What is LLM SEO? How to get ChatGPT and Claude to recommend your business

More and more people are asking AI tools — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity — for recommendations instead of typing into Google. "What is the best marketing agency for small businesses in Maryland?" "Who offers firearms training in Baltimore?" "What software should I use for my salon?" These AI tools give recommendations. The question is: whose name comes up?

AI models are trained on large amounts of text from the internet — articles, reviews, forums, news, business websites, and more. When they recommend a business or service, they are drawing on patterns from that text. Businesses that appear frequently, authoritatively, and consistently across the web are more likely to be recommended. This is LLM SEO: optimizing your online presence so that AI tools learn your business and recommend it.

AI tools pull from articles and guides when they answer questions. If your website has a detailed, accurate, helpful article answering a question your customers ask — "how much does firearms training cost in Maryland?" or "what is the best CRM for a small salon?" — AI tools may cite your content or recommend your business as a source. Write articles from your real expertise. Be specific. Be accurate. Be helpful.

Your business name, address, and phone number should appear consistently across Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn, industry directories, and local chamber sites. AI tools learn from this consistency. A business with 50 accurate, consistent citations across the web is more likely to surface in AI recommendations than one with 3.

When other websites, news articles, blog posts, and local publications mention your business by name — especially in the context of solving a problem or being recommended — AI tools pick that up as a signal. This is why PR, local press, and guest articles on industry blogs matter more than ever. Being mentioned as an authority in your space trains AI tools to treat you as one.

AI tools can read and learn from your Google reviews. A business with 80 detailed, specific reviews describing the service, the outcome, and the team is giving AI tools a rich body of text to learn from. A business with 8 reviews that say "great service!" gives AI tools almost nothing. Detailed reviews, requested consistently, serve both your Google ranking and your AI visibility.