Picture this: your customer strolls into the kitchen, phone in hand, and says, “I asked ChatGPT who the best electrician in Kent is... and you weren’t even mentioned.”
Now, that’s not just a slap in the face, it’s a full-on gut punch with a steel-toe boot. You could be the most skilled tradesperson in your postcode, but if AI doesn’t know you exist, you may as well be fixing leaky taps in a cave.
Whether you’re a carpenter, bricklayer, roofer, floor fitter, or painter-decorator, AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are fast becoming the new word of mouth. Gone are the days of Aunt Linda recommending you after Sunday lunch. These days, people are asking, “Hey ChatGPT, who’s the best landscaper near me?” or “Which tiler has good reviews in Canterbury?” AI responds in seconds, but only if you’ve played your digital cards right.
If your name’s missing from the list, it’s not personal. It just means your online presence hasn’t yet been fine-tuned for how AI tools fetch and prioritise information. Think of it like being on page 9 of Google..... but worse, because ChatGPT might only serve up three names and call it a day. And if you’re not one of them? Well, you’re basically a ghost with a trowel.
But don’t start chucking your business cards in the bin just yet. We’re going to walk you through exactly how to optimise your trade business for this new age of AI search and recommendation. Whether you're laying bricks or rewiring fuse boxes, this guide is built to get your name mentioned by the machines, for all the right reasons.
Still wondering if this AI thing really matters? Check out this Forbes article that explains how AI is reshaping local search habits and business discovery.
This is a great question, and no, the robots aren’t spinning a giant wheel in the cloud. AI tools like ChatGPT don’t make things up (well.... not on purpose). They scan mountains of online information to decide who gets the gold star when someone asks for “the best plasterer in Margate” or “a top-rated roofer near me.”
So how does it work? Well, much like Google’s algorithm, ChatGPT plays detective with your digital footprint. It pieces together clues from across the web and decides if you’re worth a mention. And here’s the kicker: if your business looks invisible or incomplete online, AI simply skips you and suggests someone else, usually the person who’s bothered to sort their online presence.
Here’s where AI gets its info from:
In other words, it’s like Google rankings, but with reading glasses and a magnifying glass. AI wants trusted, detailed, and consistent information before it recommends a human with a hammer.
Now, if you’re not showing up in any of these places, or worse, if your website still looks like it was made during the dial-up era, ChatGPT won’t give you the time of day. Even if you’re absolutely flipping brilliant at what you do.
But don’t take our word for it, have a gander at this Harvard Business Review breakdown of how AI is completely changing the way people find businesses. It’s happening now, not next year.
If you’re serious about showing up in AI tools like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, or Google’s Gemini when someone searches “recommended tradesperson near me,” then you need more than just a van and a Facebook page. You need a solid digital strategy that covers all the bases — the human ones and the robot ones.
Here’s your no-nonsense, slightly cheeky, definitely essential checklist for getting both people and machines to notice your business:
1. Sign Up to Trusted Review Platforms (and Actually Fill Them In) - We’re talking about the big hitters like Checkatrade, TrustATrader, and Which? Trusted Traders. These sites are like gold dust to AI, their databases are regularly scanned and scraped for quality businesses.Make sure your profile isn’t just a name and phone number. Add photos, a proper bio, services offered, certifications, and real customer reviews (not the ones written by your cousin Dave pretending to be “Sandra from Sevenoaks”).
2. Supercharge Your Google Business Profile - If you’re not showing up on Google Maps, you’re basically invisible to most AI tools. Add photos, opening hours, service categories, and keep your business info up to date. Get reviews and reply to them!Need help optimising it? Here's a handy Google Business Profile guide from Moz. You’ll thank us later.
3. Build a Real Website, Not Something Knocked Together at 2am - We’re talking fast-loading, mobile-friendly, SEO-rich, and loaded with keywords that actually match how people search. You need headings, schema markup, alt tags, and location pages like “Electrician in Maidstone” or “Painter in Folkestone.”And please, for the love of power tools, no Wix templates from 2009 with scrolling text and autoplay music.
4. Get Featured in Articles, Blogs, and Guides (Yes, Like This One) - AI loves content. It especially loves content that features you. If your business is mentioned in “Top 10 Roofers in Kent” or local blogs about trusted plasterers, ChatGPT is far more likely to include you in its recommendations.No idea where to get featured? Start by creating your own content, then reach out to trade websites or submit articles to local business blogs.
5. Use Consistent NAP Info Everywhere - NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. Sounds simple, but it’s shocking how many trades have 14 different versions of their address floating around the internet.Make sure it’s exactly the same, punctuation and all! across your website, Google profile, directories, and anything else that mentions your business. Inconsistent details confuse AI, and confused AI doesn’t recommend you.
6. Upload an LLM-Friendly Business File to Your Website
Here's a sneaky SEO move for the future: add a downloadable file on your site (think PDF or .json) that includes key info about your business — services, locations, certifications, contact details — written clearly and consistently. This is the kind of structured data that Large Language Models (LLMs) can easily crawl and reference.
It’s a smart way to feed the machine and boost your visibility when AI is hunting for trades like “Gas Safe engineer in Kent” or “reliable landscaper in Thanet.” You’ll be amazed how effective this can be as search evolves.
