More people now ask an AI assistant to recommend an accountant instead of typing a search and reading a list of links. They open Gemini or ChatGPT, type something like "who is a good accountant in Bolton for a small limited company", and get back a few names. If your practice is not one of them, that enquiry never reaches you, and nothing in your analytics will show that it happened.

This guide is for UK practice owners who want to know where they stand: how to run the check by hand, why firms get left out, and what to fix first.

Why your city matters in the question

Most people want an accountant nearby. So the real question is not "does AI know my firm" but "does AI name my firm when someone asks for an accountant in my city". An assistant might describe your practice correctly when asked by name, and still never mention you in a recommendation. The recommendation is where new clients come from, so check that first.

How to check by hand

You can do this in about ten minutes with the free versions of Gemini and ChatGPT.

1. Start a fresh chat

Open a new conversation in each assistant. Earlier chats can steer the answer, so do not continue an old one.

2. Ask the questions a client would ask

Type them the way a stranger would, not the way an accountant would. For example:

  • "Can you recommend an accountant in [your city] for a small limited company?"
  • "Who are the best accountants in [your city] for sole traders?"
  • "I need a tax adviser in [your city]. Who should I speak to?"

If you have a niche, ask about it too, such as "accountant in [your city] for landlords".

3. Ask about your firm by name

Then ask: "What do you know about [your practice name] in [your city]?" This shows whether the assistant has any picture of you at all, and whether that picture is right. Check the services, the location and any people it mentions.

4. Write down what came back

Note which firms were named, in what order, and whether yours was among them. Note anything said about you that is wrong, because assistants sometimes fill gaps with confident detail that is untrue.

5. Repeat it over a few days

Answers change from one run to the next, so a single test proves very little. Run the same questions two or three times over a week and look for a pattern.

We go through this test in more detail, including Perplexity, in how to check if ChatGPT recommends your accounting practice.

Why firms get left out

When an assistant leaves a practice out, it is rarely about the quality of the work. It is usually because there is not enough clear, consistent information about the firm for it to draw on. These are the gaps we see most often.

Few or no reviews

Reviews are one of the clearest public signals that a firm is real, active and trusted. Google's own guidance on local ranking lists the number of reviews and ratings as part of how well known a business is, and says that more reviews and positive ratings can help. Asking happy clients for a short review, and replying to the ones you get, is slow but steady work.

Thin service pages

Many practice websites list services in one line: accounts, tax, payroll, VAT. That tells a reader, or a machine, almost nothing. A proper page for each main service, saying who it is for, what is included and how you work, gives an assistant something specific to repeat. "We look after limited companies and their directors across Greater Manchester" can be quoted. "We serve businesses of all sizes" cannot.

No location pages

If your website never clearly says which towns you work in, it is hard for anything to connect you with a question about those towns. If you genuinely serve a few nearby areas, a short, useful page for each one helps. Avoid copying the same page and swapping the town name, because that adds nothing a reader can use.

Inconsistent name, address and phone details

Your practice name, address and phone number (often shortened to NAP) should match everywhere: your website, your Google Business Profile, your professional body listing, directories and social profiles. An old address on one site and a different phone number on another makes it harder to be sure these are all the same firm. Google's local ranking tips make the same point about keeping business information complete and accurate.

No structured data

Structured data, often called schema, is a small block of code that states your business details in a format machines can read: your name, address, phone number, opening hours and the type of business you are. Google explains how this works in its LocalBusiness structured data guide. It is not a magic switch: Google's guidance on AI features in Search says no special markup is needed for AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that structured data should match the visible text. But it removes guesswork about the basics.

What to fix first

If you only have an afternoon, work in this order:

1. Check your details. Make your practice name, address and phone number identical on your website, Google Business Profile and main listings. 2. Say who you help, and where. Add one or two plain sentences to your homepage naming your main client types and the towns you cover. 3. Ask for reviews. Pick five clients who are happy with your work and ask each for a short Google review. 4. Fill out your service pages. Start with the service you most want more of. 5. Add structured data to your homepage or contact page, using the same details everywhere else shows.

None of this is a trick. It is the same work that helps you show up in ordinary Google searches. If you want the wider picture, our guide on how to make your accounting firm show up on ChatGPT covers what assistants appear to read before naming a practice.

Check your firm for free

If you would rather not run the questions by hand, the free AI visibility checker does it for you. Enter your practice name and town, and it searches the web for your firm, asks Google Gemini about you and emails you the answer word for word. There is nothing to sign up for.

Run it today, make one or two of the fixes above, and run it again in a few months.

Common questions

Is there a tool that checks whether Gemini recommends my accounting firm?

Yes. Our free AI visibility checker searches the web for your practice and town, asks Google Gemini about you and emails you exactly what comes back. You can also check by hand using the steps above.

Does this work for chartered tax advisers?

Yes. The same check and the same fixes apply to tax advisers. Ask the questions your clients would ask, such as "tax adviser in [your city] for property", and make sure your website states your specialism plainly.

Will ChatGPT and Gemini give the same answer?

Not usually. They draw on different information, so check both.

How long do changes take to show?

There is no fixed timescale. Assistants and search engines update their picture of a business gradually, so check again after a few months rather than a few days.