Why ChatGPT doesn't know your business, and how to change that

On almost every platform I'm called nicciseverens. On Instagram, on X, on Threads. On LinkedIn I'm nicci-severens-239a8b58, which sounds more like a password than a person.

For someone looking for me, that makes no difference. They see my photo and my name and get it. For a language model, it's one more puzzle piece it has to fit into the rest by itself.

A small difference like that is still manageable. But what if your business has a slightly different name in every place, does something slightly different and still has an old address here and there? Then it becomes a lot harder for ChatGPT to know who you are.

The short answer: ChatGPT doesn't know your business if the internet isn't clear enough about you. A language model only knows what it has read about you. If that's not much, or it says something different everywhere, it won't mention you, or it will make something up. There's a lot you can do about that yourself.

In GEO, boring is a compliment

That LinkedIn address showed me how it works. I didn't choose nicciseverens because it's so original (although), but because for an algorithm it should be as boring as possible. The same everywhere, no surprises anywhere.

A machine has no imagination. If your business is called Studio X on your site, X Studio on LinkedIn and X Creative in your business profile, those may be three different businesses to a model. None of the three is convincing.

The same goes for what you do. Describe yourself everywhere with the same core: who you are, what you do, for whom and where. Vary the tone, not the facts.

How does an AI model decide who to mention?

An AI model mentions the sources it comes across most often, most clearly and most consistently. It builds a picture of you from your website, your LinkedIn, your Google Business Profile, articles that mention you and reviews.

The more of those places tell the same story, the more certain the model is. A model that has doubts would rather keep quiet about you. Or it mentions your competitor, who says the same thing everywhere.

What can you do on your own website?

Start with the basics that both people and machines understand. A clear About page with your name, your profession, your location and your history.

Then pages that answer questions instead of just selling, with subheadings that sound like the questions people actually ask.

Then there's the layer that only machines read: structured data. With it you literally tell a search engine that you are a person or organisation, what you do and where else you can be found.

With the property sameAs you link your site to your profiles elsewhere. That way a model doesn't have to guess that the Nicci on LinkedIn, with that password-like address, is the same as the Nicci on this site.

Why are mentions on other sites so important?

Because your own site is always a little biased. A model values what others say about you more: an interview, a mention on a client's site, an article in a trade magazine, a guest blog.

Every reliable place where your name appears together with your profession is a little voice saying: this person really exists and knows what she's talking about.

That's actually old-fashioned PR, and that's exactly the point. GEO isn't a new trick. It's reputation, but written down in a way a machine can read.

How do you know what AI is saying about you now?

Ask it. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude the questions a customer would ask, and see which sources they mention. If something is wrong, find out where it comes from and make that source clearer.

How to keep track of that step by step, every month, you can read in Does ChatGPT mention your business?

What you can't control

You can't force an AI model to mention you. You don't decide which sources it reads, how often it's updated or how it interprets a question.

What you can control is how clear the internet is about you. That's less exciting than a trick, but it will still work with the next AI tool too.

A boring name, a clear story

That LinkedIn address is a small thing, but that's how it works. An AI model only really knows you when the internet no longer has to guess anything about you.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't ChatGPT mention my business?

Because there's too little or contradictory information about your business online. A language model mentions businesses it comes across often, clearly and consistently in reliable places.

How do I make sure AI knows my business?

Use the same name and description everywhere, have a clear website with structured data, and collect mentions on other reliable sites, such as interviews, client sites and trade media.

What is GEO?

GEO stands for generative engine optimisation: making sure AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity find enough clear and accurate information about you to mention you when someone asks for advice.