Why Doesn’t ChatGPT Mention My Company? How to Make AI Models Recognize Your Business
In this article, you’ll learn:
Why ChatGPT and other AI models sometimes don’t mention small or midsize companies
How AI models gather knowledge and why “telling ChatGPT” won’t work
What kinds of content influence whether models notice your business
5 practical steps to improve your company’s visibility in AI-generated answers
A few days ago, a colleague asked me:
“When I ask ChatGPT about companies offering services like ours, it always lists the same five names. Some of them don’t even exist anymore. But never OUR company — even though we’ve been doing this work for years.”
He added:
“I even told ChatGPT to remember our company. It replied ‘sure, no problem’… but still doesn’t mention us.”
If you’ve ever tried the same, you probably already know the answer: ChatGPT still ignores you.
So — how does this actually work?
What can you do to make AI models mention your company?
Why AI won’t “remember” your business — no matter what you tell it
Let’s start with the basics: AI models don’t pull information directly from conversations with users.
If I tell ChatGPT what I had for breakfast, and you later ask what I ate, it won’t know (unless you’re using my account or sharing the same session — which almost never happens).
Yes, OpenAI does use user data to improve its models. But the process is opaque and indirect. Even when ChatGPT “remembers” something, that memory stays within my personal account — it does not become part of the model’s general knowledge.
In other words:
No matter how many times you tell ChatGPT who you are or what your business does, that information won’t become part of the model’s global knowledge or influence its answers to other users.
Where does ChatGPT (and other AI models) get its data?
AI models like ChatGPT are trained on massive datasets containing terabytes of text data.
The exact composition of these datasets is a closely guarded trade secret — and varies from model to model.
OpenAI has revealed that they GPT models were trained on:
Common Crawl (a large, open web dataset)
Wikipedia
Licensed data from partners like Reddit, Axel Springer, Associated Press, Stack Overflow, Vox Media and many many more
New partnerships are announced periodically on OpenAI’s blog.
Important: Without the European Union’s AI Act, even this level of transparency would likely not exist. The AI Act has forced companies operating in the EU to disclose more about where they get their training data.
What happens to that data before it’s used?
The data doesn’t just flow directly into the model.
It’s filtered, cleaned, and processed — often by data workers in the Global South.
This work is critical to prevent spam, hate speech, and irrelevant content from shaping how the model “thinks.”
But it’s also a largely hidden process.
If you’d like to understand it better, I recommend two eye-opening documentaries:
As I often tell my clients:
Just as conscious meat eaters should understand how factory farming works, conscious AI users should know how their models are trained.
So — how can you get AI models to notice your business?
If you want AI models to mention your company, you need to ensure that information about your business appears in the kinds of data the models use to learn.
In plain terms:
If a model sees a lot of Axel Springer content, your company should be mentioned in outlets like Onet (owned by Axel Springer).
If it sees Reddit data, your company should be discussed in relevant Reddit threads.
This isn’t just a theory.
Propaganda campaigns (including Russian disinformation) already use this strategy — flooding data sources with specific narratives to influence what AI models “learn.” I explored this in detail in my earlier post on AI models spreading falsehoods.
5 practical steps to increase your visibility in AI model answers
Earn mentions in authoritative media
Aim for coverage or expert commentary in reputable outlets that have licensing partneships with AI companies like OpenAI, or sector-specific publications. These sources are highly likely to be included in AI training data. One article in the right media can do more than years of social media posting.Get listed in industry rankings and reports
Even paid listings can help. AI models frequently absorb data from “Top 10” lists, market reports, vendor comparisons, and other structured sources that summarize industry players.Be present where AI looks
If models use data from Reddit, Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, or similar platforms, make sure your business or thought leadership is represented there. Forums and knowledge bases that allow organic mentions or references are more influential than many people realize.Leverage strategic partnership
If you collaborate with organizations, universities, or vendors whose content is already widely referenced, make sure those partners mention your company or your work in their public content.Don’t overlook SEO — it still matters
While obvious, SEO remains a foundation. Well-optimized websites, detailed FAQs, and keyword-aligned case studies increase the chances that your content will not only rank in search but also become part of public datasets used for training AI models.
If you’d like to explore how AI adoption can strengthen your company — let’s schedule a conversation. Book a consultation or contact me directly.
