Written by Marco Ruiz on , revised
Try this now: open ChatGPT and ask "what's the best dentist in Alicante?" or "recommend a physiotherapist near Jávea". Look at which businesses come up and where the information comes from. Most of them will probably have a website.
AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI answers need sources they can read before they recommend anything, and one of the clearest sources about a local business is its own website.
How AI decides who to recommend
When someone asks an AI "where can I eat well in Torrevieja" or "best vet in Palma", the assistant roughly does this:
- It searches the internet for businesses that match
- It reads the pages it finds, especially those with clear details (services, hours, location, prices)
- It cross-checks with reviews and listings such as Google's
- It writes a recommendation from that data
For a website to show up there, the assistant first has to be able to read it. OpenAI explains that ChatGPT uses its OAI-SearchBot crawler to show websites in its search results. And Google says in its guide to AI features in Search that the usual SEO good practice applies: the page has to be indexed and have useful content.
If your business only has an Instagram profile and a Google Maps listing, the AI has very little to work with. It can't read your Instagram stories, for example, while it can read your whole website.
What Instagram gives an AI
The line I hear most is "I already have Instagram, I don't need a website". Instagram is good for staying in touch with existing customers, but it gives an AI little to go on: much of it can't be read without logging in, and your services, hours and location are mixed in with photos and videos.
On your website, those details are written out, each in its place, and any search engine or AI assistant can read them. The website is also yours, so nobody's algorithm decides who sees it.
Example: two vets on the same street
Imagine two made-up vet clinics on the same street in Granada:
- Vet A has a website with services, team, opening hours, online appointments and 300 Google reviews
- Vet B only has a Facebook page with 2,000 likes and the same 300 reviews
When someone asks ChatGPT "best vet in Granada", Vet A is more likely to come up, because it has information an AI can read and cite. Vet B has a harder time, however good its care is.
What your website needs so AI can recommend you
A short, well-organised website is enough, with:
- Business name and location clearly visible
- A list of services with a short description of each
- Opening hours
- Contact details (phone, email, address)
- Basic local SEO (telling Google and AI where you are and what you do)
- A link to your Google Maps listing, with the same details in both places
With that, an AI has something to read. From there, every new Google review adds to your presence.
Why it's worth doing soon
More and more people ask an AI assistant instead of typing into Google, and Google itself now answers many searches with AI. While you don't have a website, the AI sends those people to whoever does have information online, often your competitors.
If none of your local competitors has a clear website yet, the space is free right now.
What you can do today
- Search for your business on ChatGPT. Ask "best [your service] in [your town]". If you don't appear, now you know where to start.
- Check whether your competitors have websites. If they do and you don't, they have the edge.
- Get a website. From €349 as a one-off payment, or from €39/month if you'd rather pay monthly, ready in 7 days and linked to your Google Business Profile. I handle the technical side. All prices are on the pricing page.
If you'd like to start smaller, I'll check your Google Business Profile for free and tell you what's missing.