AI assistants get local business information from a mix of map and listing platforms (such as Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect and Foursquare), review sites, your own website, and other pages that mention you, such as news stories and directories. Each assistant uses a different mix, and that mix changes over time. The safest approach is to make sure every source that might be read says the same, accurate thing about you.
Below is what is reasonably well understood about each source, followed by a simple way to test what the assistants say about your business today.
Why is there no single answer?
The companies behind these assistants do not publish a complete list of where local answers come from, and the arrangements change. An assistant might use its own search index, a partner’s search engine, licensed map data, or a combination. Some answers come from what a model learned during training, and some from a live web search at the moment you ask.
So anyone who tells you exactly which source decides your AI visibility is guessing. What we can do is look at the sources that are clearly connected to each product and make sure you are covered on all of them.
Google Business Profile
Google’s own assistants, including Gemini and AI Overviews in Google Search, sit on top of Google’s search and Maps data. Your Google Business Profile is the most direct way to control what that data says about you.
Other assistants also run into your Google profile indirectly, because it often appears in search results they read. If your profile is incomplete or out of date, that error can travel. Our Google Business Profile optimisation checklist covers every field worth filling in.
Bing Places for Business
Microsoft Copilot is built on Bing, so Bing Places is the obvious listing to claim for Copilot. Bing’s search index has also been used by other AI products, so a correct Bing listing is useful beyond Microsoft.
Many small businesses have never claimed their Bing listing. It is free, it can import details from Google, and it takes a short time to verify.
Apple Business Connect
Apple Business Connect controls how you appear in Apple Maps, Siri and other Apple features. Anyone asking Siri for a nearby business, or using Apple Maps on an iPhone, is drawing on this data. Apple also brings in data from partner sources, so a wrong listing elsewhere can show up here too.
Foursquare and other location data providers
Foursquare supplies place data to a range of apps and services through its location data products. Data from providers like this can end up in places you would not expect. Foursquare’s claim and edit process can be slow, but it is worth checking that your venue exists and has the right name, address and category.
Review sites
Platforms such as Yelp, Tripadvisor, Trustpilot and sector specific sites (Checkatrade, Treatwell, MyBuilder and similar) are often visible to assistants through web search. Reviews give assistants something concrete to summarise: what customers liked, what they complained about, and how recently they visited.
You do not need a profile on every review site. Focus on the ones that are standard for your type of business and make sure the details on them are correct.
Your own website
Assistants that search the web can read your pages, and some quote them directly. Your website is the one source where you control every word, so it should:
- say what you do and where, near the top of the homepage
- have a separate page for each main service
- include an FAQ section answering real customer questions
- show your name, address and contact details exactly as they appear on your listings
Clear facts beat clever copy. If a sentence could appear on any business’s website, it probably will not help an assistant pick yours.
News, directories and other mentions
Local news coverage, council and community directories, trade association member lists, supplier pages and genuine local roundups all count as independent mentions. Assistants tend to trust what others say about you more than what you say about yourself. These mentions take longer to build, but they are hard for competitors to copy.
How can you test what the assistants say about you?
You do not need special software. Run this simple test once a month and keep notes.
- Open a private or incognito window. This reduces the effect of your own search history and logged in accounts.
- Write five real customer questions. Use the words your customers use, for example “best mobile dog groomer in Chelmsford” or “where can I get a same week boiler service in Leicester”. Include your town or area.
- Ask each question in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot. Use the free versions, since that is what most customers will use.
- Note who gets named. Record whether you appear, which competitors appear, and any wrong details about you.
- Look at the sources. Perplexity and some other assistants show links. Those links tell you which sites are being read for your area and trade.
- Repeat monthly with the same questions. Answers vary from day to day, so look for patterns over several months rather than reacting to one result.
If an assistant shows a wrong phone number or old address, the error almost always comes from a listing somewhere. Find it and fix it at the source.
What should you fix first?
In rough order of effort versus value:
- Google Business Profile complete and accurate
- Bing Places claimed and matching
- Apple Business Connect claimed and matching
- Old or wrong directory and review site listings corrected
- Website homepage and FAQ stating clear facts
- A plan for getting genuine reviews and local mentions
For a fuller step by step plan, see how to get recommended by ChatGPT. If you would rather we ran the test for you, our free AI Visibility Check asks the main assistants real customer questions about your business and sends you what they said and where the gaps are, by email.
Frequently asked questions
Which listing matters most for AI assistants?
For most UK local businesses, Google Business Profile is the most important single listing because Google’s own assistants rely on it and it shows up in search results other assistants read. Bing Places and Apple Business Connect come next, because they feed Microsoft and Apple products directly.
Do AI assistants use my website?
Often, yes. Assistants that search the web can read your pages and quote them. That only helps if your site states facts clearly: what you do, where you work, your opening hours and answers to common questions, with details that match your listings.
Why does ChatGPT give a different answer to Gemini?
They use different search providers, different data partners and different ways of weighing sources. They also update at different times. That is why it is worth checking several assistants rather than assuming one answer represents all of them.