One of my clients called me a few months ago with a question I've been hearing more and more: "My niece asked ChatGPT to recommend a local business in my industry and my name didn't come up. Why not — and how do I fix it?"
It's exactly the right question to be asking in 2026. Here's what's happening and what you can do about it.
Why AI tools often miss local London Ontario businesses
When ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, or Perplexity recommend a local business, they're not randomly selecting from a list. They're pulling from structured, trustworthy data sources — and most local business websites aren't structured in a way that AI engines can reliably read.
Think of it this way: AI tools are very literal. They need clear, machine-readable signals to understand what your business does, where it operates, who it serves, and why it's credible. If those signals aren't present on your website and in the wider web ecosystem around your business, AI tools either skip you entirely or get your details wrong.
Here are the five things you need to have in place to get your London, Ontario business appearing in AI-generated recommendations.
1. Add LocalBusiness schema markup to your website
Schema markup is structured code — specifically JSON-LD format — that you add to your website to tell search engines and AI tools exactly what your business is.
A properly configured LocalBusiness schema for a London, Ontario business includes:
Your business name, URL, and phone number
Your physical or service address (London, ON, Canada)
Your geographic coordinates
Your service area (London, Southwestern Ontario)
A list of your specific services
Links to your social profiles (sameAs)
Your opening hours
Without this, AI tools have to infer your business details from your page copy — and they often get it wrong or skip you in favour of a competitor whose data is clearly structured.
This is the single highest-impact AEO fix for any local business. It can be added to most websites without any developer help.
2. Set up and fully optimise your Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the primary data sources that AI tools use for local business recommendations — including Google AI Overviews, Google Maps, and even third-party AI tools that pull from Google's local business data.
A complete GBP includes:
Accurate business name, address, and phone (NAP) — consistent with what's on your website
Your primary and secondary business categories
Business hours (including holiday hours)
A detailed business description with your key services
Photos — interior, exterior, team, and products/services
Regular Google posts (at least monthly)
Active review management (responding to reviews signals credibility)
If you haven't claimed your GBP yet, do it today. It's free and it's foundational to local AI visibility.
3. Create FAQ content that directly answers the questions your customers are asking
AI engines are answer machines. They cite content that directly, clearly, and concisely answers the questions people are asking. The more your website content mirrors the conversational questions your customers type into AI tools, the more likely you are to be cited.
For a London, Ontario service business, this means creating FAQ content like:
"Who is the best [your service] in London, Ontario?"
"How much does [your service] cost in London, Ontario?"
"How do I choose a [your service provider] in London Ontario?"
"What should I look for when hiring a [your profession]?"
These don't have to be buried on an FAQ page. They can be woven into your homepage, service pages, and blog posts — structured as clear question-and-answer pairs.
4. Wrap your FAQ content in FAQPage schema
Having the FAQ content is step one. Step two is making it machine-readable.
FAQPage JSON-LD schema tells AI engines that this specific content is a structured question-and-answer pair — making it eligible for Google's rich results and dramatically easier for AI tools to extract and cite.
This is one of the fastest AEO wins available. If you have FAQ content on your site and it's not wrapped in FAQPage schema, you're leaving a significant amount of AI visibility on the table.
5. Build your founder or business entity across the web
AI tools build a picture of your business from multiple sources — your website, your GBP, your LinkedIn profile, industry directories, local citations, and backlinks from credible sources. The more consistent and credible your business entity appears across the web, the more likely AI tools are to recommend you confidently.
For London, Ontario businesses, this means:
Consistent NAP across your website, GBP, and all directory listings
A complete LinkedIn company page (or personal profile for solo practitioners) linked to your website
Citations in local directories — London Chamber of Commerce, Yelp, Yellow Pages, industry-specific directories
Client or media mentions that link back to your website
The technical term for this is entity authority — and it's what AI tools use to determine whether your business is credible enough to recommend.
How long does it take to show up in AI results?
It varies. Some businesses see results within days of implementing schema markup and completing their GBP. For others, especially in competitive categories, it takes 4–8 weeks of consistent optimization before AI tools begin citing them regularly.
The key is to start now. Every month you wait is a month your competitors who are implementing AEO are compounding their advantage.
Not sure where to start?
Run a free instant audit at spreenge.ca/signal to see your current AEO readiness score and get a prioritised list of fixes specific to your website.
Or book a free call and I'll walk you through exactly what your business needs to start appearing in AI-generated local recommendations.
Femi Popoola is the founder of Spreenge Digital, a web design and AEO agency based in London, Ontario. Spreenge specialises in building AEO-ready Framer websites for London Ontario small businesses.