Why ChatGPT recommends some businesses (I asked it)

Last Thursday Google had its worst day ever on the stock market. Around $500 billion gone in one day. CNBC listed a few reasons, and one of them was "the rise of other AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT".

So more people are asking ChatGPT instead of Googling. Fine. But when someone asks it for a dentist or a plumber, how does it decide who to name?

I wanted to know, so I tested it. I also made a short video of the test: watch it on Instagram.

What I asked

"Who's the best dentist in Austin, Texas?"

I asked it three times, in three fresh chats, with my history switched off. Same answer at the top every time:

1. 01Blunn Creek Family Dentistry
2. 02Austin Dental Company

Then I searched the same thing on Google Maps and scrolled through the first 36 results. Neither of them was there.

And Google's number one dentist? ChatGPT didn't mention it once.

Same city, same question, two totally different winners.

(Quick note so nobody gets the wrong idea: Blunn Creek has a 4.9 rating from 184 Google reviews. They're clearly good. ChatGPT just found them a different way.)

Then I asked it why

Most people stop at the answer. I asked one more question: "Why did you pick these? Where did you look?"

It was pretty honest. It said: "I leaned on online clinic rankings and reported patient-review scores."

Then it listed the sites it used. DentistsRanked, Healthgrades, WebMD, Birdeye, Yably and a local Austin newsletter.

So it wasn't really looking at Google. It was reading what other websites say about these dentists.

What actually got them picked

I went and looked at those sites. Three things stood out.

1. A ranking site

DentistsRanked has an Austin list. Number one is Blunn Creek. Number two is Austin Dental Company.

That's exactly ChatGPT's answer, in the same order. It was basically reading someone else's list out loud.

2. Reviews outside Google

ChatGPT pulled ratings from Healthgrades, WebMD and even Yelp. If all your reviews are on Google and nowhere else, you're easy to miss.

3. Profiles the business filled in itself

This is the part I like, because it's free.

DentistsRanked shows how it scores dentists. Google rating and review count matter, sure. But a big chunk of the score is stuff the practice does itself:

• Claiming its free profile (10%)
• Listing its services (10%)
• Adding opening hours and emergency times (10%)
• Getting reviews on that site too (10%)
• Filling in the rest of the profile, like the dentists' names and photos (5%)

They also say nobody can pay to rank higher. So it's free points that most businesses never pick up.

Try this for your own business

It takes about 10 minutes.

1. 01Open ChatGPT in a temporary chat.
2. 02Ask: "Who's the best [your business] in [your city], and why?"
3. 03Write down every website it mentions.
4. 04Go claim your profile on each one and fill it in properly. Same name, address and phone number as your Google listing.
5. 05Ask a few happy customers to leave a review on one of those sites, not only on Google.
6. 06Ask ChatGPT again in a month and see if anything changed.

Being high on Google Maps doesn't mean ChatGPT will recommend you. You need both now.

If you want to see what Google can read on your website, run my free check. And if you'd like me to look at where you show up in ChatGPT, comment AUDIT on the reel or book a call.