85 percent of AI mentions come from sites you don't own.

You can have a perfect website and still be invisible to AI.

When someone asks ChatGPT "who's a good accountant in Galway," it doesn't read your homepage. It reads your Google Business Profile and your reviews. It reads whatever directories already list your competitors. Your site is what people land on after the AI has already decided to mention you.

I run this check with every new client. More often than not, the business with the worse website shows up in the AI answer. They have more reviews and a complete Google profile. They're listed on directories the AI already trusts.

The fix takes an afternoon and costs nothing.

Open ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Ask them the question your customers ask. "Who's a good physio in Kilkenny." "Best solar installer in Cork." Read the answer, then look at what it's citing.

Every source it cites is a page the AI trusts in your category.

Google Maps: is your profile actually complete? Services, hours, photos from this year, a real description of what you do for people. Not "established 2004."

Review sites: count your reviews. Eight reviews beside a competitor's forty is the gap.

Directories: your industry body and your local Chamber, plus the SEAI register if it applies. Some take five minutes to join and stay cited for years.

Then check Reddit and Boards.ie. Those threads get quoted by Perplexity in particular, sometimes for years. Don't pitch yourself. Answer the question properly, or ask a happy customer to share their experience.

Every gap you close is another place AI can find you next time someone asks.

Start with one category question today.