Why this matters right now
Google search is no longer the only way people find businesses. Increasingly, users ask an AI assistant directly — "recommend an AI automation company in Latvia" or "where can I order an AI chatbot in Riga" — and get one concrete recommendation, not a list of ten links to evaluate themselves. If your business doesn't appear in that answer, you simply don't exist at the moment the customer makes a decision.
How to check your own AI visibility
The simplest way — open ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity and ask each the same question a potential customer would ask: "which company in Latvia offers [your service]?" or "recommend a good [your industry] company in Riga." Note whether your business shows up, and if not, which competitors appear in your place.
A faster way — BalticMind's homepage has a free AI Business Audit tool that automatically asks that same question to several AI models at once and shows the result within seconds, no signup required.
What determines whether AI recommends you
Structured data (schema.org)
AI models "understand" a website more easily when it clearly marks up who the company is, where it's located, what it offers, and how much it costs — through schema.org markup (JSON-LD), not just visual text.
llms.txt and technical accessibility
An llms.txt file in the root directory gives AI systems a short, structured summary of your business. Equally important — robots.txt must not block AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, etc.), otherwise these systems simply can't see your content at all.
Mentions beyond your own website
AI models learn not just from your website, but from how you're written about elsewhere — directories, review platforms, industry publications. Consistently identical data (name, address, phone) everywhere strengthens trust.
Common mistakes
AI crawlers accidentally blocked in robots.txt. Sometimes this happens out of excess caution about data security, but the result is that AI systems can't visit the website at all.
Inconsistent business information. If different places online show a different phone number or address, it's harder for an AI model to determine which version is correct — and it may simply choose not to mention you at all.
No structured data. Without schema.org markup, an AI model has to try to "guess" basic facts from free text — this increases the chance of an error, or of being skipped entirely.
How to improve visibility — a short checklist
- Add full Organization schema.org markup with address, phone, prices, and social profiles
- Create an llms.txt file in the root directory
- Check that robots.txt allows GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended
- Keep the same business information (name, address, phone) consistent everywhere online
- Regularly check what AI assistants say about your industry, and track changes
Conclusion
AI visibility (AEO/GEO) in 2026 is what SEO was ten years ago — early adopters gain a disproportionately large advantage. Checking takes a few minutes, but improving it is systematic work — and that's exactly what BalticMind's AI Visibility (AEO) service does.
Want to know what ChatGPT actually says about your business?
Get a free AI auditFrequently asked questions
How do I check whether ChatGPT recommends my business?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the same question a customer would — for example, “which company in Latvia offers [your service]?” — and note whether your business appears and which competitors are named. BalticMind’s free AI audit does this faster by asking several AI models at once, with no sign-up.
What affects whether AI assistants recommend a company?
Three main factors: schema.org structured data on the website, technical accessibility (an llms.txt file and a robots.txt that does not block GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot), and consistent mentions outside your own site — in directories, review platforms and industry publications.
Why might an AI assistant not mention my business?
The most common reasons: AI crawlers accidentally blocked in robots.txt, inconsistent company details (phone, address) in different places online, and no schema.org markup on the site, so the model has to guess basic facts from free text.
Written by Dmitrijs Vasiļjevs, BalticMind founder, who builds AI chatbots and process automation for Baltic businesses every day. More about the author →