How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT (Practical Guide)

When a patient asks ChatGPT "which dentist do you recommend in Copenhagen?", three things determine whether your practice appears in the response: how well AI systems understand your business, how much they trust your information, and how consistently that information appears across the web.

This guide covers the practical steps service businesses - dentists, lawyers, accountants, physiotherapists, and similar professionals - can take to improve their appearance in ChatGPT recommendations.

Why ChatGPT recommendations matter for local service businesses

ChatGPT has 900 million weekly active users. Perplexity handles over 1 billion queries per month. A growing share of these queries are local service recommendations: "find a dentist near me", "recommend an accountant in Aarhus", "which physiotherapist is best for back pain in Odense".

For high-consideration services where a single new client has significant lifetime value - a dental patient, a legal client, an accounting relationship - appearing in these recommendations can be worth thousands of euros in new revenue.

Step 1: Implement complete schema markup

Schema markup is structured data that tells AI systems exactly who your business is, what it does, and who it serves. It is the single most impactful technical change most local service businesses can make.

For a dental clinic, complete schema markup would include Organization/LocalBusiness schema (business name, address, phone, hours, service area, accepted insurance, languages spoken), MedicalBusiness schema (specific medical practice type, medical specialty), Service schema (each treatment offered - implants, whitening, orthodontics, children's dentistry - as a separate service), FAQ schema (answers to common patient questions), and Review schema (structured presentation of patient reviews).

Without schema markup, AI systems must infer this information from your page text - which is less reliable and less complete.

Step 2: Build a complete Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the strongest signals AI systems use for local business recommendations. This is especially true for ChatGPT, which uses Bing's index as a primary data source for local queries.

Ensure your GBP includes a complete business category (use the most specific category available), a full list of services with descriptions, updated opening hours including holidays, at least 10 recent photos of your premises, team, and work, regular posts (at least monthly), and responses to all reviews, including negative ones.

A GBP that has not been updated in 12 months signals to AI systems that the business may no longer be active or does not prioritise its online presence.

Step 3: Publish content that answers patient questions

AI systems like ChatGPT are trained to extract and cite sources that directly answer user questions. A page on your website that answers "what is the difference between a root canal and an extraction?" is far more likely to be cited than a page that just says "we offer all dental treatments".

Effective content for local service businesses includes FAQ pages that answer the specific questions your customers ask most, service pages with clear explanations of what each service involves and what to expect, blog content that addresses common concerns in your specialty, and pricing information where possible.

The format matters as much as the content. Use clear headings, short paragraphs, and lead with the answer before providing context.

Step 4: Build consistent citations

AI systems cross-reference information about local businesses across multiple sources. Inconsistencies - a different phone number on one directory, a different address on another - reduce confidence in your business information.

Ensure your business name, address, phone number, and website are identical across your Google Business Profile, your website, Yelp or local review platforms, industry-specific directories, chamber of commerce listings, and local business directories.

Step 5: Earn relevant backlinks

Links from other websites to yours signal credibility. For a dental clinic, relevant backlinks might come from local business directories, the Danish Dental Association or equivalent professional body, health information websites, local news coverage, and supplier or partner websites.

A small number of high-quality, relevant backlinks is worth more than many low-quality or irrelevant links.

Step 6: Claim and optimise other platform profiles

Beyond Google, AI systems use information from multiple sources. For local service businesses, relevant platforms include Trustpilot or an equivalent review platform, LinkedIn for professional services, industry-specific directories, and healthcare platforms for medical and dental practices.

Consistent, complete, and up-to-date information on these platforms reinforces your business entity across the data sources AI systems draw from.

What to expect

Most businesses see initial improvements in AI recommendation frequency within 60 to 90 days of implementing schema markup and GBP optimisation. Building the content and citation signals that support consistent appearances takes 3 to 6 months.

The businesses that appear most consistently in AI recommendations are those that have maintained a strong online presence over time - not those that have made a single large change.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay to appear in ChatGPT recommendations?

No. ChatGPT and most AI systems do not currently accept payment for placement in recommendations. Appearances are determined by the quality and completeness of your business information across the web.

Does my website need to be in Danish to appear for Danish queries?

Not necessarily. However, having content in Danish - particularly for geographically specific queries - is likely to help. AI systems consider language relevance when generating local recommendations.

How do I know if ChatGPT is recommending me?

Test it directly. Ask ChatGPT queries a potential customer would ask, specifying your city and service type. You can also track AI-referred traffic in Google Analytics, which will show sessions from chatgpt.com.

Is this only relevant for businesses in large cities?

No. ChatGPT recommendations for smaller cities and towns follow the same principles - and the competition is typically lower, making it easier to appear in recommendations.