Which AI assistants should I optimise for?

The ones people actually ask for recommendations: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Google AI. Each draws on its own mix of training data and live web results, so being clearly described and consistently listed helps across all of them rather than gaming any one.

Do I need a developer for this?

Mostly no. Clear descriptions, consistent business details, direct answers to common questions, and earning reviews are all non-technical. Schema markup and checking robots.txt are the parts that usually need a developer or a tool that handles them for you.

Does an llms.txt file improve my AI visibility?

Very little today. Adoption is thin and AI crawlers rarely fetch it, so it is near the bottom of the list. Clear content, consistent business details, structured data, and letting AI crawlers reach your site matter far more.

How do I know if AI assistants can find my business?

A free Bump scan checks the readiness signals in this checklist and scores them into a Bump Score with the gaps to fix. Confirming whether each assistant actually names you, and how you compare with competitors, runs on the paid tiers. You can also ask the assistants a customer's question directly and see whether you are named.

The AI Visibility Checklist

AI assistants now answer the questions customers used to type into a search bar, and they name a business or two rather than list ten links. This is a practical checklist for making yours easy for ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Google AI to find, understand, and cite. Most of it is non-technical, and none of it requires you to game anything: it is just presenting your business clearly and consistently.

1. Make your business easy to understand

Say what you do, where, and for whom, in plain words a customer would use rather than industry jargon.

State it up front on your homepage and your key service pages, not buried three paragraphs down.

Use one clear, consistent business name everywhere, so an assistant reads you as a single entity, not two similar ones.

2. Keep your details identical everywhere

Use the same business name, address, and phone number on your site, your Google Business Profile, and every directory.

Fix contradictions: a different phone number or an old address on one listing makes an assistant hedge or skip you.

List your real service areas and services the same way across those surfaces, so the picture never conflicts.

3. Make your pages machine-readable

Add structured data (schema) for your organisation, for your premises if customers visit you, and for your FAQs, so a machine can read the page rather than only display it.

Use real headings and answer common questions directly, with the answer first and the explanation after. Assistants quote content that states the answer up front.

Keep the site fast and crawlable. If a page renders only through JavaScript or is slow to load, some crawlers see less of it.

4. Let the AI crawlers in

Check that your robots.txt does not block AI user-agents: GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended. A blanket block is a common, invisible own-goal.

Do not over-invest in an llms.txt file. It is low value today (adoption is thin and AI crawlers rarely fetch it); your effort is far better spent on clear content, consistent details, schema, and crawler access.

5. Earn third-party mentions

Assistants trust corroboration from sources other than you: reviews, local directories, and articles that name you.

Ask satisfied customers for reviews on the platforms your audience uses, and keep responding to them.

Get listed accurately in the directories and roundups that already rank for your service and area. These are the sources assistants quote.

6. Measure it, then re-check

You cannot improve what you cannot see. A free Bump scan reads your public site and scores the on-page items above into a Bump Score, with the specific gaps to fix and no account needed. It abstains on the off-site ones: directory consistency and third-party mentions are part of the full picture, but no provider is wired into the free scan, so it reports them as not yet measured rather than guessing.

The free scan does not query the assistants, so it does not invent a citation figure. The live check of whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Google AI actually name you, and how you compare with competitors, runs on the paid tiers.

Whichever way you measure, re-check after you make changes. AI visibility moves on a weekly-at-best timescale, so give it time and watch the trend rather than the day.

Frequently asked questions

Which AI assistants should I optimise for?: The ones people actually ask for recommendations: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Google AI. Each draws on its own mix of training data and live web results, so being clearly described and consistently listed helps across all of them rather than gaming any one.
Do I need a developer for this?: Mostly no. Clear descriptions, consistent business details, direct answers to common questions, and earning reviews are all non-technical. Schema markup and checking robots.txt are the parts that usually need a developer or a tool that handles them for you.
Does an llms.txt file improve my AI visibility?: Very little today. Adoption is thin and AI crawlers rarely fetch it, so it is near the bottom of the list. Clear content, consistent business details, structured data, and letting AI crawlers reach your site matter far more.
How do I know if AI assistants can find my business?: A free Bump scan checks the readiness signals in this checklist and scores them into a Bump Score with the gaps to fix. Confirming whether each assistant actually names you, and how you compare with competitors, runs on the paid tiers. You can also ask the assistants a customer's question directly and see whether you are named.

See where your business stands

A free Bump scan checks the signals that make your business easy for search engines and AI assistants to find and cite, scores them, and shows the gaps to fix. No account needed.

Run a free scan