How AI assistants choose which businesses to mention

AI assistants choose which businesses to mention by searching the web, reading the pages they find and writing an answer from them. So your chances depend on whether they can reach your site, understand what you do, and find other sources that confirm it. No company publishes exactly how its assistant picks names, and answers change often. But the steps that improve your chances are clear and practical.

How AI assistants put an answer together

When a question needs current or local information, assistants usually search first. ChatGPT search is built to give timely answers with links to relevant web sources. Claude uses separate crawlers to search the web and to fetch pages when a user asks.

Google is the most open about its approach. Its AI Overviews and AI Mode are rooted in its core Search ranking and quality systems. They retrieve relevant pages from the Search index, then write an answer with links to the pages that support it. They also run several related searches at once, known as “query fan-out”, to fill in the details.

That leads to three questions about your business:

• Can the assistant reach your website? If your site blocks its crawler, it cannot read your pages.
• Does it understand what you do? Clear pages that state your services, location and prices are easier to use than vague marketing copy.
• Do other sources agree? Reviews, listings and mentions elsewhere help confirm what your site says.

Steps that improve your chances of being mentioned

1. Let search and AI crawlers in

Your robots.txt file tells automated visitors what they may read. Some sites block AI crawlers without realising it, often through a hosting or security setting. Check your robots.txt and firewall rules against each tool’s crawler documentation.

Two examples show why this matters:

• Google: to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, so Googlebot needs access. Blocking the separate Google-Extended token does not affect your inclusion in Google Search.
• Claude: blocking Claude-SearchBot or Claude-User may reduce your visibility in Claude’s search results. Blocking ClaudeBot only signals that your content should be left out of model training.

Search Console also has a setting for this. The Search generative AI control decides whether your site can appear in AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI features in Discover. It has been available to all websites worldwide since 31 August 2026. Sites are included by default, so check that nobody has switched it to exclude.

2. Say clearly what you do, where and for whom

For each service you offer, a good page states:

• what the service is and who it is for
• where you offer it
• what it typically costs, or how pricing works
• answers to the questions customers actually ask

A short, direct answer near the top of a page is easy for a reader, or an assistant, to quote. Write from first-hand experience, with a unique point of view, rather than rewriting what is already online.

3. Add structured data, without expecting magic

Structured data describes your business in a standard format: name, address, opening hours and services. Organization or LocalBusiness markup on your homepage is a sensible start.

Keep expectations realistic. Google says structured data is not required for its AI features, and there is no special markup for them. It is still worth using for rich results, though not for FAQs. Google stopped showing FAQ rich results from 7 May 2026.

4. Keep your business details consistent

Your business name, address, phone number and opening hours should match across your website, Google Business Profile and the main directories in your industry. Google’s AI answers can include local business information, and your Business Profile helps you appear in them. The same applies on Bing, where Bing Places for Business keeps your details current.

5. Earn genuine reviews and mentions

Google’s AI features can show what is being said about products and services across the web, including blogs, videos and forums. Chasing inauthentic mentions is not as helpful as it seems, so focus on genuine ones. Ask happy customers for reviews and reply to them. More reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.

What you can skip

You can ignore several popular tactics for Google Search. You do not need llms.txt files or special AI markup. You do not need to break content into small chunks or rewrite pages just for AI. In Google’s own words, this work is “still SEO”, even when it goes by names such as GEO or AEO.

How to see whether AI answers mention you

Two free tools now show this directly:

Tool	What it shows
Google Search Console: Generative AI performance report	Impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country and device. Available to all websites since 31 August 2026.
Bing Webmaster Tools: AI Performance	How often your pages are cited in Microsoft Copilot and AI summaries in Bing, and the phrases that led to them. Public preview since February 2026.

In October, Bing added a Topics Portfolio beta that groups those phrases into themes and shows queries where other sites are cited and yours is not. Smaller sites may not see it yet.

For other assistants, ask them the questions your customers ask, and note who they mention. Repeat it each month, because answers vary between assistants, between similar questions and from week to week.

What to expect

There is no switch that guarantees a mention, and no one can promise one. The practical approach is to fix access and clarity first, keep your details consistent, build genuine reviews over time, and check the reports above regularly. It is the same steady work that helps your Google rankings, with a few extra checks for AI tools. This is the work our AI search optimisation plans cover each month, alongside SEO.