Why Your Ideal Clients Are Asking ChatGPT for Recommendations (And Finding Your Competitors)
TL;DR: Your ideal clients are using ChatGPT to research business services and get recommendations – but if you’re not optimised for AI discovery then they’ll find your competitors instead. This shift is happening way faster than most business owners realise and it’s creating an urgent need for ChatGPT visibility strategies.
Two months ago I had a conversation that made my stomach drop.
During a discovery call, a potential client mentioned she’d spent weeks researching GEO specialists using ChatGPT before finding my website. “I must have asked it dozens of questions about AI search optimisation,” she said. “It kept recommending the same three experts, so I assumed they were the only ones doing this work.”
I wasn’t one of those three experts.
Despite having real experience helping women entrepreneurs with what GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) actually is, creating comprehensive content about AI search strategies – and getting solid results for my clients, I wasn’t always showing up in the AI conversations where my ideal clients were making their research and purchasing decisions.
That’s when I realised something terrifying: there’s a silent crisis happening in business discovery, and most female entrepreneurs have no idea it’s affecting them.
And many of those who do… are pretending it’s not happening.
Your ideal clients aren’t just occasionally asking ChatGPT for business recommendations – they’re using it as their primary research tool and with OpenAI (the ChatGPT mothership) rolling out their own browser asap – you need to be visible on ChatGPT.
These buyers are having detailed conversations about their challenges, getting advice on what to look for in service providers – and receiving specific expert recommendations. And if your expertise isn’t part of those conversations, then your potential clients are walking away with a list of your competitors’ names instead of yours.
The Silent Shift: How Client Discovery Changed Without Warning
The shift happened so gradually that most of us missed it entirely. One day, people were googling “business coach near me,” and the next, they were asking ChatGPT “Can you help me understand what to look for in a business coach who specialises in working with overwhelmed female entrepreneurs?”
The difference is massive. Traditional search queries brought people to your website where you could tell your story and build trust. ChatGPT conversations happen entirely outside your influence – unless you’ve specifically optimised for AI discovery.
And as I write this in July 2025, there are loud rumblings that ChatGPT are about to roll out their own internet browser which is going to overnight cut Google’s dominance by about a gazillion. We live in interesting times!
The Research Pattern That’s Replacing Traditional Search
Here’s what I’ve observed about how potential clients now research business services:
Stage 1: Problem Exploration Instead of searching “business problems,” they ask ChatGPT: “I’m feeling overwhelmed in my business and not sure if I need a coach, consultant, or something else. Can you help me understand my options?”
Stage 2: Solution Education Rather than reading blog posts, they continue the conversation: “What’s the difference between a business coach and a growth strategist? Which would be better for someone in my situation?”
Stage 3: Provider Evaluation Instead of comparing websites, they ask: “What should I look for when choosing a business coach? What questions should I ask? What are red flags to avoid?”
Stage 4: Specific Recommendations Finally, they ask the crucial question: “Can you recommend any business coaches who specialise in helping female entrepreneurs scale without burnout?”
If you’re not visible in Stage 4, all your brilliant marketing efforts for Stages 1-3 become irrelevant. Your ideal clients have already received a curated list of experts to consider, and your name isn’t on it.
What Happened When I Tested My Own Business in ChatGPT
After that sobering discovery call, I decided to test exactly how visible my business was in ChatGPT conversations. I created a detailed testing protocol and spent an entire afternoon asking ChatGPT variations of questions my ideal clients might ask.
The results were both enlightening and concerning:
Questions About AI Search Optimisation
When I asked ChatGPT about AI search optimisation, GEO strategies, and helping businesses get featured in AI overviews – my name appeared inconsistently (booo!). Sometimes I was mentioned, sometimes I wasn’t – and there was no predictable pattern.
Questions About Female Entrepreneur Services
When I asked about business services specifically for women entrepreneurs, I was completely invisible. Despite having months of experience and comprehensive content specifically for this audience – other experts consistently got recommended instead. I was actually OK with that because despite the fact I serve women, I wouldn’t have expected to be found under “business services” because although yes, I provide business services – I think I’m a bit more niche than that and “business services” is a big umbrella!
Questions About SEO vs AI Search
Interestingly, when I asked about the transition from traditional SEO to AI-focused strategies, my content was referenced more frequently which was exactly what I wanted to see and my personal experience documenting this transition had created citation-worthy content.
Questions About Specific Methodologies
When I asked about specific frameworks or methodologies, experts who had named their processes and documented them thoroughly got cited repeatedly – and those with a more generic approaches were ignored.
