Start by asking the AI
Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot and type what a customer in Malta would type. Be specific: "emergency plumber in Birkirkara", "vegan café in Sliema with outdoor seating", "boat trip to Comino from Mellieħa price". Try a few versions, in English and, if your customers use it, Maltese or Italian.
Write down who gets mentioned and which websites the answer links to. Those sources tell you what the tool trusted. Often it's a competitor's own page, a directory, a Facebook page or a review site. If your business never appears, the next steps are where to look.
Check the door isn't locked
Your site has a file called robots.txt that tells crawlers what they may read. Type your address followed by /robots.txt into a browser to see it. OpenAI says sites that block its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI crawler docs).
Some hosting firewalls and security plugins also block unfamiliar bots without telling you. If you're not sure, ask whoever runs your site to confirm that search crawlers from Google, Bing, OpenAI and Perplexity can reach your pages.
Give each question a page
AI tools quote pages that answer a question clearly. A home page that says "we offer a wide range of services" gives them nothing to quote. A page called "Bathroom renovation in Gozo" that opens with what you do, the areas you cover, a rough price or starting price, and how to book gives them plenty.
Write the short answer first, then the detail. Use real words people search, not slogans. Put important text in the page itself, not only inside images or PDFs, because crawlers read text much more reliably than pictures.
- What you do, in one sentence
- Where: towns, Malta, Gozo, or both
- Price, or what affects the price
- How to contact or book
- A few honest FAQs in your customers' own words
Make your details match everywhere
AI tools cross-check. If your website says you close at 6, Google says 7 and Facebook says you've moved, they can't be sure which is right, so they may leave you out. Go through your Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram, directories and website, and make the name, address, phone and hours the same.
Google says the same basics that help normal search also help its AI features, including an up-to-date Business Profile and structured data that matches the page (Google AI features guide). Our Google Maps guide covers the profile side.
Tell the search engines you exist
Add your site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, both free, and submit your sitemap. Microsoft's Copilot draws on Bing, so skipping Bing means skipping that audience. Reviews help too: real reviews on Google give both people and AI tools something independent to go on, and our reviews guide has ideas for getting more.
Then test again in a few weeks. AI answers change often, so treat this as a check you repeat, not a job you finish.
Want it done for you?
Boost builds answer-first pages, schema, AI crawler access and llms.txt files for Malta businesses. See Google and AI search pages for what's included, or send the brief at /start/ and we reply within 1 working day.