How AI assistants pick a local business to recommend

When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini for the best dentist, plumber or gym in their town, the assistant usually searches the web, reads a handful of pages, and names the businesses those pages point to. So whether you get recommended depends largely on what the web says about you, and on which websites the assistant trusts for that kind of question.

What happens when someone asks

1. A customer types a buying question, such as “best Invisalign clinic in Romford”.
2. With web search on, the assistant looks up pages that answer it.
3. It reads those pages: directories, review sites, official listings, local articles and business websites.
4. It writes an answer that names a few businesses, often with links to the sources it used.

You can only be named if the pages it reads mention you. A business that is missing from the sources it trusts is usually missing from the answer too.

What the sources look like

With web search on, all three assistants return the sources behind an answer, and Snout records every one. In one real Snout scan for a dental clinic, the most-cited websites were NHS.uk, a competing clinic's own website and a dental directory. The mix is different for every category and town, which is why it is worth looking at your own.

Why ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini disagree

Each assistant searches differently and leans on different sources, so one can name you while another names a competitor for the same question. Answers also change from week to week as the web changes. A single check tells you little; the same questions checked every week tell you whether you are gaining or losing ground.

What makes a business more likely to be named

None of these guarantee a mention, but each gives the assistants more to work with:

1. Be on the sites they cite. Find which directories and review sites come up for your category and town, and make sure you have an accurate listing on each.
2. Say it plainly on your own website. What you do, which town and areas you cover, your services, opening hours and, where you can, prices. Assistants cite business websites, and they can only repeat what is written there.
3. Answer the questions customers really ask. Emergency appointments, weekend opening, typical costs. If nothing you publish answers a question, you are unlikely to be named for it.
4. Keep your name and details consistent. The same business name, address and phone number everywhere makes it easier to recognise every mention as you.
5. Earn reviews where they are cited. Review sites are often among the sources, and real reviews give the assistant something to quote.

Change one thing at a time, then check again, so you can tell what made the difference.

How to check where you stand

You can check by hand: ask each assistant the questions your customers ask, note who is named and which sources are cited, and repeat every week. Or run the free scan on the homepage, which asks 3 questions about your business and town and shows who gets named. Snout's paid plans run the full set of about 15 questions across all three assistants every week. The method is explained on How we measure.