Customers are changing the way they search for local businesses.

For years, the typical customer journey started with Google.

Someone looking for a service might search:

“SEO company Hobart”

“best café near me”

“plumber Hobart”

“Shopify website designer Tasmania”

Today, that same customer may open ChatGPT and ask:

“Can you recommend a good SEO company in Hobart for a small business?”

Or:

“Who can build a Shopify website for my business in Tasmania?”

Or even:

“I need a reliable local electrician with good reviews. Who should I contact?”

This creates an important question for every local business:

Can ChatGPT Find Your Business?

The answer is: potentially, yes.

ChatGPT can search the web when current information is useful and may provide answers containing links and citations to websites. It can also use location information to help return relevant local results.

That means your website is no longer being created only for traditional Google search.

Your online presence may also influence whether your business can be discovered when potential customers use AI-powered search tools.

This is where AI search optimisation, sometimes called AI SEO, GEO or Generative Engine Optimisation, becomes increasingly relevant.

How Does ChatGPT Find Information About Businesses?

It is important to understand that ChatGPT does not simply maintain a fixed directory of every business.

When current information is needed, ChatGPT can search the web, retrieve relevant sources and use those sources when creating an answer.

OpenAI explains that ChatGPT search may turn a user's question into one or more targeted search queries and retrieve information from web sources. Results can include citations so users can visit the original source.

For example, imagine someone asks:

“What are some good website design companies in Hobart that also offer SEO?”

ChatGPT may need to understand:

• Which companies are located in Hobart
• Which companies offer website design
• Which offer SEO
• What their websites say about their services
• Whether there are reliable sources supporting that information
• Whether the business appears relevant to the user's request

This is quite different from the old approach of simply trying to rank for one keyword.

Your entire online presence starts to matter.

Can Any Website Appear in ChatGPT Search?

OpenAI states that public websites can appear in ChatGPT search.

To help a website become discoverable and eligible to be surfaced and cited, website owners should ensure they are not blocking OAI-SearchBot, OpenAI's search crawler.

OpenAI also makes an important point:

Being eligible does not guarantee placement.

Search results are ranked using multiple factors designed to return relevant and reliable information.

In other words, there is no button that says:

“Add my business to ChatGPT.”

And there is no legitimate SEO company that can guarantee:

“We will make ChatGPT recommend your business every time.”

Instead, businesses need to improve the quality, clarity, accessibility and authority of the information available about them online.

AI Search Visibility Is Not Just About ChatGPT

ChatGPT is only part of a much broader change in search behaviour.

Users are increasingly encountering AI-generated answers across search and discovery platforms.

That means businesses should stop thinking only about:

“Where do we rank for this keyword?”

and start asking:

“How easy is it for a search or AI platform to understand who we are, what we do and who we serve?”

This is the core idea behind AI search visibility.

Traditional SEO vs AI Search Optimisation

Traditional SEO and AI search optimisation are closely connected.

You do not need to abandon SEO and start again.

In most cases, strong AI visibility begins with strong SEO fundamentals.

Traditional SEO typically focuses on areas such as:

• Keyword targeting
• Organic rankings
• Technical SEO
• Internal links
• Backlinks
• Local SEO
• Google Business Profile
• Page speed
• Website structure
• Search intent
• Content quality

AI search optimisation adds another question:

Can an AI system easily extract, understand and use the information on your website to answer a customer's question?

The strongest strategy therefore isn't:

SEO vs AI SEO

It is:

SEO + Local SEO + AI Search Optimisation

Why Local Businesses Should Pay Attention

AI-powered search may be particularly important for local businesses because customers frequently search using recommendation-style questions.

Instead of typing:

“accountant Hobart”

someone may ask:

“Can you recommend an accountant in Hobart who works with small businesses?”

Instead of:

“restaurant Salamanca”

they might ask:

“Where should I take my family for dinner near Salamanca that's suitable for children?”

These questions contain much more context.

A business needs more than a page containing the keyword “Hobart accountant” to be relevant.

Search platforms may need to understand:

• Where the business operates
• What it specialises in
• Who its customers are
• What services it offers
• What makes it different
• Whether information about it is current
• Whether other sources support the information

This is why detailed, well-structured websites are becoming increasingly valuable.

1. Clearly Explain What Your Business Does

One of the simplest ways to improve both SEO and AI search visibility is also one of the most commonly overlooked:

Clearly explain your business.

Many websites use vague marketing language such as:

“Delivering innovative solutions for your future.”

It sounds professional, but what does the company actually do?

