How to Get Your Business Recommended by AI in North Hertfordshire

AI tools are already recommending businesses in North Hertfordshire. Right now. Today.

The question is whether yours is one of them. When someone asks ChatGPT for a plumber in Hitchin or a solicitor near Letchworth, the AI doesn't give them a list of ten links. It gives one or two names. Direct recommendations. That's it. So how do you get onto that very short list?

I've been working on this for about three years now, and the answer isn't particularly glamorous. But it works.

Start by being findable

AI search tools pull information from across the web. Your website, Google Business Profile, reviews, directories, articles that mention you. If your business doesn't appear in enough places, AI literally has nothing to work with.

A lot of business owners assume their website alone is enough. It almost never is. You need a presence in several places and the information has to match everywhere. Same business name, same phone number, same address. AI cross-references these things and inconsistencies make it nervous.

Think of it like applying for a mortgage. The bank checks multiple sources. If the numbers don't match, they get suspicious. AI works the same way.

Your website needs to answer questions

AI doesn't read your site like a customer browsing around. It's scanning for clear, direct answers to specific questions.

If someone asks "who does AEO in North Hertfordshire?", the AI is looking for content that directly addresses that. A page that says "We offer digital marketing services across the UK" won't cut it. A page that says "We provide Answer Engine Optimisation for businesses in North Hertfordshire, including Hitchin, Baldock, Royston, and Stevenage" gives AI exactly what it needs.

We've covered how ChatGPT decides which business to recommend in a separate post if you want the full mechanics.

Structure matters more than you'd think

AI tools parse your headings, paragraphs, and FAQ sections. If your website is one long block of text with no structure, AI struggles to pull out anything useful.

Break your content into sections with clear headings. Use questions as headings where it makes sense. Keep paragraphs short. Make it scannable. This helps both AI and humans, which is sort of the whole point.

Google Business Profile is non-negotiable

This might be the single most important thing for local AI recommendations. Google's own AI (Gemini) pulls directly from your Business Profile. Your categories, description, reviews, opening hours, photos, all of it.

Make sure every field is filled in. Upload recent photos. Publish a post now and then. Businesses in Stevenage and Letchworth that keep their profiles active tend to show up more. That might seem obvious but most people set it up once in 2019 and haven't touched it since.

Reviews carry genuine weight

When someone asks ChatGPT "who's the best electrician in Baldock?", the AI looks at review volume and what people say. A business with forty five-star reviews will almost always beat one with three, regardless of who's actually better at the job.

Ask your customers for reviews after every job. Send them a direct link. Yes, it feels a bit awkward the first few times. Do it anyway. The results compound fast. Responding to reviews helps too because AI picks up on that engagement.

A cleaning company we work with in Hitchin went from 12 reviews to over 60 in about four months. Their Google Maps ranking improved, their click-through rate roughly doubled, and ChatGPT started mentioning them. All from sending one automated text after each job.

Get mentioned elsewhere

This is something a lot of businesses miss entirely. If directories, news sites, or local blogs mention your business by name, that gives AI another data point to confirm you're real and credible.

Get listed on Yell, Thomson Local, Checkatrade, whatever directories matter in your trade. Write a guest piece for a local Hertfordshire blog if you can stomach it. Sponsor a community event and get mentioned on their website. Each mention is a signal to AI that you exist, you're active, and you're relevant.

FAQ pages are quietly powerful

When someone asks ChatGPT a question, the AI looks for pages that already contain that question with a clear answer. It's that simple.

Write ten to fifteen genuine questions your customers actually ask. Answer each one in two to three clear sentences. Use plain language.

This one change can make a surprising difference, especially in smaller towns like Royston or Baldock where there's less online competition. Not having FAQs is one of the biggest AEO mistakes local businesses make.

Most of your competitors haven't started

That's the opportunity. The businesses that get set up for AI search now will be the ones that stay there. First-mover advantage is real here, and possibly more significant than it was with traditional SEO because AI tools tend to stick with sources they already trust.

If you'd like help getting recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, and the rest, book a call with us. We specialise in AEO for North Hertfordshire businesses and can tell you exactly where you stand today.