If you’ve ever typed your business name into ChatGPT, Gemini, or another AI tool and gotten an answer that wasn’t quite right, you’re not alone. Even when your website is 100% accurate, AI can sometimes pull outdated or misleading information.
So why does this happen — and more importantly, what can we do to make sure AI gives the right answers about your business? Let’s break it down.
How AI Like ChatGPT Gets Its Information
AI answers usually come from two sources:
- Training Data (Past Knowledge):
ChatGPT and other AI models are trained on a massive snapshot of the internet, books, and articles. But that training has a cutoff date. For example, ChatGPT’s most recent training only goes up to September 2024. That means if your business hours, services, or even your website changed after that, the AI won’t automatically know about it unless it does a live search. - Live Web Browsing (When Enabled):
Some versions of AI can pull live information from the internet. But the accuracy depends on:- Whether your website is crawlable by search engines.
- How clearly your information is structured on the site.
- Whether your site shows up above third-party sources like Yelp, LinkedIn, or news articles.
Why the Wrong Answers Show Up
Here are the most common reasons AI gives outdated or incorrect info:
- Old third-party listings: Directories like Yelp, Facebook, or BBB may not match your current site.
- Poor search visibility: If search engines don’t prioritize your website, AI might grab info from somewhere else.
- Hidden details: If important info (like phone numbers, services, or hours) is buried in images or PDFs, AI may skip it.
How to Make Sure AI Gets It Right
The good news is, there are clear steps you can take to make your website and online presence the “source of truth” for AI and search engines:
- Keep Your Website Crawlable and Structured
- Put important details in plain text, not just images.
- Use schema markup (structured data) for business hours, services, FAQs, and more.
- Update Google Business Profile
- This is the #1 place AI looks for current information.
- Keep hours, contact info, and services up to date.
- Stay Consistent Across Directories
- Check Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms to make sure all information matches your website exactly.
- Add FAQ or Q&A Content
- AI loves straightforward Q&A content. Adding a “Frequently Asked Questions” page can make it more likely your site is pulled as the official source.
- Publish Fresh Content
- Blogs, news, and updates show search engines (and AI) that your site is active and trustworthy.
- Build Authority With Backlinks
- When local partners, associations, or news outlets link back to your site, it signals that your website is the authority.
Why September 2024 Matters
Since ChatGPT’s current training data only goes up to September 2024, any business changes you’ve made since then — new hours, updated services, or even a rebrand — won’t automatically be reflected in AI responses. That’s why optimizing your website and external listings for live search is more important than ever. The more consistent and structured your online presence is, the more likely AI will give accurate, up-to-date answers about your business.
The Bottom Line
Even if your website is correct, AI might still give wrong answers if other sources aren’t updated or if your site isn’t optimized. The key is consistency: make sure your website, Google Business Profile, and third-party listings all say the same thing, and update them regularly.
That way, when someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini about your business, they’ll get the right information — straight from the source.