Let’s get this out of the way first: you can’t slip ChatGPT a tenner and get your business to the top of the list. There are no “sponsored results,” no ad slots, no VIP backstage passes. If someone says they can “guarantee” you’ll be recommended by AI tools, walk away — preferably while clutching your wallet.
AI tools don’t work like that. They don’t take bribes, wear branded merch, or give you special treatment for posting 400 hashtags under your tiling photo. They pick businesses based on trust, relevance, and visibility, and that means one thing: you’ve got to earn it.
The good news? You can absolutely optimise your business in ways that dramatically increase your chances of being recommended by AI like ChatGPT, Gemini, and whatever else comes next.
Here’s how to stack the deck in your favour, no hacks, just hard graft and smart moves:
Create Proper Local SEO Pages for Your Actual Service Areas - Don’t just say “we cover the South East.” Be specific. Build service pages for every town, village, or district you genuinely work in, like “Loft Conversion in Herne Bay” or “Kitchen Fitter in Sittingbourne.” AI loves this stuff because it can match queries like “best kitchen fitter near me” to your site.Need help structuring them? This Ahrefs guide to local landing pages is a cracking place to start.
Collect Genuine Reviews and Actually Reply to Them - You know what builds trust faster than a posh van wrap? A steady stream of positive reviews from real customers. AI tools use review data to gauge credibility. Bonus points if you respond politely, even to the grumpy ones. It shows you’re active, professional, and listening.
Get Featured in Roundups, Blogs, and Directories - Ever seen those “Top 5 Electricians in Kent” lists? Those aren’t just fluff pieces. They’re gold dust for AI visibility. Get your name in there, whether it’s via partnerships, guest posts, or online trade networks. The more places you’re mentioned, the more likely you are to get picked up.
Consistency is King, Especially for Your Contact Info - It bears repeating: your name, address, and phone number must be identical across every platform. No “Ltd” on one page and “Limited” on another. If AI gets confused, it defaults to someone else. Don't let your next customer go to “Dave's Decorating” because your postcode was typed wrong.
Show Off Your Work with Photos, Testimonials, and Case Studies - Whether you’re a landscape gardener or a locksmith, people want proof. AI’s not just reading your homepage, it’s checking if your website shows real jobs, proper reviews, and evidence of happy customers. The more high-quality content you’ve got, the more trustworthy you look.
Bottom line: you’re not “hacking” AI. You’re feeding it high-quality signals that make it say, “Ah yes, this is a business worth recommending.”
Your goal? Be so visible, so credible, and so useful online that AI can’t ignore you, even if it wanted to.
If you're serious about levelling up your online presence, this Neil Patel article on local SEO strategies is a must-read. It’s got practical tips that even the busiest bricklayer can understand.
Let’s not sugar-coat it, AI is already changing how people find trades, and it’s only getting smarter. Homeowners today are far more likely to ask ChatGPT for “the best plasterer near me” than dig through a stack of takeaway menus to find your magnet. The Yellow Pages? Please. That’s now being used as a doorstop in exactly one nan’s bungalow in Tunbridge Wells.
Whether you’re a plumber in Portsmouth, a carpenter in Clacton, or a landscaper in Luton, this shift in search behaviour affects you. Millennials and Gen Zs, the ones buying houses, flipping properties, and renovating kitchens, don’t want to phone around five companies. They want instant, AI-approved answers. And if you’re not actively showing up online with reviews, credentials, and proper SEO, they won’t even know you exist.
So here’s the million-pound question:
Will AI recommend your business... or will it hand over the job to your competition down the road who hasn’t used a spirit level properly in six years?
The reality is, you could be ten times better than them at your trade, more experienced, more reliable, and far less likely to ghost a job halfway through, but if your digital presence is non-existent, the machines don’t know that. And if they don’t know, they won’t mention you.
That’s why now’s the time to get serious about local SEO, proper online listings, consistent business info, and showcasing your work. You don’t need to become a digital marketing wizard, you just need to stop hiding from the future.
Because if you don’t do it soon, someone else will. And they’ll be the one getting the AI-generated referrals, the bookings, and the credit… even if their tiling still looks like a game of Tetris gone wrong.
AI-powered search isn’t coming, it’s already here, and it’s changing how homeowners and businesses choose their local trades. From plumbers to painters, roofers to glaziers, today’s customers are no longer thumbing through a tatty business card or Googling random phone numbers. They’re asking ChatGPT, Siri, Alexa, and Google Gemini things like:
“Who’s the best plasterer near me?”
“Can you recommend a good roofer in Kent?”
“I need a reliable electrician in my area, any ideas?”
And guess what? Those tools are answering. Instantly. But are they naming you, or are they rattling off your competition?
If you haven’t started building your digital footprint, tightening up your SEO, or making sure your business is visible to both people and machines, then you’re already falling behind. Every day you delay is a day your competitor gets the job, the review, and the next referral — even if they can’t hang a door straight.
It’s time to stop treating your website, Google profile, and content as afterthoughts. Start seeing them for what they really are: powerful business assets that can win you work while you’re out on a job.
Want to be the name that AI recommends?
Let’s get you there. We’ll handle the content, the SEO, the setup, everything. All you need to do is keep doing great work.
👉 Book your free consultation with Local Trades Websites and let’s future-proof your business, one smart step at a time.
