An AI assistant can describe your Los Angeles practice correctly and still leave it out when someone asks for the best practice nearby. Those are two different questions. A branded question ("What is this practice?") can be answered from your own website and Google profile. A list question ("best med spa in Santa Monica") is usually answered from what other sites say, so a practice with few outside mentions gets skipped even when its own pages are fine.
This post explains how to tell which gap you have. For the full set of steps, see how to get recommended by ChatGPT.
1. Ask both kinds of question
Use a fresh session and ask two things:
- a branded question: the practice name and "what is it" or "who runs it";
- a list question: the best practice for your treatment in your neighborhood or city.
Write down what each answer says and which sources it shows. Keep the wording the same each time you repeat the test, so you can compare.
2. If the branded answer is wrong, fix your own sources first
A wrong address, phone or service in a branded answer usually traces back to something you control. Start with the website and the Google Business Profile. Google's guidelines say a business name "should reflect your business's real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers." Make the name, address, phone and hours match everywhere before chasing new mentions.
3. If you are missing from list answers, read the sources the answer cites
List answers lean on roundups, directories and review sites. Open each cited source and ask:
- Is the practice on it at all?
- If it is, are the details correct and current?
- Is it a list that accepts practices on merit, or one that sells placement?
Earn a place on honest, relevant sources with accurate details and real reviews. Do not pay for placements that are not labeled as paid, and never post reviews for yourself.
4. Check that AI search tools can read your site
Being readable is the minimum. OpenAI's crawler guide says, "To help ensure your site appears in search results, we recommend allowing OAI-SearchBot in your site's robots.txt file." It also says changes can take about 24 hours to apply.
For Google, its guidance says that to be shown as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, "a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet." It adds that there are no extra requirements beyond that. Check that important pages are not blocked, set to noindex or limited with nosnippet controls by mistake.
5. Remember how local prominence works
For local results, Google's Business Profile Help names three factors: relevance, distance and prominence, and says "Prominence means how well-known a business is." Being well-known comes from outside the website: reviews, mentions and listings. That is the same gap a list answer exposes. For the basics, see local SEO for Los Angeles service businesses and how many Google reviews a practice needs.
6. What not to do
- Do not invent awards, rankings or patient numbers to sound more prominent.
- Do not create fake profiles or buy reviews.
- Do not stuff city names into pages. Answer the questions patients ask, with reviewed facts.
- Do not expect a quick change. Outside mentions build slowly, and no one controls what an assistant says.
Quick diagnosis
- Branded answer wrong: fix the website and Google Business Profile first.
- Branded answer right, list answer missing you: work on honest outside sources and reviews.
- Both missing: check crawler access, indexing and snippet settings first.
If you want help working through this for your practice, see our SEO and AEO page.
Questions people ask
Why does ChatGPT know my practice but not recommend it?
A question about your practice by name can be answered from your own site and Google profile. A best-of question is usually answered from outside sources such as roundups, directories and reviews, so few outside mentions means you get left off.
What should we fix first?
If the answer about your practice is wrong, fix the website and Google Business Profile first. If it is right but you are missing from lists, work on honest outside sources and reviews.
Does our robots.txt affect ChatGPT search?
It can. OpenAI recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt to help a site appear in ChatGPT search results.
Do Google AI Overviews need special markup?
No. Google says there are no additional requirements; a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Search with a snippet.
Can we pay to be included in AI answers?
Paid placements that are not clearly labeled are not a fair route, and no one controls what an assistant says. Focus on accurate sources and real reviews.
