How to get your Lancashire business recommended by ChatGPT

By Cameron Karri · Updated · 6 min read

The short answer.

ChatGPT recommends local businesses it can find, trust and describe with confidence. For a Lancashire business that means four things: a website that says clearly what you do and where, a steady flow of genuine reviews, the same name, address and phone number on every listing, and mentions on trusted local sites.

Jump to
  1. Do people really use ChatGPT to find local businesses?
  2. How does ChatGPT decide which local business to recommend?
  3. What we found when we checked 100 Lancashire websites
  4. How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT: seven steps
  5. Where should a Lancashire business be listed?
  6. How do I check if ChatGPT recommends my business?
  7. What makes no difference to AI recommendations?
  8. Sources

Do people really use ChatGPT to find local businesses?

Yes, and the number is rising fast. In a 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, 45% said they use ChatGPT or another AI tool to find local business recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier (BrightLocal). There is no UK equivalent published yet, but the same tools are used here.

Being recommended is much harder than being found on Google. A 2026 study of around 350,000 business locations found ChatGPT recommended 1.2% of them. Google's map results showed 35.9% (SOCi).

That gap is the opportunity. When a customer in Preston asks ChatGPT for a reliable electrician, it names a handful of businesses, not ten pages of them. Our own audit suggests many Lancashire businesses have not covered the basics yet, so the ones that do can stand out quickly.

How does ChatGPT decide which local business to recommend?

ChatGPT recommends businesses it can verify across several trusted sources. When a question needs current information, it searches the web through partners such as Microsoft, and it uses third-party providers for local business listings (OpenAI).

Four signals come up again and again in the research:

  • Your own website. A business's own website was cited in 72% of awareness queries in a 2026 study of 10,000 businesses (Insites).
  • Reviews and ratings. Businesses recommended by both ChatGPT and Perplexity averaged 133 Google reviews. Businesses AI ignored averaged 11 (Insites). Locations ChatGPT recommended averaged a 4.3 star rating (SOCi).
  • Accurate details. AI knew about 93% of local businesses, but had accurate details for only 55% of them (Insites).
  • Mentions elsewhere. Directories, local news and business associations help ChatGPT confirm you are real (Local Falcon).

These studies show patterns, not guaranteed rules. They all point the same way, though.

What we found when we checked 100 Lancashire websites

Many Lancashire business websites leave out the basics ChatGPT relies on. In October 2026 we audited 100 independent Lancashire business websites, 20 each across trades, hospitality, health and beauty, retail and professional services.

SitesWhat was missing
47%What they do and where, at the top of the home page
56%Any reviews or testimonials
45%Up-to-date content (old offers, past events or news)

All three matter for AI. A home page that does not say "plumber in Leyland" makes ChatGPT guess what you do and where. No reviews on the site removes a trust signal. Out-of-date content suggests the business may have closed.

The good news is that every one of these is a quick fix.

How we checked: each website was reviewed against the same checklist in October 2026, and the standout findings were checked again against the live sites. Results are reported in aggregate, and no business is named.

Work through these in order. Steps one to four take an afternoon. Steps five and six build up over months.

  1. Say what you do and where in your first line. Put your service and town at the top of your home page, for example "Independent florist in Chorley, delivering across South Ribble". This is the single fastest fix.
  2. Give each service its own page. Name the towns you cover on each one. Businesses visible to AI had more than double the number of website pages on average (Insites).
  3. Make your details match everywhere. Use exactly the same business name, address and phone number on your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook and every directory. Old addresses confuse AI tools.
  4. Claim your free Bing Places listing. Bing Places for Business is free, and it can import your details from Google (Microsoft). Microsoft is one of ChatGPT's search partners, so Bing is worth ten minutes.
  5. Ask every happy customer for a review. A steady flow beats a burst. Reply to every review, good or bad, and show a few of the best on your website.
  6. Get mentioned on trusted Lancashire sites. Your local chamber of commerce directory, local news coverage and free local directories all help AI confirm you exist.
  7. Let ChatGPT's search crawler in. OpenAI says sites that block its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI). Ask whoever looks after your website to check your robots.txt file allows it.

For a fuller list of what a site needs, see our small business website checklist.

Where should a Lancashire business be listed?

Start with the free listings, then add the local ones that fit your trade.

ListingCostWhy it helps
Google Business ProfileFreeFeeds Google's map results, and Google uses it in AI Overviews and AI Mode
Bing Places for BusinessFreeFeeds Bing and Bing Maps, and Microsoft is one of ChatGPT's search partners
Your Facebook pageFreeA common source for opening hours and contact details
Made in Lancashire directoryFreeA Lancashire-only directory of independent businesses
Your local chamber of commerceIncluded with membershipMember directories are trusted business listings
Trade and industry bodiesVariesShow you are qualified in your field

Whichever you use, keep the details identical. One listing with an old phone number can undo the rest.

How do I check if ChatGPT recommends my business?

Ask it the way a customer would. Open ChatGPT, ideally logged out, and type a real question, such as "who is a good dog groomer in Ormskirk" or "best independent cafe near Clitheroe".

Try three or four versions of the question. Note which businesses it names and which websites it cites as sources. Those cited sites show you where to get listed or mentioned next.

Run the same questions in Google AI Mode, Gemini and Copilot, because each tool picks differently. Results also change from person to person, since ChatGPT can use your rough location (OpenAI).

Repeat the check once a month and keep a simple note of what changes. It takes ten minutes and shows you whether your fixes are working.

What makes no difference to AI recommendations?

Technical tricks matter far less than the basics. In the 2026 study of 10,000 businesses, page speed, structured data, llms.txt files and FAQ schema showed weak or no link to being recommended (Insites).

Google says the same for its own AI features. It says there is no need for special AI text files or markup to appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode (Google).

That does not make a slow or broken website acceptable, because customers still leave slow sites. It does mean that anyone selling a quick "AI SEO" fix built on files and markup is selling the wrong thing.

Spend your time on the four signals that matter: a clear website, genuine reviews, matching details and local mentions. If you would rather have someone keep on top of this every month, that is part of our Care Plus plan.

Sources

Questions people also ask.

Does ChatGPT use Google reviews?
ChatGPT does not appear to read your Google Business Profile directly, but businesses with lots of Google reviews still get recommended far more often. In one 2026 study, businesses recommended by both ChatGPT and Perplexity averaged 133 Google reviews, against 11 for businesses AI ignored.
How long does it take to get recommended by ChatGPT?
Expect weeks to months, not days. Fixing your website and listings can be done in an afternoon, but search engines and AI tools need time to recrawl them. OpenAI says a change to your robots.txt file can take around 24 hours to apply. Reviews and local mentions build up over months.
Is getting recommended by ChatGPT different from ranking on Google?
It overlaps a lot. The same basics help both: a clear website, accurate listings, genuine reviews and mentions on trusted sites. The difference is that ChatGPT names far fewer businesses. One 2026 study found ChatGPT recommended 1.2% of business locations, while 35.9% appeared in Google's map results.
Can a business with no website get recommended by ChatGPT?
It can happen, but it is much harder. A business's own website was cited in 72% of awareness queries in one 2026 study of 10,000 businesses. Without a website, ChatGPT has to piece your business together from directories and social media, which are often out of date or inconsistent.

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