Something shifted in how people find local businesses, and most business owners haven't caught up to it yet.
More and more people are asking ChatGPT, Google AI, and tools like Perplexity questions they used to type into Google. Things like "best plumber near me," "good Italian restaurant in [city]," or "reliable HVAC company that won't overcharge me."
And these AI tools don't just list businesses randomly. They pull from Google reviews, Yelp reviews, directory listings, and other online sources to figure out which businesses to recommend. The content of your reviews, the specific words customers use, is directly shaping whether AI recommends you or your competitor.
How AI Decides Which Businesses to Recommend
When someone asks an AI tool for a local business recommendation, it's essentially doing a much more sophisticated version of what you'd do if a friend asked you for a referral. It's looking at:
Review volume. More reviews generally signals a more established, trustworthy business. AI tends to favor businesses with a healthy number of reviews over those with just a handful.
Review content. This is the part most people don't think about. AI doesn't just look at the star rating, it reads what people actually wrote. If multiple reviews mention "fair pricing" or "explained everything clearly," the AI picks up on those patterns and factors them into its recommendation.
Recency. Reviews from the last few months carry more weight than reviews from three years ago, because AI is trying to give relevant, current recommendations.
Specificity. Detailed reviews with specific information ("replaced our water heater in under 3 hours and the price was exactly what they quoted") tend to be more useful to AI than generic reviews ("great service, would recommend").
We Tested This
We tried asking ChatGPT for local business recommendations across several categories, and the results were pretty revealing.
The businesses it recommended consistently had a few things in common: high review volume, recent review activity, and reviews that contained specific details about the experience. Generic 5-star reviews with no detail didn't seem to carry much weight.
What was especially interesting was the language AI used to describe its recommendations. It would say things like "customers frequently mention fair pricing" or "reviewers praise the clear communication," which are basically summaries of the review content. The AI was reading the reviews and synthesizing them into a recommendation, not just looking at the star average.
What This Means for Your Business
If your reviews are mostly generic ("great job," "highly recommend," "5 stars"), AI doesn't have much to work with when someone asks for a recommendation. There's nothing specific to pull from, so your business is less likely to come up.
On the other hand, if your reviews contain specific details about what the customer experienced, those details become the keywords that AI uses to match your business to relevant queries.
For example, if someone asks ChatGPT "plumber who won't overcharge me," and your reviews consistently mention "honest pricing" and "no hidden fees," your business is much more likely to surface in that response.
This is essentially a new form of SEO, except instead of optimizing your website for search engines, you're building a library of detailed customer experiences that AI tools can draw from. Some people are calling this "AEO" (Answer Engine Optimization), and it's probably going to matter more and more as AI-assisted search becomes the norm.
How to Get Reviews That AI Actually Uses
You can't script your customers' reviews (and you shouldn't try to, it comes across as fake). But you can gently encourage more specific feedback by framing the ask in a way that prompts detail.
Instead of: "Would you mind leaving us a Google review?"
Try something like: "If you have a minute to share your experience on Google, it really helps other people find us. Feel free to mention what we worked on and how it went."
That small nudge toward specificity tends to produce reviews that mention the actual service, the communication style, the pricing experience, and other details that both human readers and AI tools find useful.
The other thing that helps is just having a lot of reviews. The more data points AI has to work with, the more confident it is in recommending your business. Volume and detail together create a pretty strong signal.
This Is Happening Whether You Optimize for It or Not
The shift toward AI-assisted search isn't something you need to prepare for in the future. It's already happening. Google's own search results now include AI-generated summaries at the top of many queries, and those summaries pull heavily from review content.
ChatGPT has become a go-to tool for people researching purchases and services. Perplexity is growing fast. Even Siri and Alexa are getting smarter about local recommendations.
The businesses that benefit from this shift are the ones that already have a strong foundation of detailed, genuine reviews. If you've been consistently asking customers for feedback and they've been leaving thoughtful reviews, you're probably already showing up in AI recommendations without even realizing it.
If you haven't started building that foundation, this is probably a good reason to start. The reviews you collect today aren't just for the people scrolling Google Maps tomorrow, they're for the AI tools that are going to shape how people find local businesses for years to come, and that's the game now.
Related: Our complete guide to getting more Google reviews covers timing, templates, QR codes, and automation in one place. We also built free tools you can start using today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ChatGPT actually recommend specific local businesses?
Yes, when asked for local recommendations, ChatGPT and similar tools will suggest specific businesses based on the information available to them, which includes Google reviews, Yelp reviews, directory listings, and website content. The recommendations tend to favor businesses with high review volume, detailed review content, and recent activity.
What is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization, and it refers to optimizing your online presence so that AI-powered tools (like ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity) are more likely to recommend your business when someone asks a question. For local businesses, this mostly means having a lot of detailed, genuine reviews that give AI tools something specific and useful to reference.
Can I ask customers to include specific keywords in their reviews?
You shouldn't script reviews or ask customers to use specific words, as that can come across as inauthentic and may violate platform guidelines. But you can encourage more detailed reviews by asking customers to "share their experience" or "mention what we worked on," which naturally produces more specific and useful content.
How do Google's AI search summaries work with reviews?
Google's AI-generated search summaries (sometimes called Search Generative Experience or AI Overviews) pull from multiple sources including Google reviews, website content, and other listings. When someone searches for a local business category, the AI summary may highlight specific businesses based on review content, helping them stand out even before the user clicks through to the map pack or individual listings.