1. Make your location unmistakable
AI assistants answer local questions by matching a business to a place. Put your suburb, city and state (or region, for NZ) in your homepage title, your main heading and your footer, and list the areas you serve on a dedicated page.
2. Add LocalBusiness schema with Australian details
Use JSON-LD LocalBusiness schema with your trading name, full street address, postcode, phone number in +61 format, opening hours and areaServed. Include your ABN on the page if you're comfortable — it's a strong trust signal for Australian customers.
3. Keep your details identical everywhere
AI cross-checks sources. Your name, address and phone should match exactly across your website, Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, and directories such as True Local, Yellow Pages and Hotfrog (or Finda and NZ Yellow for New Zealand).
4. Get indexed by Bing
ChatGPT's web answers lean heavily on Bing. Claim your listing in Bing Places for Business and verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools — most Australian small businesses have never done either.
5. Let AI crawlers in
Check that your robots.txt allows GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and Google-Extended. Some website builders and security plugins block them by default.
6. Answer the questions customers actually ask
Write short, direct answers to real questions: "How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Perth?", "Do you bulk bill?", "Do you service the Northern Beaches?" AI assistants quote pages that answer the question in the first sentence.
7. Earn reviews that mention what you do
Reviews on Google and other platforms that name your service and suburb ("great emergency plumber in Parramatta") give AI the evidence it needs to recommend you for that exact query.
Frequently asked questions
Can a small business pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?
No. ChatGPT's organic answers aren't paid placements. They're built from what the model and its search tools can find and verify about your business online.
Does Google Business Profile help with ChatGPT visibility?
Indirectly. Consistent details on Google Business Profile, Bing Places and Apple Business Connect help AI assistants confirm your business is real and where it operates.
What schema should an Australian local business use?
LocalBusiness (or a more specific subtype such as Dentist or Plumber) with name, address, postcode, +61 phone number, opening hours and areaServed, plus FAQPage schema for your common questions.
How do I check whether ChatGPT knows my business?
Ask it directly — for example, "Who are the best [service] providers in [suburb]?" — and also ask what it knows about your business by name. Repeat monthly to track changes.