By Cindy Gordon
This week, one of my clients gave me an update during our weekly wins. In my world, we celebrate everything, big and small. She told me she had gotten another lead from ChatGPT. When she looked into it, that same person had also come across her business through Google.
One lead, both the AI side and the algorithm side pointing straight to her and her business. That lead was for a near seven figure investment.
I want to tell you her story today, because it’s one of the clearest proofs I’ve actually seen that this works.
Who is this client and what does she do?
My client is a luxury relocation realtor. She’s gotten multiple leads from AI recommendations, primarily from ChatGPT and Grok, which is the AI built into X. Real estate is a long game. Most of the time someone reaches out, establishes a connection, and watches the market for a while. In her area especially, it’s not uncommon for them to circle back a year later or more when they’re actually ready to relocate. She’s already closed two of those AI generated leads into actual home purchases, and she continually gets leads this way consistently, including the one she told me about this week.
Why is this working specifically for her?
She is not doing everything in the book. She’s picked what works for her specific business, and she’s stayed consistent with it ever since. Two things specifically: she’s citable and structured across the platforms she chose to focus on, and she’s consistent with the information that shows up. She also documents and actively obtains client reviews and testimonials, along with third party mentions.
What does citable and structured actually mean?
Structured means an AI tool can actually pull clear information about what you do, who you do it for, and what makes you different, without having to guess or piece it together. Citable means there’s something outside of your own words that confirms it, a review, a mention somewhere else, something an AI tool can point to and say “this is verified, it’s not just a claim.” This is exactly why reviews and third party mentions matter so much for her. AI tools are not just reading what she says about herself. They’re reading what other people confirm about her.
What’s the actual lesson here for my own business?
You do not need to be everywhere. You need to pick where you actually show up, get that information right, and let the people there back you up. That’s the whole difference between a business that occasionally gets mentioned by AI and a business that gets recommended for seven figure decisions, repeatedly, over time.
What should I do about this in my own business this week?
Don’t try to fix everything. Pick one platform where you actually want to be found, the one that probably matters the most for your business, and go make the information there accurate, clear, and consistent with everywhere else you show up. Then reach out to one happy client and ask for a review or a testimonial. Not someday. Do it this week.
You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to pick where you want to show up, get it right, and let the people there back you up to be the answer.
If you want to see exactly where your own findability gaps are, across humans, algorithms, and AI, my free Findability Audit walks through all three. You can take it at cindygordon.myflodesk.com/findabilityaudit.
Prefer to listen?
AI tools weigh information they can verify from more than one source more heavily than claims a business makes about itself. Reviews, client testimonials, and third party mentions all help an AI tool confirm who a business is and what it actually does, rather than relying only on what the business says about itself.
Being citable means there is something outside of a business’s own marketing that confirms what it claims, a review, a mention on another site, a piece of third party proof an AI tool can point to. Content that only exists in a business’s own words is harder for AI tools to verify and therefore less likely to be recommended.
Being structured means an AI tool can pull clear information about what a business does, who it serves, and what makes it different, without having to guess or piece scattered details together. Clear, consistent information across a business’s website and profiles makes it easier for AI tools to understand and recommend.
No. Being everywhere is not what makes a business findable to AI tools. What matters more is picking a smaller number of platforms, keeping the information on them accurate and consistent, and backing it up with real reviews and third party mentions. Depth and consistency in a few places outperforms a thin presence spread across many.
The Findability Audit is a free walkthrough from Cindy Gordon designed for female entrepreneurs who want to know exactly where they are and are not showing up across humans, algorithms, and AI. It takes a few minutes and gives a clear picture of the specific findability gaps costing visibility right now. It’s available at cindygordon.myflodesk.com/findabilityaudit.
