TLDR: Most dealers assume their website is good enough and have never actually checked what ChatGPT says when someone asks for the best hot tub dealer in their area. Testing that gap, and understanding what AI models actually pull content from is the first step to influencing the answer instead of being left out of it entirely.
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When I ask hot tub dealers if they think their website is in good shape, most will say yes. When I ask that same dealer what ChatGPT says when someone types “best hot tub dealer in [their city]” most have NO IDEA. They’ve never asked. It’s not part of how they think about their online presence yet, and that gap is exactly where buyers are starting to slip past them.
How to Test Your Own AI Visibility
This takes five minutes and requires nothing more than opening ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini and typing the same question a buyer would type. Try a few variations: “best hot tub dealer in [city],” “hot tub dealer near me in [city],” “top rated pool and spa store in [city].” Read the actual answer. Note which businesses get named, and just as importantly, whether the dealership in question gets named at all.
Most dealers who try this for the first time are surprised, and not in a good way. Either their business doesn’t come up, or a competitor with a weaker reputation and worse products gets recommended instead simply because their online content gave the AI model more to work with.
This single exercise reveals more about a dealership’s real digital presence than a Google ranking check ever will, because it shows exactly what a buyer sees at the moment they’re deciding who to call.
What Gaps Most Dealer Sites Have
Run this test on a handful of dealer websites and the same problems show up over and over. Thin, outdated content that hasn’t been touched in years. Generic “About Us” pages that talk about being family-owned and trusted since some year, without actually answering any specific buyer question. Business information that’s inconsistent across the website, Google Business Profile, and directory listings: different phone numbers, different service areas, different spellings of the business name. Almost no third-party validation beyond a handful of scattered reviews. The struggle is real.
None of these gaps hurt a dealership on a traditional Google search the same way they hurt it in AI search. A generic homepage might still rank decently for a branded search, but it gives an AI model almost nothing to reference when trying to answer a real customer question.
Why This Requires a Different Approach Than SEO
Karen Martinez, our SEO team lead, explains why this distinction matters so much right now:
“Optimizing for AEO and GEO is a bit different than doing SEO for your hot tub dealership. ChatGPT and the other LLMs are trying to surface the best content to answer users’ questions and queries vs someone searching for ‘hot tubs in [city].’ If you’re not providing the AI platforms with enough rich, helpful content, they have nothing to reference and surface in their responses.”
That’s the core of the problem. SEO can reward a page that’s technically well built even if the content itself is thin, because ranking factors include things like site speed, backlinks, and keyword placement. AI models care less about those technical factors and much more about whether the content actually answers a real question in a clear, complete way. A dealership with nothing but product pages with manufacturer descriptions and a generic homepage is invisible to that kind of evaluation, no matter how fast the site loads.
The Specific Content Types AI Models Pull From
AI models consistently favor a few types of content when building an answer. Direct-answer content built around real buyer questions, financing options, install timelines, energy costs, and maintenance requirements ranks especially well, since it gives the model something specific and complete to reference instead of vague marketing copy.
Consistent business profile data matters just as much. Name, service area, and offerings need to match exactly across the website, Google Business Profile, and every directory listing the business appears in. Reviews and third-party mentions carry real weight too, since AI models treat outside validation as a stronger trust signal than anything a business says about itself.
Pages that clearly and specifically state who a business is and what it offers, rather than relying on vague brand language, also perform better. An AI model needs to be able to summarize a business accurately in a sentence or two. If that summary isn’t easy to pull from the site, the model tends to skip that source entirely and go with a competitor whose content made the job easier.
You Can Influence What AI Says About Your Business, But Only If Your Content Gives It Something to Work With
This is the part most dealers haven’t internalized yet. AI models aren’t guessing at random when they recommend a business. They’re pulling from whatever content is actually available and clear enough to reference. A dealership with rich, direct-answer content, consistent business information, and real third-party validation gives the model plenty to work with. A dealership with a thin, generic site gives it nothing, and gets left out of the answer entirely.
The businesses showing up when buyers ask ChatGPT for a recommendation aren’t necessarily the biggest or best known. They’re the ones that gave the AI model enough to reference. That’s a controllable outcome, not a matter of luck, but only for dealers willing to actually check what the answer currently says and start building the kind of content that changes it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I test what ChatGPT says about my dealership?
Open ChatGPT or a similar AI tool and ask the same question a buyer would ask, like “best hot tub dealer in [your city].” Try a few variations and note whether your business is mentioned and how it’s described.
Why doesn’t my dealership show up in AI search results?
AI models pull from content that clearly and directly answers real buyer questions. Thin websites, inconsistent business information, and a lack of third-party validation all make it harder for a model to confidently reference or recommend a business.
What content helps AI models recommend a business?
Direct-answer content on real buyer questions, consistent business information across the web, and reviews or mentions from third-party sources all give AI models more to reference when building a response.
Is this the same as SEO?
No. SEO focuses on ranking factors for a traditional search results page, while AI search optimization focuses on providing rich, clear content that AI models can reference and cite directly in a generated answer.
How long does it take to start showing up in AI answers?
There’s no fixed timeline, but consistent, direct-answer content combined with accurate business information across the web improves the odds over time. Dealers who start now, while few competitors are doing this, have the best chance of becoming an early, trusted reference.
Greg is the founder and CEO of Stryde and a seasoned digital marketer who has worked with thousands of businesses, large and small, to generate more revenue via online marketing strategy and execution. Greg has written hundreds of blog posts as well as spoken at many events about online marketing strategy. You can follow Greg on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
