AI assistants often answer “which company should I choose” questions by drawing on review platforms and directories, so being listed, current and genuinely reviewed on the right ones increases the chance you are named. The right platforms depend on your category: software companies on G2 and Capterra, agencies on Clutch and Google Business Profile, Indian local businesses on Google and Justdial, manufacturers on IndiaMART. The fastest way to find yours is to look at which sites the assistants already cite for your buyers’ questions.
Why review sites matter for AI answers
When an assistant searches the web to answer a question like “best CRM for small businesses in India”, it retrieves pages that compare and rate options. Review platforms and directories are built for exactly that, so they are frequently among the sources. If your competitors are listed there and you are not, the assistant has material about them and none about you. In Ahrefs’ study of 75,000 brands, mentions of a brand across the web were more closely linked to visibility in Google’s AI Overviews than backlinks were; review and directory listings are one of the most direct ways to earn those mentions.
Step 1: find the sources assistants cite for your category
- Take 10 of your buyers’ category and comparison questions.
- Ask each one in ChatGPT with search on, Perplexity and Google (check AI Overviews).
- Write down every domain cited as a source.
- Count how often each domain appears. The top five to ten are your priority list.
This takes about an hour and gives you a list based on your market, not on a generic article. Record it in the same sheet you use for tracking brand mentions.
Step 2: the usual platforms by business type
| Business type | Platforms to check first |
|---|---|
| B2B software and SaaS | G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, GetApp, Product Hunt |
| Agencies and IT services | Clutch, GoodFirms, Google Business Profile, DesignRush |
| Local services in India | Google Business Profile, Justdial, Sulekha |
| Healthcare in India | Google Business Profile, Practo |
| Manufacturers and B2B suppliers | IndiaMART, TradeIndia, Google Business Profile; ThomasNet for the US market |
| Restaurants and hospitality | Google Business Profile, Zomato, TripAdvisor |
| Consumer products | Amazon and marketplace listings, Trustpilot |
This table is a starting point. Step 1 tells you which of these actually matter in your category.
Step 3: build profiles that assistants can use
- Use exactly the same company name, address, phone and website as on your own site. Inconsistent details make it harder for systems to connect the profile to you.
- Choose the most specific categories the platform offers.
- Write the description the way a buyer would search: what you do, for whom, where, and what makes you different, in plain sentences.
- Add services, price ranges, founding year and team size where the platform allows it.
- Link the profile from your website and add it to the sameAs list in your Organization schema.
Step 4: collect genuine reviews
Ask every satisfied client, soon after a project milestone, with a direct link to the review page. Make it easy: one email, one link, a two-line suggestion of what they might mention.
Do not buy reviews, write them yourself, offer rewards for positive ones, or only ask happy customers while steering unhappy ones elsewhere. Google’s review policies prohibit fake and incentivised reviews, platforms remove them, and in India the Bureau of Indian Standards published IS 19000:2022, a standard for how online consumer reviews should be collected and published, which treats paid and fake reviews as unacceptable. Fake reviews also damage trust when discovered, which is the opposite of what you want AI systems to learn about you.
Step 5: respond and keep profiles current
- Reply to reviews, including critical ones, briefly and factually.
- Update profiles when services, addresses or phone numbers change.
- Check the priority platforms every quarter, and re-run step 1 twice a year, because the sources assistants cite change.
What results to expect
Listings and reviews build up over months. You should see profile pages indexed within weeks, and, in your monthly AI answer tests, more mentions on category questions as reviews accumulate. No platform guarantees that an assistant will name you; a complete, reviewed profile makes it more likely.
Frequently asked questions
Are paid “featured” listings worth it?
Sometimes, for traffic from the platform itself. There is no evidence that paid placement on a directory changes how AI assistants rank the companies listed there.
How many reviews do we need?
There is no published threshold. Aim for a steady flow of recent, detailed reviews on the platforms from step 1, rather than a burst at once.
Should we list on every platform we can find?
No. Focus on the five to ten that assistants cite for your category, and keep them accurate. Dozens of neglected profiles with outdated details do more harm than good.
Sources
- Ahrefs, study of brand visibility factors in AI Overviews across 75,000 brands
- Google, Maps user-contributed content policy (fake engagement)
- Bureau of Indian Standards, IS 19000:2022 Online Consumer Reviews