How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT and Gemini

Ask ChatGPT "where can I buy quality leather bags in Accra?" and it gives you three or four names. Not a page of links. A short list of businesses it thinks are worth your time.

If you're not on that list, that buyer never hears of you. This is the new front door, and most Ghanaian businesses haven't checked whether they're standing at it.

How AI assistants choose businesses

AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google's AI Overviews build answers from information about your business across the web. Depending on the tool, that includes:

• Your website, especially clear pages that answer questions.
• Your Google Business Profile and reviews.
• Directories and listing sites.
• News articles, blogs and "best of" lists that mention you.
• Social profiles and public reviews.
• Live web search results, for tools that search before answering.

When the information is consistent, clear and backed up by multiple sources, AI is more likely to mention you, and describe you correctly. When it's thin, scattered or contradictory, you get skipped, or described wrongly.

Step 1: Check what AI says about you today

Ask several AI tools the questions your buyers would ask:

• "Best [your product] in [your city]"
• "Where can I buy [product] in Ghana?"
• "Is [your business name] legit?"
• "[Your business] vs [competitor]"

Write down which businesses get mentioned, whether you appear, and whether the facts about you are right. Repeat monthly.

Step 2: Make your facts consistent everywhere

Your name, address, phone number, opening hours, services and prices should match exactly on your website, Google profile, Facebook, Instagram, directories and anywhere else you're listed. Old addresses and closed branches confuse AI as much as humans.

Step 3: Write pages that answer questions directly

AI tools favour content that answers questions clearly. On your website:

• A clear "About" page saying who you are, where you are, what you sell and since when.
• A page for each service or product category.
• FAQs written in the way customers actually ask.
• Prices or price ranges where you can.
• Delivery areas, payment options and guarantees, stated plainly.

Short, direct sentences are easier for AI to quote than marketing fluff.

Step 4: Add structured data

Structured data, also called schema markup, is code that tells search engines and AI exactly what your page is about: your organisation, products, prices, reviews, FAQs and location. It doesn't guarantee mentions, but it makes your information easier to read and trust.

Step 5: Get mentioned on sites AI trusts

AI tools look for confirmation from other sources. Ways to earn it:

• Get listed in reputable Ghanaian business directories.
• Get featured in local news, industry blogs and "best of" articles.
• Collect genuine reviews on Google and other platforms.
• Partner with other businesses that mention you.
• Publish useful articles others want to link to.

Step 6: Keep publishing

Fresh, helpful content keeps your business visible to both Google and AI tools. That's one reason we publish so many guides on this blog.

What doesn't work

• Stuffing pages with keywords.
• Fake reviews, which can get removed and damage trust.
• Pages written for robots instead of people.
• Copying competitors' content.

Common questions

Can anyone guarantee ChatGPT will recommend me?

No. Nobody controls what AI tools say. What you can do is make your business clear, consistent and well-referenced, which is what these tools use, and track the results over time.

Is this different from SEO?

It overlaps heavily. Good SEO helps AI visibility. But AI tools also weigh reviews, directories, mentions and how directly your pages answer questions. See Google AI Overviews and local businesses.

How long does it take?

Fixing facts and pages can change some answers within weeks, especially for tools that search the web live. Building mentions and authority takes months.

If you'd like us to do this for you, see our AI search optimisation service.