Weekly emails about marketing for design and construction.

Getting inquiries from ChatGPT

Hi First name / my friend,

 

Have you had any inquiries from ChatGPT?

 

An old client of mine just landed a project from someone who found her through ChatGPT.

 

Not Google, not social media. ChatGPT.

 

Today, let’s talk about the art and science behind it all.

ChatGPT is not a search engine. It’s a Large Language Model (LLM). It doesn’t crawl or index websites. Instead, it summarizes information based on patterns learned during its training, which ended in mid-2023. If your website didn’t exist before then, it’s probably not in the model.

 

Search engines (like Google) index and rank websites based on ranking factors. And they do this all day, every day. 

 

ChatGPT only knows what it’s already seen pre-2023.

 

Except when the search tool is turned on.

 

Using APIs from Google, Bing, and other search engines, ChatGPT can pull live content not included in its training model. And typically, it prefers to pull content that has been the most cited and recognized across the Internet.

 

If ChatGPT is mentioning your business, it’s either because …

And here’s the bad news: you can’t “optimize” for ChatGPT like you do for Google.

 

There isn’t a list of ranking factors or a paid ad program. You can’t “apply” to get on ChatGPT, use a special prompt, or even keywords. And while your chats may shape how it responds to you, they don’t influence what other users see. So, if you're curious whether ChatGPT would list you as the best interior designer in your city, log out before asking. Your own chat history is biased.

 

In short, we can't use another “marketing hack” on ChatGPT.

 

It's a lot more ambiguous than that. 

 

Bummer, I know.

 

In short, the best way to get your firm on ChatGPT is to be on the Internet as much as possible, for as long as possible.

 

If you're a marketer, this is probably disappointing to hear (or maybe relieving, you tell me). I’m basically saying: keep doing what you're already doing, babe.

 

If you’re not a marketer, but a designer or builder, this is what I’m talking about:

 

 

AI likes patterns. When your business has a clear niche, it’s easier for LLMs (like ChatGPT) to identify what you do, associate you with that expertise, and cite you when users ask.

 

“This site = expert in this space.”

 

Your niche could be based on location, property type, or design style. Whatever makes your work distinct.

 

And your niche should be obvious everywhere. Your website. Your portfolio. And every single piece of content you put online. 

 

(Actually, niching down is a best practice in business and marketing. I wrote more about it here and here.)

 

 

The more you're mentioned online, the more likely AI tools are to recognize and cite you. Especially if the mentions are on trusted, public sites.

 

So, get featured on high-authority publications, directories, “Top 10” and award lists, as well as podcasts. 

 

Oh! And get lots of online reviews.

 

 

Structure your content clearly so both people and AI can understand it.

 

Use headings, summaries, FAQs and schema markup like Article, FAQ, or LocalBusiness to help both search engines and AI parse your content more effectively.

 

If you’ve been here for a while, I'm in love with tracking sales data. It makes for better marketing, especially in this new era of AI marketing we're in.

 

If all this marketing-mumbo-jumbo sounds daunting to you and makes you feel even more behind, hit reply or book a call. We can help you keep up and stand out.

 

See you next week?

 

Cheers,

Daniela

 

P.S. Have a question? Submit it here. 

 

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Weekly emails about marketing for design and construction.