Here’s something worth thinking about: when one of your potential customers types ‘best digital marketing agency in Palmerston North’ into ChatGPT — does your business come up?
If you’re not sure, you’re not alone. Most NZ business owners haven’t thought about this yet. But with ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews becoming a bigger part of how people find businesses, it’s quickly becoming a question worth answering.
The good news: you can check right now. And there’s plenty you can do about it.
Step 1: Actually Ask ChatGPT About Your Business
The simplest thing you can do is go to chat.openai.com and ask it directly. Try queries like:
- ‘Who are the best [your service] businesses in [your city]?’
- ‘What digital marketing agencies operate in Palmerston North, NZ?’
- ‘Can you recommend a good [your trade/service] in [your suburb/city]?’
Take note of what comes up. Are you mentioned? Are your competitors? This gives you a real-world picture of your current AI visibility.
Step 2: Check Google’s AI Overviews
Google now shows AI-generated summaries at the very top of many search results — above the normal organic listings. These AI Overviews pull information from websites Google considers authoritative and trustworthy.
Search for your most important keywords and see if an AI Overview appears. If it does, who gets mentioned? If your competitors are being cited and you’re not, that’s a gap worth closing.
Why Aren’t Some Businesses Showing Up?
AI tools learn from what’s on the internet. If your online presence is thin — your website has little content, you have few reviews, you’re barely mentioned anywhere else on the web — AI tools simply don’t have enough information to confidently recommend you.
The businesses that show up in ChatGPT and Google AI results tend to have:
- Well-written, detailed website content that clearly explains what they do and where they operate
- Lots of genuine Google reviews with real, specific feedback
- Consistent mentions across directories, social media, and other websites
- FAQ sections and structured content that answers common customer questions
- A regularly updated blog or news section
What You Can Do to Improve Your AI Visibility
Write content that directly answers questions
AI tools are essentially very advanced answer machines. They look for content that directly and clearly answers specific questions. Structure your website content around the questions your customers ask — and answer them plainly and completely.
Build up your Google reviews
Reviews are a major trust signal for AI. The more genuine, detailed reviews you have, the more confident AI tools are in recommending your business. Ask every satisfied customer to leave a Google review — make it easy by sending them a direct link.
Get mentioned on credible NZ websites
When respected NZ websites, local news outlets, industry directories, or community organisations mention your business, it signals to AI that you’re a real, trusted entity. Local PR, sponsorships, and partnerships all help here.
Keep your business information consistent everywhere
Your business name, address, phone number, and website should be exactly the same everywhere they appear online. Inconsistencies confuse AI systems and reduce your chances of being recommended.
The Bottom Line
AI search is here and growing fast in New Zealand. Checking your visibility now — and taking steps to improve it — gives you a genuine head start on competitors who haven’t thought about this yet.
It doesn’t require a massive budget. It requires consistent, quality content and a genuine online presence that AI tools can trust.
→ Want help getting your NZ business visible in AI search? Talk to WeDigitUs: wedigitus.co.nz
