How to get listed where AI assistants look
An AI assistant can only name a business it has read about. So the most practical part of answer engine optimization is appearing in the sources it reads, and making sure they describe you correctly.
Find the sources for your industry and city
The sites an AI assistant cites differ by industry. In our benchmark, places a business can be listed, reviewed or mentioned made up 42.9% of citations in family law and 18.2% in chiropractic.
Start by finding the sites that appear for your own questions. Ask an AI assistant what your customers ask, in your city, and note the sources it cites. The sources change each time you ask and from one AI assistant to another, so a reliable list takes many answers, collected over weeks. A Spruce plan does that for you: every week it asks your questions three times each and lists the sources it finds, split into places that can list you and businesses’ own pages.
Claim and complete your directory listings
- Claim your listing on every directory that appears for your questions.
- Use the same business name, address and phone number on each one.
- Choose the categories that match what customers ask for, and describe your services in plain words.
- Name the areas you serve, and keep your hours current.
Ask for reviews where AI assistants look
Review sites are among the sources AI assistants cite. Ask customers to review you on the review sites that appear for your questions, so each review is on a site AI assistants already cite.
Get into the roundups
“Best of” articles and local roundups are cited often. Find the ones that appear for your questions and read how each one chooses its businesses: some take submissions, some are updated once a year, and some are written by local publications. Give each the facts it needs to include you.
Take part where people ask
Forum threads are cited too. Where people in your area ask for recommendations, answer helpfully and honestly, and say who you are.
Publish the page an answer would quote
In our benchmark, 44% to 58% of citations went to businesses’ own websites. Write a page for each service you offer that answers what customers ask: what it costs, how long it takes, and what to look for. Say on it which areas you serve. A page that answers the question is the kind of page an AI assistant can cite.
Keep your name consistent
AI assistants write a business’s name in many ways. One form of your name, used everywhere, is easier to recognize. If customers also know you by another name, mention it on your website alongside your main one.
Then measure
Listings put you in the sources. Whether an AI assistant names you is something to measure across repeated answers, week after week.
The figures in this post come from our benchmark of ten local industries, collected on 19 Sep 2026 and 12 Oct 2026. Measured on Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, in Dallas, Nashville and Boise.