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Are AI Recommendations the New Word of Mouth?

ended 22. August 2026

Scott Gallacher, Chartered Financial Planner at independent Leicester firm Rowley Turton, says: they have recently seen an increase in prospective clients approaching us after being recommended by ChatGPT or another AI assistant.

Rather than searching Google, browsing directories or asking friends for recommendations, it seems people are increasingly giving an AI tool their circumstances and requirements and asking a simple question: “Who should I speak to?”

Gallacher says:

“We are now seeing prospective clients come to us because an AI assistant has effectively shortlisted Rowley Turton for them. In some cases, they have entered their circumstances and asked who the best financial adviser would be for their needs.

“For firms like ours, that makes ‘AI recommendability’ increasingly important. It is no longer just about appearing prominently on Google; businesses also need to make sure AI systems can clearly understand who they are, what they do, who they are best suited to help and why someone might choose them.”

For businesses, this potentially creates a completely new source of referrals — and raises questions about what makes one firm more likely to be recommended by AI than another.

Questions for experts:

  • Are you seeing an increase in enquiries or new customers who say they found you through ChatGPT or another AI tool?
  • Do you personally use AI to research or choose professional services, tradespeople, restaurants, hotels or other suppliers?
  • Have you invested time or money in making your business more understandable and recommendable to AI systems?
  • Do you think AI recommendations could become as important to businesses as Google search rankings and online reviews?
  • Have you changed your website, online profiles, FAQs or other content specifically with AI discovery in mind?

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Scott GallacherVerified
Director at Rowley Turton
Our online presence now has to appeal to AI as much as it does to potential clients.

At Rowley Turton, we’ve added specific FAQs covering the sort of questions prospects might ask an AI agent. Businesses need to make it as easy as possible for AI to understand who they are, what they do and why they might be a good fit.

I’ve taken the same approach with my book, 50 Today 100 Tomorrow, and the wider 100 Tomorrow project, using original content to build a clear body of expertise around retirement and long-term financial planning.
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Jamie ElvinVerified
Director at Strive Mortgages
We’re definitely seeing a significant uplift in enquiries coming through AI tools such as ChatGPT. We’ve invested a lot of time in our marketing and Google presence over the years, and the way people search for and choose businesses is constantly evolving. At the moment, AI recommendations feel like the next stage of that evolution. Increasingly, people are asking AI who they should speak to rather than simply working their way through traditional search results. We’re very conscious that search engines, ChatGPT and other LLMs will continue to change, so there probably isn’t a fixed formula for getting this right. But the current direction of travel is clear, and we’re already seeing a meaningful uplift from it. For us, it’s about making sure our online presence clearly demonstrates what we do, where our expertise lies and why clients choose us. That’s good marketing regardless of how somebody ultimately discovers the business — whether that’s Google, an AI assistant, a recommendati
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Darryl DhofferVerified
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
I am seeing a major surge across my business as Google AI searches drive high-intent enquiries directly into my pipeline. As more borrowers turn to conversational AI overviews and smart search queries for complex financial help, demand in our core adverse credit market is hitting record levels.
​Mainstream lenders continue to reject clients over historic defaults, CCJs, or broken credit profiles, leaving people looking for real, tailored advice. Google’s AI search capability is connecting those motivated borrowers straight to our specialist expertise at the exact moment they need a solution. It’s delivering smarter discovery and faster routes to mortgage approval where high street algorithms say no.
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Anita WrightVerified
Chartered Financial Planner at Ribble Wealth Management
I haven’t seen this at all. Not one enquiry has come to us via ChatGPT or any other AI assistant. Our business is built almost entirely on word of mouth and referrals from existing clients, and that hasn’t changed. I’m not dismissing the idea, it may well come, but people still seem to want a recommendation from someone they actually know and trust. Choosing a financial planner is a long term decision about your money, your retirement and often your family, and that tends to make people more cautious, not less. An algorithm can produce a shortlist; it can’t tell you what someone is like to work with over 20 years
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Tony SanchezVerified
Founder at Bridging Loan Directory
We are seeing visits to Bridging Loan Directory attributed to AI assistants. Volumes remain small, so I would not suggest AI has overtaken conventional search, but Google Analytics currently identifies AI Assistant as our highest-converting traffic source, with 6% of visits leading to a recorded key event.

We have made BLD easier for AI systems to understand by allowing relevant search crawlers, publishing an llms.txt file and improving our profiles, guides and structured information.

AI recommendation is not separate from search, directories, reviews or media coverage. It draws on that wider digital footprint. Businesses need to explain clearly who they serve, when they are relevant and what evidence supports their claims.

I use AI to research products and services, but to build a shortlist rather than make the final decision. I expect it to become an important discovery route, adding another layer to an existing reputation rather than replacing it.

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Tony RedondoVerified
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
I am seeing an increase in enquiries coming through LLMs. While I personally use AI for research rather than to choose professional services or tradespeople, I recognize its growing impact on client discovery. To adapt, we recently rebranded and launched a brand-new website that's SEO/AEO compatible, specifically updated to ensure our services are clear to these models. Moving forward, I think AI recommendations will sit alongside Google search rankings but behind verified client reviews when it comes to earning a client's ultimate trust.
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Tony RestellVerified
Founder and Director at Social-Hire.com
The opportunity here is far bigger than just getting recommended by ChatGPT or Claude. Do this well, and you can leapfrog companies that previously were top of Google rankings and become the first thing potential clients see recommended by Google.

I'd also call this a David vs. Goliath moment, as smaller businesses can seemingly rank just as highly as big brands.

Earlier this year, we invested in getting Social Hire ranked as the top B2B social media agency for the sectors we serve. In under 3 months, we were the number 1 recommendation on Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and CoPilot. Now we're getting calls booked by people who found us through an AI recommendation - and they're coming onto calls already persuaded that we're one of the best agencies in the market. For a business owner, that's gold.

* if helpful, a short video showing the results we've achieved can be watched here: https://social-hire.com/ai-search-optimization-geo-services#video