2026-11-02 · Last updated 2026-11-02

Why is my business not showing up on ChatGPT? 7 causes and how to fix each

ChatGPT usually leaves a local business out for one of three reasons: its search bots can't read your website, your name, address and phone are written differently from one site to the next, or too few other websites mention you. Owners who have asked about this on local SEO forums report that schema and llms.txt on their own helped little, and that getting listed and reviewed on other sites helped more.

If what ChatGPT finds about you is blocked, thin or contradictory, it names someone else. The free check below covers causes 1 to 6; cause 7 you tick yourself. It never asks ChatGPT anything for you.

How ChatGPT picks local businesses

For a question like "a good electrician in Parramatta", ChatGPT tends to search the web and sum up what it reads, because its training data is months or years old and holds little about most small businesses. OpenAI hasn't published how it chooses which businesses to name, and answers change from one ask to the next, so anyone who promises you a spot is guessing.

The 7 causes, and how to check and fix each

1. Your robots.txt blocks the AI search bots

Some security plugins, website builders and "block AI" settings shut out every AI bot, including the ones that fetch pages to answer questions. OpenAI's crawler page says sites that block OAI-SearchBot won't be shown in ChatGPT's search answers.

• How to check: open yourbusiness.com.au/robots.txt. Look for Disallow: / under User-agent: *, or under OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot, Bingbot or Googlebot.
• How to fix: remove those lines for the search bots. Blocking training bots such as GPTBot, CCBot and ClaudeBot is your choice and costs no points in the checker.

2. Your site has no business schema, or it's missing details

Schema is a short block of code (JSON-LD) that states your name, address, phone and website so software doesn't have to guess. Its sameAs links tie your Google Business Profile, Facebook page and directory listings to one business.

• How to check: run your home page through Google's Rich Results Test or the Schema Markup Validator. Look for LocalBusiness or Organization with a name, address, phone, URL and at least two sameAs links.
• How to fix: add LocalBusiness schema with the most specific type that fits (Plumber, Dentist, HairSalon), following Google's LocalBusiness guide. Most SEO plugins have a local business setting; fill in every field.

On its own, schema rarely gets a business named.

3. Your name, address and phone don't match

"Smith Plumbing" on your site, "Smith Plumbing & Gas Pty Ltd" on Google and an old mobile number on a directory can look like three different businesses.

• How to check: compare the name, address and phone in your home page footer with your contact page, schema, Google Business Profile and the first few directory listings for your name.
• How to fix: pick one version (your Google Business Profile is the usual anchor) and use it everywhere. 08 5550 1234 and +61 8 5550 1234 are the same number, so format doesn't matter; an old number or address does. Update or remove old listings.

4. No link to your Google Business Profile, and no reviews on your site

Google's own assistant, Gemini, can draw on Google Maps, and answers to "who's best" questions often repeat what reviewers said. An assistant can only repeat reviews it can find.

• How to check: is there a link to your Google Maps listing on your home or contact page? Can visitors see your rating or a few recent reviews?
• How to fix: add a "Find us on Google" link (your profile's share link) and show a few recent reviews with the reviewer's first name and date. Our free review health check compares yours with the top three in your suburb. If your profile is suspended, sort that out first.

5. Your pages don't answer questions straight away

Assistants tend to quote pages that answer a question in the first sentence. "Welcome to our family business, established 1998" gives them nothing to quote. The checker treats this as a rule of thumb, not a known formula.

• How to check: does your main service page have headings phrased as customer questions ("How much does a blocked drain cost in Norwood?") with a one-sentence answer under each? Is there a visible "Last updated" date?
• How to fix: add three to five question headings, each answered in its first sentence (price range, suburbs covered, how soon you can come), and a "Last updated" date that matches dateModified in your page data.

6. No llms.txt (optional, and rarely the reason)

llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file that lists your key pages for AI tools. No big assistant has said it uses llms.txt to choose businesses, so the checker gives it the fewest points and labels it optional.

• How to check: open yourbusiness.com.au/llms.txt.
• How to fix: if you want one, add your business name, a one-line summary and links to your main pages. Don't expect it to change answers by itself.

7. Too few other websites mention you

Owners report this one helped most. When an assistant searches for "best plumber in Norwood", much of what it reads comes from other sites: directories, review sites, local "best of" lists, local news and trade association member lists. A business that turns up on several of them with the same details is easier to name.

• How to check: search your business name and suburb, and count the results that aren't your own site or social pages. Then check Yelp, TrueLocal, Yellow Pages, Hotfrog, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places and a directory for your trade (the checker has a tick box for each).
• How to fix: claim or create the missing listings with exactly the same details. Apple Business Connect controls how you appear in Apple Maps and Siri; Bing Places does the same for Bing. Ask your trade association to list you, and ask recent customers for a review on Google and one other site.

Test it yourself: ask the assistants

The checker measures what assistants can read. To see what they actually say:

1. Open ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude, logged out or in a private window where you can, so your history doesn't sway the answers.
2. Ask each one the same six questions, filled in with your details:
   • What's the best {service} in {suburb}?
   • Who should I call for {service} near {suburb}?
   • Can you recommend a reliable {service} in {suburb}? Give me a few names and why.
   • Which {service} in {suburb} has the best reviews?
   • What do customers say about {business} in {suburb}? Summarise their reviews.
   • Is {business} a good choice for {service} in {suburb}?
3. Note yes or no for each of the 24 answers: were you named?
4. When ChatGPT or Perplexity searches, it shows its sources. Click them for the businesses that were named: the sites they're on and you aren't are your to-do list for cause 7.

Answers change from day to day and person to person, so treat the tally as a snapshot and repeat it a month after your fixes. The checker's test panel fills in the questions and keeps the tally in your browser; we never see your answers.

Next: a four-week plan for these fixes, what an AI visibility audit checks and choosing a free AEO checker.

If you'd rather not do the site work, the AI Visibility Fix (US$149 / A$229, one-off) handles causes 1, 2, 3 and 5 for you, plus a directory checklist for your trade and city and a before-and-after report. We do the work; no one can promise an assistant will name you.

Sources

• OpenAI, overview of OpenAI's crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, GPTBot)
• Google Search Central, LocalBusiness structured data
• The llms.txt proposal
• The AI bot list the checker uses: ai-robots-txt/ai.robots.txt (MIT)
• Owner reports in Local Search Forum and Indie Hackers threads, read November 2026

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