Compare that with:

“We provide Shopify website development, WordPress web design, SEO and digital marketing services for businesses in Hobart and across Australia.”

The second version provides significantly more context.

A customer understands it immediately.

A search engine can understand it more easily.

And an AI search system has clearer information to work with.

Your website should clearly communicate:

• Business name
• Services
• Products
• Location
• Service areas
• Target customers
• Specialisations
• Contact information

Do not make customers — or search systems — guess.

2. Create Dedicated Pages for Important Services

Another common mistake is placing every service on one page.

Imagine a company offers:

• Website Design
• Shopify Development
• SEO
• Google Ads
• Social Media Marketing
• IT Support

If all six services are covered in a few sentences on one generic Services page, there is limited information available for either search engines or potential customers.

Instead, important services should have their own detailed pages.

For example:

SEO Services Hobart

Shopify Website Development

WordPress Website Design

Google Ads Management

Local SEO Services

Each page can explain:

• What the service includes
• Who it is for
• What problems it solves
• How the process works
• Frequently asked questions
• Relevant examples or case studies
• Next steps

This gives your website much greater topical depth.

3. Answer the Questions Customers Actually Ask

AI search is conversational.

Your content should become more conversational too.

That does not mean writing every page like a chatbot.

It means answering real questions.

For example, someone considering SEO services may ask:

How much does SEO cost?

How long does SEO take?

Can SEO help a local Hobart business?

Should I use SEO or Google Ads?

How do I rank on Google Maps?

Can ChatGPT recommend my business?

What is AI SEO?

These are excellent topics for:

• FAQ sections
• Service pages
• Blog articles
• Guides
• Case studies

Instead of producing hundreds of generic articles, focus on the questions your real customers ask before deciding to contact you.

4. Strengthen Your Local Business Information

Location is particularly important for local search.

OpenAI says ChatGPT search can use approximate or user-shared location information to help provide relevant local results.

If someone asks:

“Find an SEO company near me”

location relevance matters.

Your website should therefore clearly identify:

• Your business address
• City
• State
• Service areas
• Phone number
• Opening hours where relevant

Your Google Business Profile should also be accurate and kept up to date.

For Google specifically, LocalBusiness structured data can communicate details such as business information and opening hours in a machine-readable format.

For a Hobart business, your website should make it easy to understand that you genuinely operate in and serve Hobart — rather than simply inserting the word “Hobart” into a page twenty times.

5. Build a Stronger Online Business Entity

Your website should not be the only place where information about your company exists.

Ideally, there should be consistent information about your business across relevant online sources.

Depending on the industry, this could include:

• Google Business Profile
• Business directories
• Industry associations
• Social media profiles
• Supplier or partner websites
• News coverage
• Customer reviews
• Local organisations
• Relevant business listings

Consistency matters.

If one website says your business is located in Hobart, another says Melbourne and another contains an old phone number, the online picture becomes less clear.

A strong digital presence helps establish a clearer understanding of your business.

6. Publish Content Based on Real Experience

AI has made it incredibly easy to produce generic content.

That makes original experience more valuable, not less.

Consider these two article ideas:

“5 Benefits of SEO”

versus:

“7 SEO Problems We Commonly Find on Hobart Small Business Websites”

The second article gives you an opportunity to share genuine experience.

You might discuss:

• Pages Google cannot properly index
• Poor local keyword targeting
• Missing Google Business Profile information
• Slow mobile websites
• Generic service pages
• Incorrect tracking
• Websites receiving traffic but few enquiries

This type of content gives customers a reason to trust you and provides information that cannot be replicated simply by asking an AI tool to write another generic article.

7. Use Case Studies and Evidence

If your website says:

“We are the best digital marketing company.”

that is simply a claim.

If your website explains:

“Here was the problem, here was what we changed, and here was the outcome,”

you provide evidence.

Case studies can help communicate:

• Industries you work with
• Problems you solve
• Services you actually provide
• Your process
• Results
• Experience

They are useful for potential customers and can also strengthen the amount of clear, specific information available about your business.

8. Make Sure AI Search Crawlers Can Access Your Website

This is a more technical point, but an important one.

OpenAI says businesses that want their public website to be eligible for inclusion in ChatGPT search should ensure that OAI-SearchBot is not blocked from accessing relevant pages.

Website owners should therefore review:

• robots.txt
• Firewall settings
• CDN security settings
• Bot-blocking rules
• Indexability
• Server responses

A website can have excellent content, but if search crawlers cannot access it properly, discoverability can be limited.

This is one reason technical SEO remains important even as AI search develops.

