How to Get AI to Recommend Your Company (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini)

Buyers now start with an AI assistant, not a search box. They ask "who's the most reliable X in Y?" and act on the answer. If the AI doesn't name you — and names a competitor — you never enter the conversation. Here is how AI decides, and how to become the answer.

Why does AI name some companies and not others?

AI assistants don't rank pages the way Google does. They synthesize an answer from sources they can read and trust, then name specific companies. You get recommended when three things are true:

1. You're legible — the AI can actually read what you do (clear, structured, server-rendered content; not buried in scripts or images).
2. You're corroborated — independent, authoritative sources describe you consistently (directories, press, reviews, your own structured data).
3. You're specific — your pages answer the exact questions buyers ask, in the languages they ask them.

What is "AI visibility" (and how is it measured)?

AI visibility (also called GEO — Generative Engine Optimization, or AEO — Answer Engine Optimization) is how often AI assistants recommend you to a buyer, versus competitors, for the questions that matter. It's measured honestly by share of voice: running many real buyer questions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI answers, on a schedule, and recording where you appear — as a trend, not a single screenshot. Because AI answers vary, you sample and report probability, not a fixed "rank."

Five ways to become the AI's answer

1. Make your site machine-readable. Server-rendered text, clear headings, a clean description of what you do and for whom. If an AI crawler can't read it, you don't exist to it.
2. Add structured data (schema.org). Organization, Service, FAQPage — this is how AI understands and cites an entity accurately.
3. Publish an llms.txt. A concise, structured "front door" that tells AI models what you are, in plain terms.
4. Answer real buyer questions on your pages. Not brochure copy — the actual phrasing buyers use ("is it safe for a foreigner to…", "which company is most reliable for…"), in each buyer language.
5. Get corroborated. Be present, and consistently described, in the authoritative sources the AI already trusts — so it isn't only your word.

How do I know if it's working?

Measure before and after: the same buyer questions, the same engines, on a schedule. Watch two numbers — how often you're named, and who gets named instead of you. If a middleman or a competitor consistently wins the answer, that's the gap to close.

The honest part

No one can guarantee "#1 in ChatGPT" — answers are probabilistic and change. Anyone promising a fixed rank is selling a screenshot. What you can do is measure share of voice transparently, fix what makes you illegible, and earn corroboration — then watch the trend move. That's the whole method.