If AI Is Going to Recommend Local Businesses, Your Job Is to Give It Something Worth Recommending

People now ask AI for recommendations the same way they once asked friends.

"Who should I hire to fix my furnace?" "What's a good electrician in Devils Lake?" "Which web designer should I use?"

They're not typing these into Google anymore. They're asking ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, or their phone's voice assistant. And the AI decides which businesses to mention.

That means AI becomes your "first impression" layer before anyone visits a website, reads a review, or picks up the phone. Your website and online presence is now your résumé for machines , and if AI can't figure out what you do or where you operate, it won't risk recommending you.

AI Is the New Word-of-Mouth

Large language models (LLMs) and search assistants are becoming intermediaries between customers and businesses. They read your website, your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and your structured data, then use that information to answer customer questions.

Here's the thing: AI doesn't recommend businesses it's uncertain about. If your online presence is vague, outdated, or incomplete, AI will skip you and recommend your competitors instead.

This isn't speculation. Google's AI Overviews, Bing Chat, ChatGPT with search, Claude, and Perplexity are all actively pulling local business data right now. When someone asks for a recommendation in your service area, these systems are either finding you or they're not.

The businesses that get recommended are the ones that make it easy for AI to understand who they are, what they do, and where they operate. That's the filter.

For more on the broader implications of this shift, read Why Local Businesses Should Think Twice Before Blocking AI Bots From Their Website.

What AI Looks For (Not Complicated)

AI systems analyze your online presence looking for signals that you're legitimate, trustworthy, and relevant. Here's what they prioritize:

• Clear service descriptions , What exactly do you do? "We install mini splits" is better than "We provide HVAC solutions."
• Defined service area , Where do you operate? List specific towns or counties, not vague regions.
• Consistent NAP , Name, Address, Phone must match across your website, Google Business Profile, and other directories.
• Real examples , Photos, project descriptions, case studies, or job summaries that prove you do what you claim.
• FAQs , AI heavily weights FAQ sections because they map cleanly to customer questions.
• Schema markup , Structured data (JSON-LD) that tells AI your business type, location, hours, and services in machine-readable format.
• Photos , Real project photos and images that show your work, not generic stock photos.

None of this is complicated. You're not trying to trick AI , you're just making it easy for AI to understand and verify what you already do.

Want to know how to write content AI can parse effectively? Read How to Write for AI in 2026 (Without Sounding Like a Robot) for practical writing tips.

Give AI Something Concrete to Recommend

Vague language kills AI recommendations. If AI can't confidently summarize what you do, it won't mention you at all.

Here's how to fix that:

Be Explicit About What You Do and Where You Do It

Compare these two approaches:

• Vague: "We provide quality HVAC services throughout the region."
• Clear: "We install and repair furnaces, air conditioners, and mini splits in Pembina County and northeastern North Dakota."

The second version gives AI geographic specificity and service details it can quote back to customers. The first version is useless.

Add a "What We Do" Block on Each Main Page

Every service page should have a short, clear paragraph near the top that states:

• The service name
• Who it's for
• Where you provide it

Example: "We provide emergency plumbing services for residential and commercial properties in Grand Forks, Thompson, and Emerado. Available 24/7 for water leaks, frozen pipes, and drain backups."

That's AI-friendly content. It's specific, geographic, and useful.

Create Town/Service Pages

If you serve multiple towns or offer multiple services, create dedicated pages for each combination that matters.

Examples:

• "Plumbing Services in Devils Lake, ND"
• "Electrician in Thompson, ND"
• "Furnace Installation in Grand Forks County"

These pages don't need to be long , 200–400 words is plenty. But they dramatically increase your chances of being recommended when someone asks AI about service in that specific town.

Add Project Summaries

AI looks for proof that you actually do the work you claim to do. Add short descriptions of recent projects:

• "Replaced a 20-year-old furnace for a farmhouse near Grafton, ND."
• "Installed a 200-amp electrical panel upgrade for a shop in Walsh County."
• "Built a 5-page semi-static website for a plumbing contractor in Devils Lake."

These examples signal to AI that you operate in those areas and have real-world experience.

Make Your Google Business Profile Match Your Website

AI systems cross-reference multiple sources. If your website says one thing and your Google Business Profile says something different, AI gets confused and skips you.

Make sure these are identical:

• Business name
• Phone number
• Address (if you have one)
• Service area
• Business hours
• Service descriptions

Consistency builds trust. Inconsistency kills it.

Why Clarity = More AI Mentions

AI avoids ambiguity because it doesn't want to recommend the wrong business. If your website is confusing, outdated, or unclear, AI will choose a competitor with clearer information instead.

Think about it from AI's perspective: It's being asked to recommend a local business to a real person. If it recommends the wrong business, the user loses trust in the AI. So AI systems are conservative , they only recommend businesses they're confident about.

Clean, clear websites get recommended more often because AI can verify the information and confidently present it to customers.

For more on how AI is changing the local business landscape, read Your Website Still Matters in the Age of AI , Even If Your Traffic Drops.

The Bottom Line

Your "share of AI recommendations" now matters as much as traditional SEO rankings. Maybe more.

If AI is going to talk about your business , and it will, whether you like it or not , you need to make sure it's saying the right things. The only way to do that is to give AI the right information to work with.

That means:

• Clear service descriptions
• Specific geographic information
• Consistent business details across all platforms
• Real examples and proof of your work
• Structured data that AI can read

This isn't about gaming an algorithm. It's about communicating clearly so AI can confidently recommend you to customers who need what you offer.

The businesses that adapt early will be the ones AI mentions first. The ones that ignore this shift will wonder why the phone stopped ringing.

Takeaways

• AI is now the first impression layer between customers and local businesses
• AI only recommends businesses it can verify and understand
• Vague or inconsistent information kills AI recommendations
• Clear service descriptions, geographic specificity, and structured data help AI recommend you
• Your website is no longer just for humans , it's your data source for AI

Need help making your website AI-friendly? Contact Dirt River Design. I can clean up your messaging, add structured data, create location pages, and make sure AI systems can confidently recommend your business when customers ask.