Answer: What You Tell It.
In today’s digital landscape, people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot to learn about businesses, often before visiting a website or checking search results. But here’s the truth: AI doesn’t know your business. It learns from what it finds online.
“Language models are trained on vast numbers of documents taken from the internet: books, blogs, fan fiction, technical reports, social media posts, and much, much more.”
– MIT News, March 2023. “Large Language Models Aren’t People. Let’s Stop Testing Them As If They Were.” March 3, 2023. https://cbmm.mit.edu/news-events/news/large-language-models-aren%E2%80%99t-people-let%E2%80%99s-stop-testing-them-if-they-were-mit
AI doesn’t “understand” your business — it assembles a summary based on your online content. That includes your website, social media, reviews, directories, media mentions, and more. If that information is missing, AI fills in the blanks — often incorrectly.
“Their so-called in-context learning capabilities are almost entirely determined by what they learn from the training data.”
– MIT Press, November 2025 “Rethinking Data Use in Large Language Models.” November 2025. https://direct.mit.edu/coli/article/doi/10.1162/COLI.a.573/133409/Rethinking-Data-Use-in-Large-Language-Models“If you don’t control your digital story, AI will — and it may not get it right.”
– Julie Merrett, Reach Marketing Group
What AI Needs to Build an Accurate Summary
AI uses structured and unstructured content to build a business profile. Here’s what it looks for:
✅ Key Website Content
- Clear About page and services descriptions
- Consistent Contact info and location
- SEO-optimised FAQs and blog content
- Schema markup and metadata to support indexing
✅ Business Listings
- Up-to-date Google Business Profile
- Consistent presence on Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bing, Apple Maps, and industry directories
✅ Public Content & Signals
- Verified customer reviews and testimonials
- Mentions in news articles, industry blogs, or podcasts
- Social media bios and posts that reinforce expertise
How to Be Featured in Google’s AI Overviews
Google’s AI Overviews pull summaries from websites Google considers authoritative, structured, and aligned with user intent. To qualify:
What Helps:
- Google Business Profile that’s fully completed
- Fresh and relevant website content
- Strong E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals
- Backlinks from reputable domains
- Fast, mobile-friendly website performance
- Clear authorship and contact info
✅ To-Do List: Control What AI Says About You
| Task | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 🔲 Optimise your website with updated, structured content | AI pulls directly from your site |
| 🔲 Claim your Google Business Profile and update it regularly | Boosts visibility and AI summarisation |
| 🔲 Align all online listings with accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone) | Prevents AI confusion |
| 🔲 Post regularly on social media platforms | Confirms activity and brand voice |
| 🔲 Get and respond to reviews | Adds credibility and trust |
| 🔲 Publish blog content and FAQs | Matches customer intent in AI answers |
| 🔲 Use schema markup and SEO best practices | Helps AI identify and prioritise your content |
| 🔲 Monitor AI platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini | See how your brand is represented |
Looks like a lot?
It is, but Reach Marketing Group can manage all of your website, Google Business Profiles, all other search platforms and your social media and your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) for you.
Your digital footprint is now your first impression – not just for people, but for AI. If you want AI to accurately represent your business, you have to give it the right data to work with.
Control the narrative – or risk being misunderstood.
Contact us for more information.