ChatGPT Recommended My Studio to a Stranger 3,000km Away. Here’s What Made It Happen.

A little while ago I got a message from a business owner in Darwin. That’s about 3,000km from my desk in Norwest.

We’d never met. She hadn’t seen an ad, and no one had referred her. She’d asked ChatGPT for a recommendation, and Kida Digital came up number one on its list.

I fixed her problem in about ten minutes.

Honestly, I was surprised. But when I thought about why it happened, it made sense, and none of it is out of reach for any small business.

AI assistants are the new word of mouth

More and more people skip the search results and ask ChatGPT, Google’s AI answers or Perplexity directly: “Who should I use for…?” The assistant reads what’s out there about local businesses, then names a few.

It can only recommend you if it can find you, understand what you do, and see that other people trust you. That comes down to two things working together.

1. A real website that says clearly what you do

An AI assistant can’t recommend a business it can’t read about. A Facebook page or a listing with three lines on it gives it very little to go on.

A proper website gives it the full picture: what you do, who you do it for, where you’re based, what it costs and how to get in touch. The clearer and more specific those pages are, the easier you are to recommend.

• Say it plainly. “Shopify stores and websites for small Australian businesses, based in Norwest” beats “Elevating brands through digital excellence” every time.
• Answer real questions. How much does it cost? How long does it take? Which suburbs do you cover? Put the answers on your site, in your own words.
• Keep your details the same everywhere. Your business name, phone number and location should match on your website, your Google Business Profile and your socials.

2. Reviews that prove people trust you

Assistants lean heavily on what customers say. My studio has a 4.8-star rating on Google, written by real clients in their own words.

A website on its own says “here’s what I do”. Reviews say “and it’s true”. Put the two together and you’re a safe recommendation.

If you’ve got great reviews but no website, you’re only giving the assistant half the story. That’s exactly the gap my local business websites are built to close.

What this means for your business

You don’t need a big marketing budget for this. Most small businesses are one or two steps away:

• No website yet? That’s the first job. Your Google reviews deserve somewhere to point.
• Got a website, but it’s vague? Rewrite your home page so a stranger can tell what you do, for whom and where, in ten seconds.
• Only a handful of reviews? Ask your happiest recent customers. Most are glad to help if you send them the link.

Your action for this week

Open ChatGPT and ask it the question your customers would ask, for example “Who would you recommend for [what you do] in [your suburb]?”

• Do you come up?
• If you do, is what it says about you right?
• If you don’t, who does, and what do their website and reviews have that yours don’t?

Then pick one thing to fix: your home page wording, your Google Business Profile, or three new reviews.

Want it done for you?

I build websites that say clearly what you do, show off the reviews you’ve already earned, and give search engines and AI assistants the details they need. Local business websites are $799 inc GST, then $59 a month for hosting, your domain and unlimited changes. Service-business and Shopify sites are on the quote calculator.