9. Use Structured Content

Content does not need to be complicated to be useful.

In fact, clear structure often makes information easier to understand.

Use:

• Descriptive headings
• Short sections
• FAQs
• Tables where useful
• Lists
• Clear service descriptions
• Clear location information
• Internal links

A page titled:

SEO Services in Hobart

with sections covering services, process, pricing considerations, FAQs, location, case studies and contact information provides significantly more usable information than a page containing two large blocks of marketing copy.

10. Don't Forget Traditional Google SEO

One of the biggest mistakes businesses could make is treating AI SEO as a replacement for Google SEO.

They work together.

Your business still needs:

• Keyword research
• Technical SEO
• On-page optimisation
• Local SEO
• Google Business Profile optimisation
• High-quality service pages
• Backlinks
• Internal linking
• Search Console monitoring
• Strong website performance

AI search optimisation builds on those foundations.

If a website is poorly structured, contains weak content and has almost no authority online, adding an “AI SEO strategy” on top will not magically fix it.

Can You Guarantee That ChatGPT Will Recommend Your Business?

No.

And you should be cautious of anyone who says they can.

OpenAI explicitly states that placement in ChatGPT search is not guaranteed.

AI-generated responses can also vary depending on:

• The exact question
• User context
• Location
• Available web sources
• Search results
• How the question is phrased
• How current the information needs to be

The practical goal therefore should not be:

“Make ChatGPT always recommend us.”

A much more realistic goal is:

Improve the likelihood that your business is understandable, discoverable and relevant when AI search systems look for information related to your services.

That is a more sustainable strategy.

How Can You Check Your Current AI Search Visibility?

Start testing searches that resemble real customer questions.

For example:

“Recommend a website designer in Hobart.”

“Who provides SEO services for small businesses in Tasmania?”

“What companies in Hobart build Shopify websites?”

“Who can manage Google Ads for a Tasmanian business?”

Then look at:

• Which businesses appear
• Which websites are cited
• What information AI systems use
• Why competitors may appear
• What information your website is missing

Do not test only your company name.

A customer who already knows your company is much easier to capture.

The more valuable question is:

Can your business be discovered by someone who does not know you yet?

AI Search Visibility Is a Long-Term Strategy

There is unlikely to be one trick that suddenly makes your business highly visible across every AI platform.

The businesses most prepared for this change will generally be the ones building strong digital foundations.

That means:

Clear website + strong SEO + useful content + local relevance + consistent business information + authority + technical accessibility.

Those fundamentals were valuable before AI search.

They are becoming even more important now.

SEO and AI Search Optimisation With MY IT STUDIO

At MY IT STUDIO, we help businesses improve their visibility across both traditional search and the evolving AI search landscape.

Based in Hobart, our team works with businesses in Tasmania and across Australia on website development, SEO and digital marketing.

Our approach to modern search visibility can include:

• SEO strategy
• Local SEO
• Keyword research
• Website structure
• Technical SEO
• Content strategy
• Service-page optimisation
• AI search optimisation
• Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)
• Structured content
• Conversion-focused website improvements

The objective is not simply to generate more traffic.

It is to help the right customers discover your business when they are actively searching for the products or services you provide.

Can ChatGPT Find Your Business?

Try asking.

But if your business does not appear, do not assume there is a simple submission form or one missing keyword.

Look at your wider digital presence.

Ask yourself:

Does our website clearly explain what we do?

Does it clearly explain where we operate?

Do we answer real customer questions?

Do we have strong individual service pages?

Is our business information consistent online?

Can search crawlers properly access our website?

Do we demonstrate real experience and expertise?

Is there enough trustworthy information online for a search platform to understand our business?

If the answer to several of those questions is no, that is where your AI search optimisation strategy should begin.

Want to Improve Your Visibility on Google and AI Search?

Search is evolving from simple keyword results toward more conversational recommendations and answers.

Your business needs to evolve with it.

MY IT STUDIO can help you strengthen your SEO, local search visibility and AI search optimisation so that your business is easier to discover across both traditional and emerging search experiences.

If you're ready to find out how visible your business really is, contact MY IT STUDIO and start building a stronger search presence.

Want to improve your business's visibility on Google, ChatGPT and other AI search platforms?

Contact MY IT STUDIOto discuss an SEO strategy for your website.

MY IT STUDIO PTY LTD.
ABN 92 665 343 537
Phone:
03 6169 5503
Email:
info@my-it.com.au
Location:
Hobart: Level 2, Room5 64/68 Liverpool St, Hobart TAS 7000