AI search
Can ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants find your business?
Improve the public information assistants may find, and assess AI visibility without treating one generated answer as a stable ranking.
28 September 2026 · 2 min read · By Sitewell
There is no single AI business directory
An assistant’s answer can depend on the question, available search tools, location, model and date. A business appearing in one answer does not guarantee it will appear in another. The absence of a mention is not proof that the website is blocked or unknown.
Separate factual accuracy from recommendations. An assistant may find your opening hours correctly while never selecting you in a shortlist.
Make the business easy to understand from public pages
State the business name, services, location or working area and contact details clearly. Keep important facts in accessible page text, with relevant internal links. Publish evidence you can substantiate rather than claims about being “the best”.
Google’s guidance for its generative search features continues to emphasise sound SEO and useful, accessible content. It does not offer a guaranteed inclusion mechanism.
Source: Google’s guidance for generative search features.
Run a small, repeatable visibility check
- Choose realistic customer questions, including service and location where relevant.
- Record the provider, model if available, date and exact wording.
- Note whether your business is mentioned and whether the linked sources are accurate.
- Repeat consistently and retain the limits of each observation.
- Correct errors on sources you control; do not assume a prompt rewrite fixed public visibility.
Avoid claiming coverage you cannot measure
One set of checks cannot establish visibility across every assistant or every user. Do not combine generated mentions with Google rankings as if they were the same metric. Referral visits and real enquiries provide a different kind of evidence.
Sitewell has configured OpenAI visibility checks for selected prompts. Those observations are provider-specific; they are not a promise of monitoring Gemini or every assistant. Confirm availability and scope with the team.
Start with the same useful website foundations
A clear service page, accurate business information and distinctive evidence help customers directly, even if no assistant cites the page. Prioritise those improvements before commissioning large volumes of content aimed only at being quoted.
Review technical SEO for access and page-structure issues, then use the content guide to decide what is worth adding.