Will ChatGPT recommend your firm?

Let’s picture a potential ideal client who is looking for a new tax and accounting firm. Maybe their needs have evolved or maybe they are frustrated with their current firm.

Instead of heading to Google and typing “accountant for my small business,” they open a chat window and ask ChatGPT, “Which local tax firm is best for a growing e-commerce business?”

From a list of links to a direct answer

Artificial intelligence doesn’t give them a list of links to sort through. It gives them a direct answer: a synthesized recommendation. This is the new reality of search, driven by Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. These AI systems are becoming the new front door for client discovery. When an LLM recommends a firm, it carries an implied authority.

If your firm isn’t part of that recommendation, you’re essentially invisible to a huge and growing segment of the market. In fact, Gen Zs, who are also today’s young business owners, perform up to 31% of their searches on AI platforms such as ChatGPT.

This marks a fundamental shift from traditional SEO. For years, the goal was to rank on a list of blue links, leaving the user to click and do the research. Today, the goal is to be the answer. The AI does the research, and you want its conclusion to feature your firm.

How to become the LLM’s recommended firm

How do you ensure your firm gets recommended? It’s not about gaming an algorithm; it’s about doubling down on what makes you a great firm in the first place and making sure the LLMs can see it.

Here are four ways to start optimizing your firm for this new age of AI search:

1. Elevate your expertise: LLMs are trained to recognize and prioritize Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (what Google calls E-E-A-T). This is your biggest advantage. Publish detailed articles answering specific client questions. Update your partner and leadership bios to showcase credentials, specializations, and speaking engagements. Prove you are the expert, and the AI will take notice.
2. Structure your digital footprint: AI relies on clean, structured data to understand who you are, what you do, and where you are located. Ensure your firm’s name, address, and phone number are perfectly consistent everywhere online—from your website to your Google Business Profile to industry directories. This digital consistency builds trust.
3. Think and write conversationally: People use natural language when talking to an AI. Your website content should reflect this. Create comprehensive FAQ pages that answer the real-world questions your clients ask you every day. Frame your service descriptions around the problems you solve, not just the services you offer.
4. Build a strong digital ecosystem: LLMs cross reference information to verify claims. Your presence on multiple platforms is a powerful signal of legitimacy. Actively manage your Google Business Profile, solicit reviews from happy clients, and ensure your firm is listed correctly in local and professional directories.

The takeaway: Build trust for the future

Optimizing for LLMs isn’t about learning a new, complicated set of tricks. It’s the next logical step in digital marketing that builds on a foundation of genuine authority and clear communication to establish trust. The firms that act now will build the trust required to become the LLM’s go-to recommendation, winning new clients before their competitors even realize the search has happened.

Editor’s note: Visit the Intuit® Accountants’ Education Resource Center for live and in-demand webinars and virtual conference on AI.