Why it matters
When AI with live search recommends something, it relies on what others say about the company: review sites, directories, Google Business Profile. Fresh reviews on the right sites are one of the most direct ways to go from “mentioned” to “recommended.”
Step by step
Check which review sites AI cites when it recommends companies in your niche.
Pick 2–3 of them and fill out your profile completely: description, services, prices, photos.
After every finished project, send the client a direct link to leave a review.
Reply to every review, including negative ones.
Local businesses: complete your Google Business Profile in full.
Template: Review request
Hi Emily,
Thanks for choosing us for [project].
If you have 2 minutes, would you share how it went on [site]? Here’s the link: [link].
Any feedback helps, including critical feedback.
Thanks,
[Name]How to know it’s done
Your 2–3 main review sites in your niche have reviews from the last 3 months, and you’ve replied to them.
Common mistake
Buying reviews or writing them on behalf of clients. In the US, the FTC fines companies for this, and review sites remove their profiles.
How to find out which review sites matter in your niche
Every niche has its own sites: G2 and Capterra for SaaS, Clutch for agencies, Google for local businesses, and Tripadvisor and Booking.com for hotels. To check manually, look at the source links in ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode answers to “best X for Y” queries.
If you use Dabudai, open Sources and filter for review domains. You’ll see which ones AI cites for your queries, and where competitors are mentioned but you aren’t yet.
app.dabud.ai · Sources
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app.dabud.ai · Sources
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Questions
How many reviews do I need?
Freshness and consistency matter more. A few reviews every month work better than a hundred from three years ago.
Can I ask only happy clients for reviews?
Ask everyone after a finished project. Selective asking and filtering reviews break the rules of most review sites, and buying reviews is punishable by the FTC in the US.
What should I do about a negative review?
Reply to the point, not with a template: what happened and what you changed. Responding to criticism shows people and models that the company is active and accountable.
From people already doing this
★★★★★
A clear direction, even before the recommendations
«The dashboards are clear and intuitive. They make it easy to see what’s driving our AI visibility.»
Andrew Shestopalov
· Head of Marketing, Hotline
GO DEEPER
Learn more about reviews in Lesson 7.2 of the Dabudai Learning Center, with examples by niche and a check on your own data.
Sources
¹ Estimated impact of each action and the niche tables comes from Dabudai’s analysis of 350,000 AI answers across 2,300 websites (ChatGPT, ChatGPT Search, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode), October 2026. These are average ranges: your results depend on your niche, competitors, and starting point.