There are three ways to get your business found in AI: do it yourself, use an agency, or use a done-for-you service. DIY costs you time every week. An agency gives you a person and a plan, usually with monthly reporting. Done for you, like Scope, keeps checking ChatGPT, Google AI and other engines and does the fixing for you, on autopilot.
See where your business stands in AI search
Key facts
| Fact | Number | Source, date |
|---|---|---|
| US consumers who say they used AI for a local business recommendation in the past year | 45%, up from 6% the year before | BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, Feb 2026 |
| Multi-location brand locations ChatGPT recommended in its top five | 1.2%, vs 35.9% shown in Google's local 3-Pack | SOCi 2026 Local Visibility Index, 2026 |
| Local businesses that did not show up in any ChatGPT answer about their own services | About 4 in 5 (of more than 2,100 scanned) | Scope scan data, Jan 5 to Oct 25, 2026 (method below) |
| What Google requires to appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode | The same SEO basics, no special files or markup | Google Search Central, checked Oct 25, 2026 |
The three ways, side by side
| Do it yourself | Agency | Done for you (Scope) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you do each week | All of it | Calls, approvals, reading reports | Nothing required. Review and publish fixes if you want a final say |
| Who asks the AI engines your customers' questions | You, by hand, one engine at a time | The agency, on its schedule | Scope, automatically, across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode and Copilot |
| How often answers get re-checked | When you find the time | Usually per reporting cycle | On a set schedule, every cycle |
| Who writes the fixes | You | The agency | Scope writes them and, if your site is connected, saves them as drafts ready to go live |
| How you see the work | Your own notes | A report | In your Scope dashboard |
| Good fit if | You enjoy it and have hours to spare | You want a person and a custom plan | You want it handled |
What does doing it yourself actually involve?
Start with the basics Google already asks for: a crawlable, indexed site with clear text and structured data that matches what's on the page (Google Search Central). Then the AI part begins.
You'd type your customers' real questions into ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google, one at a time, and write down who gets named. You'd look at which sites the answers quote, and work out why a competitor shows up and you don't. You'd fix your own pages, then the outside places AI reads, like review sites and profiles. For Siri, that includes your Apple Maps place card, since Apple says that information appears across Maps, Siri, Wallet and Messages (Apple).
Then you'd do it all again, because AI answers change. The work is free in dollars and expensive in hours.
What does an agency do for AI search?
A good agency does the same work with more skill and a person you can call. Many add AI search on top of an SEO plan. You get strategy, someone who knows your market, and a report. The trade-off is that you're paying for people's time, and the checking happens on their schedule. If you want a human strategist, that can be worth it.
What does done for you mean?
Done for you means the work runs without you. With Scope, your part is two steps: run a free scan, then turn on autopilot.
Scope's part: it asks every engine the questions your customers ask and reads every answer. It finds why competitors get named instead of you and which sites AI quotes. It writes the fixes, like a clear description of what you do, answers AI can quote and structured data for your pages. With your site connected, Scope saves those fixes to your site as drafts, so going live takes one click. It also keeps adding new customer questions to track, and keeps re-checking and fixing as answers change.
Why does it have to keep running?
Because very few businesses get named, and the answers move. SOCi's 2026 study of about 350,000 locations found ChatGPT recommended just 1.2% of multi-location brand locations in its top five, against 35.9% that appeared in Google's local 3-Pack (SOCi).
Our own data matches. Of more than 2,100 local businesses scanned by Scope in 2026, about 4 in 5 did not show up in any ChatGPT answer when we asked about the services they offer.
Method: latest completed Scope scan per business, ChatGPT answers to service and discovery questions only (brand-name questions excluded), internal and QA scans excluded, scans from Jan 5 to Oct 25, 2026. Businesses chose to run a scan, so this is a self-selected sample, not a random one.
Meanwhile, 45% of US consumers in BrightLocal's 2026 survey said they used AI for a local business recommendation in the past year (BrightLocal). That's a lot of customers asking, and very few businesses in the answers. Closing that gap once isn't enough. It has to keep being closed.
Which one fits my business?
- Do it yourself if you have a few hours every week and like this kind of work.
- An agency if you want a person, a custom strategy and regular meetings.
- Done for you if you'd rather run your business and have the AI search work handled on autopilot.
Agencies thinking about this from their side can read how agencies add AI visibility. For the why, read AI search is the new SEO. For the work itself, see what getting found in AI actually takes and how to get cited by ChatGPT.
Common follow-ups
Q: Can I start DIY and switch later? A: Yes. Run a free scan first so you know where you stand, then decide how much of the work you want to do.
Q: Do I still control what goes on my website? A: Yes. Scope saves fixes to a connected site as drafts. Nothing goes live on your site until it's published.
Q: Can any of these make sure AI names my business? A: No one can promise that, because AI answers change and no one controls them. What each route can do is make your business easy for AI to understand and trust, and keep checking.
Check your own visibility
Find out whether ChatGPT, Google AI and other engines name your business today. Free, about 60 seconds, no card.
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026: AI trust, Feb 2026. https://www.brightlocal.com/research/lcrs-ai-trust/
- SOCi, "In AI-Driven Discovery, Few Brands Are Chosen, Most Disappear," 2026 Local Visibility Index. https://www.soci.ai/news/in-ai-driven-discovery-few-brands-are-chosen-most-disappear/
- Google Search Central, "AI features and your website," checked Oct 25, 2026. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
- Apple Newsroom, "Introducing Apple Business Connect," Jan 11, 2023. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/01/introducing-apple-business-connect/
- Scope scan data, Jan 5 to Oct 25, 2026 (method above).