How AI assistants find a park: the plumbing.
None of the assistants has your park memorized. Each one, when asked, goes and looks. Where it looks and what it reads is the whole game, and it is different for each one.
IN ONE PARAGRAPH
AI assistants answer questions about places by searching a web index at the moment of the question, reading the top results, and writing a summary. ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot search Bing. Google Gemini and Google's AI Overviews search Google. Perplexity uses its own crawler plus Bing. Each then reads the pages that came back, weighs them, and names the parks it can verify. A park that is in Google but not Bing exists to Gemini and not to ChatGPT. A park whose pages state no plain facts is read and set aside. The fixes follow from the plumbing: be in both indexes, and be readable.
Who searches where
| Assistant | Searches | Reads |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (with browsing) | Bing | Top results, then the pages |
| Microsoft Copilot | Bing | Top results, then the pages |
| Google Gemini | Top results, Business Profile, reviews | |
| Google AI Overviews | Top results, Business Profile, reviews | |
| Perplexity | Own crawl plus Bing | Pages it cites inline |
| Alexa, Siri | Bing, Apple Maps and Google respectively | Business listings and snippets |
What they do with the pages
The assistant reads the pages in the results and pulls facts it can state. It prefers sentences with specifics: "70-foot pull-throughs with 50 amp" over "spacious sites." It cross-checks, as far as we can see from the answers: if the site says open April to October and the Business Profile says year-round, it tends to hedge or drop the park. It looks for evidence the park is real and regarded: reviews, mentions on other sites, a profile. Then it writes, and usually links the page it leaned on most.
What one looks like
A traveler asks Copilot for a pet-friendly RV park near Prescott with 50 amp. Behind the answer: Copilot searched Bing for something like "RV park Prescott 50 amp pet friendly," got ten results, read the four that were park sites, found that Willow Lake RV Park's sites page said "Sites 1 through 40 have 50-amp electric" and "dogs are welcome on a leash," checked that the Bing Places listing agreed, saw 140 reviews, and named the park with a link. A competitor with more sites was not named because its site was never in Bing.
What it means for a park
- Verify the site with Bing Webmaster Tools and submit the sitemap. This is the single step that opens ChatGPT and Copilot. Walked through, next.
- Claim Bing Places, Apple Maps, and the Business Profile, and make them agree.
- State facts in sentences on the site. Which facts and how.
- Have a presence beyond your own site: directories, reviews, mentions.
How to check your own
- Search your park's name on bing.com. If your site is not on the first page, Bing barely has you.
- Ask ChatGPT and Gemini the same question about parks in your town. If Gemini names you and ChatGPT does not, it is the Bing gap.
- Ask Perplexity and read the citations it shows. Those are the pages it trusted.
What we do about it
Every site we build is verified in both Bing and Google on launch day with the sitemap submitted, and Bing Places and Apple Maps are claimed alongside the Business Profile. We test the four assistants before and after. How we test.
Questions about this.
Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing?
Bing. ChatGPT's browsing and Microsoft Copilot both search Bing's index, so a site not indexed by Bing is invisible to them.
How does Gemini find RV parks?
Through Google's index, the Business Profile, and reviews. A complete Business Profile and a site indexed by Google are what Gemini reads.
Why does one AI name my park and another does not?
Usually because they search different indexes. If Gemini names you and ChatGPT does not, your site is likely missing or thin in Bing.
Do AI assistants read reviews?
Yes. Gemini and AI Overviews read Google reviews directly, and in our testing all of them lean on review volume and content as evidence the park is real and regarded.
Want to know what AI says about your park?
Ask it, then call us. We run the prompt set, show you the before, and build the fixes. SEO, AEO, and GEO with us start at $250 a month.
Part of the RV park GEO guide. Previous: What GEO is, and why it is not the same as ranking or snippets. Next: Bing Webmaster Tools: ten minutes that open ChatGPT and Copilot. See also the SEO guide and the AEO guide.