The testing revealed a crucial insight: ChatGPT wasn’t evaluating my overall expertise or business success. It was making recommendations based on very specific content signals and positioning strategies that I’d only partially optimised for.
The Numbers That Should Worry Every Female Entrepreneur
Based on my research and observations over 2025 to date – here are the trends that should concern every woman business owner:
Growing AI Dependency for Business Research
An increasing number of female entrepreneurs are using ChatGPT as their primary research tool for business services. They’re asking detailed questions about their challenges and receiving comprehensive advice which includes specific expert recommendations.
Traditional Marketing Channel Decline
The women who use ChatGPT for research often bypass traditional marketing channels entirely. They’re not reading blog posts, following social media accounts, or even searching Google – they’re having direct conversations with AI about their business needs.
Competitor Advantage Acceleration
The businesses that get consistently recommended by ChatGPT are building significant competitive advantages. They’re capturing qualified leads at the exact moment potential clients are ready to make decisions.
Quality Lead Concentration
ChatGPT users tend to be more research-oriented and decision-ready than traditional web browsers. If you’re missing these conversations, you’re losing access to some of the highest-quality potential clients in your market.
Trust Transfer Effect
When ChatGPT recommends specific experts, it transfers its perceived authority to those recommendations and those potential clients arrive with higher trust levels and further along the buyer’s journey than they typically have through traditional discovery methods.
Real ChatGPT Conversations Your Clients Are Having Right Now
To understand the scope of this crisis, let me share some actual examples of ChatGPT conversations that potential clients are having (anonymised for privacy):
Business Coaching Conversations
Client: “I’m a working mother trying to scale my online business, but I’m completely overwhelmed. I don’t know if I need a business coach, a operations consultant, or just better systems. Can you help me figure this out?”
ChatGPT Response: Provided detailed advice about different types of business support, then recommended three specific business coaches who “specialise in helping working mothers scale their businesses sustainably.”
Marketing Strategy Conversations
Client: “I hate social media marketing but know I need to market my coaching business somehow. Are there marketing consultants who specialise in non-social media strategies?”
ChatGPT Response: Discussed various marketing approaches, then recommended specific marketing consultants known for “helping service-based businesses grow without relying on social media.”
Website and SEO Conversations
Client: “My website isn’t bringing in clients even though I have good content. Should I hire an SEO expert or is there something else I should consider first?”
ChatGPT Response: Explained the evolution from traditional SEO to AI search optimisation, then recommended experts who “help businesses transition from SEO to GEO strategies.”
Wellness and Health Coaching Conversations
Client: “I’m looking for a health coach who understands the unique challenges of female entrepreneurs – stress, irregular schedules, and the pressure to always be ‘on.’ Do you know anyone who specialises in this?”
ChatGPT Response: Provided detailed guidance about finding the right health coach, then recommended three specialists who “work specifically with high-achieving women and female entrepreneurs.”
Why Traditional Marketing Isn’t Reaching ChatGPT Users
The fundamental problem is that ChatGPT users are having private conversations that bypass all traditional marketing channels:
Social Media Invisibility
Even if you have a strong social media presence, ChatGPT users aren’t seeing your posts. They’re asking AI directly for recommendations rather than scrolling through social feeds.
SEO Irrelevance
Traditional SEO rankings don’t influence ChatGPT recommendations. You can rank #1 for your target keywords – but if you’re not optimised for AI discovery, ChatGPT users will never find you. (Take that SEO bros!)
Content Marketing Limitations
Blog posts and content marketing only help if ChatGPT references your content when making recommendations. Generic content gets ignored in favour of specific and authority-demonstrating resources. How-tos and lists are going to be very difficult to create content around unless you’re going to be able to put a truly original spin on it.
Networking Gaps
Traditional networking and referral strategies don’t extend to AI conversations. ChatGPT makes recommendations based on its training data and content analysis – and not personal relationships.
Advertising Blindness
Paid advertising doesn’t reach people having private conversations with ChatGPT about business needs. These users are actively avoiding traditional marketing channels in favour of AI advice. I do expect ChatGPT to include paid ads within the next 2 years – so I’ll have to put a note in my calendar to remind me to come back to this thought. 😉
The Competitive Advantage Hidden in Plain Sight
Most female entrepreneurs don’t realise this yet: while this AI visibility crisis is real and urgent – it’s also an unprecedented opportunity. The businesses getting recommended by ChatGPT aren’t necessarily the biggest or most successful, but they’re the ones who’ve optimised for AI discovery.
