Straight answer
Can anyone guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend my business?
Short answer
No. Nobody controls what ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI Overviews say, and there is no paid placement in their regular answers. What you can control is whether they can find, read and trust your business, and you can measure how often they name you over time.
Facts checked on October 18, 2026
Why no one can promise it
These assistants write each answer fresh. They search the web, read what they find and decide which businesses to name. The same question can get a different list tomorrow, from a different neighbourhood or with different words. OpenAI and Google do not sell spots in their regular answers.
What you can control
- Let AI crawlers read your website (check your robots.txt).
- Say plainly what you do, where you work, your hours and how to reach you, in words on the page.
- Keep your name, address and phone number the same on your site, Google and directories.
- Add structured data so the facts are easy to read by machine.
- Ask happy customers for reviews that mention the job and the area.
How to tell if it is working
Ask the same buyer questions every week and count how often you are named. That is what Cited does: it asks ChatGPT Search, Gemini and Google AI Overviews 12 questions a customer would ask in your city, saves each answer with the date, and shows the trend. See how answers are measured.
Red flags when hiring someone
- A promised spot or ranking in ChatGPT or Google's AI answers.
- "Secret" methods or a partnership with OpenAI or Google.
- No way to see the actual answers, with dates, that they measured.