mesa?” “What brands do you install?”
   
   

10. Keep hours updated. Assistants will skip you if you look closed.

Why this works

AI assistants are trying not to be wrong. When your facts are consistent and your proof is fresh, you look like the lowest-risk recommendation. That’s it. Make it easy to confirm you, and AI will happily recommend you. Your goal is not to be only the best, but to be the easiest to pick.

Bottom line

Make it consistent, recent, and real. If a stranger can tell who you are, what you do, and that customers love you, an AI assistant can too… and it’ll recommend you.