Early Adoption Advantage
Most business owners don’t even know ChatGPT business recommendations exist, let alone how to optimise for them. The women who embrace step-by-step strategies for getting their business recommended by ChatGPT now will dominate their niches.
Quality Over Quantity
ChatGPT recommendations tend to generate higher-quality leads because users arrive more educated about their needs and more ready to make (buying) decisions. One ChatGPT-referred client can be worth several traditional marketing-generated leads.
Authority Building Acceleration
Being regularly recommended by ChatGPT builds your authority faster than traditional marketing methods. Each recommendation reinforces your expert status and makes future recommendations more likely.
Competitive Moat Creation
Once you’re established as a ChatGPT-recommended expert in your niche, it becomes much harder for competitors to displace you. The AI tends to reinforce existing authority patterns – and we like it!
Future-Proofing Your Business
As AI becomes even more integrated into how people research and make decisions – the businesses that adapt now will be positioned for continued growth whilst others struggle with declining traditional marketing effectiveness. I predict that by this time next year there’s going to be a lot of whining and wailing about not seeing this shift happen – and the best time to get in on AI visibility is today.
Your Emergency Action Plan: Becoming Visible in ChatGPT Conversations
If you’re realising that your ideal clients might be finding your competitors through ChatGPT instead of you, then let me introduce you to your urgent action plan:
Week 1: Reality Assessment
Day 1-2: Test your current ChatGPT visibility by asking variations of questions your ideal clients might ask and document which experts get recommended instead of you.
Day 3-4: Research what makes those recommended experts different from you and analyse their positioning, content style, and authority signals.
Day 5-7: Identify specific gaps in your current approach that prevent ChatGPT from recognising and recommending your expertise.
Week 2: Positioning Overhaul
Day 8-10: Develop specific, unique positioning that differentiates you from generic service providers in your field. Move from broad descriptions to niche expertise.
Day 11-12: Create consistent professional descriptions across all platforms that clearly communicate who you serve and how your approach is unique.
Day 13-14: Document your credentials and experience in context, showing not just what you know but how you’ve applied that knowledge to help specific types of clients.
Week 3: Authority Content Creation
Day 15-17: Create comprehensive content that demonstrates your unique methodology and approach. Focus on secrets behind becoming a ChatGPT-cited expert rather than generic advice.
Day 18-19: Document your specific frameworks and processes in detail by giving them memorable names that ChatGPT can reference and recommend.
Day 20-21: Share your personal experience and journey in your field, including challenges overcome and lessons learned that demonstrate authentic expertise and that you know what you’re talking about.
Week 4: Testing and Refinement
Day 22-24: Test whether your positioning and content changes influence ChatGPT recommendations for relevant queries in your field.
Day 25-26: Monitor patterns in ChatGPT responses and refine your approach based on initial results and recommendation frequency.
Day 27-28: Plan ongoing content creation and optimisation strategies to maintain and improve your ChatGPT visibility over time.
Month 2: Systematic Implementation
Continue creating authority-demonstrating content, test ChatGPT responses regularly, engage with your target audience to understand their AI usage patterns – and refine your approach based on results.
Month 3: Competitive Monitoring
Track your progress against competitors, identify new opportunities for ChatGPT visibility, expand your content strategy around successful topics – and build those partnerships that amplify your expert authority.
What Happens if You Do Nothing in the ChatGPT Era
Every day you delay optimising for ChatGPT recommendations is another day your ideal clients are asking AI for expert recommendations and receiving your competitors’ names instead of yours.
The female entrepreneurs who recognise this AI visibility crisis and take action now will capture the growing market of AI-dependent prospects* whilst their competitors remain invisible in the conversations that matter most.
*Cards on the table – even me who loves AI was somewhat sceptical 18 months ago – but the speed we’re seeing everything move at means you simply can’t ignore it.
But the cost of inaction (doing nothing to optimise for GEO) goes beyond just lost leads. As ChatGPT becomes more integrated into how people research and make business decisions, then the gap between AI-visible experts and AI-invisible ones will become increasingly difficult to bridge.
The businesses that establish themselves as ChatGPT-recommended experts now will build authority and recognition that compounds over time. Those who wait will find themselves fighting for visibility in an increasingly crowded field of AI-optimised competitors.
The crisis is real, but so is the opportunity. The female entrepreneurs who act now to become visible in ChatGPT conversations will dominate their industries as AI becomes the primary source for business recommendations.
Ready to ensure your ideal clients find you instead of your competitors? Start with my comprehensive 50-point GEO audit checklist to assess exactly where you stand in AI search conversations and what needs immediate attention.
