How to get your business recommended by Gemini
Gemini answers questions using Google Search, and Google's developer tools for Gemini also draw on Google Maps for local facts such as addresses, hours, ratings and reviews. So most of the work that gets a local business into Gemini's answers is the work that gets it into Google: a complete Google Business Profile, a website Google can index, and details that match everywhere. One setting is specific to Gemini: if your robots.txt blocks Google-Extended, Google won't use your pages to ground Gemini's answers.
Where Gemini gets its answers
Google describes grounding as providing content from the Google Search index to the model when a question is asked. For local questions, Google's Gemini developer tools can also use Google Maps, which Google says provides structured facts like addresses, hours and user ratings, plus reviews, for more than 250 million places.
Google doesn't publish exactly how the Gemini app chooses which businesses to name, but both sources point the same way: your Google Business Profile and your indexed website are what Gemini can read about you.
The robots.txt setting that matters
Google-Extended is a robots.txt setting, not a separate crawler. Google says it controls whether content it crawls can be used to train future Gemini models and for grounding in Gemini Apps, and that it doesn't affect inclusion or ranking in Google Search.
That means blocking Google-Extended keeps you in Google Search but can keep your pages out of Gemini's answers. If you want Gemini to recommend you, don't block it. Our free crawler checker shows how your site is set.
What to fix first
- Google Business Profile: the right primary category, every service listed, accurate hours (including holidays), photos, and replies to reviews.
- A website Google has indexed: check in Google Search Console that your main pages are in the index.
- A page per main service, answering the question customers ask, with prices or from-prices where you can.
- The same name, address, phone number and hours on your site, Google and every directory.
- Recent reviews on Google, since Maps data includes ratings and reviews.
How to check where you stand
Ask Gemini the questions your customers ask, several times, and note who it names and which sources it shows. Answers vary between asks, so look for the pattern. The free full check does this across five AI tools, Gemini included.
Written by the Get Recommended team, run by Atlas Labs. We check these guides against each AI tool's own documentation and update them when it changes.
Questions
Is Gemini the same as Google AI Overviews?
No. AI Overviews appear inside Google Search results; Gemini is Google's separate assistant. Both draw on Google's index, so the same groundwork helps with both.
Does blocking Google-Extended hurt my Google rankings?
No. Google says Google-Extended doesn't affect inclusion in Google Search and isn't a ranking signal. It only affects Gemini training and grounding.
Do I need an llms.txt file for Google?
No. Google says you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.