Does AI recommend your MSP? Here’s how to make sure it does

Oh, for the old days. Everything was so simple back then.

When someone wanted something, they just Googled it. So all you had to do was make sure your MSP's website appeared on page one of those results.

Of course that still happens. It's not like Google is dead.

But it is changing. And that's because the way that people search for and research potential suppliers is changing (especially when they're buying something highly complex that they don't understand... like managed services).

YESTERDAY: Someone got fed up with their IT company, went to Google, typed in “IT support near me” and clicked through a few results.

TODAY: That same frustrated business owner, or their assistant, opens ChatGPT or Gemini or Claude and says something like: “We’re a 40 person accountancy firm, fed up with our IT company, it just feels like the service levels have gone down and it takes them longer to fix problems and it's just annoying me. We are looking for someone better. I don't mind paying a little bit more but that service level is really important to me. Who would you recommend in <town>?”

And they get a direct answer. A very specific recommendation, for their specific problem.

But the specificity of that answer makes it harder to make sure your MSP to be one of those names.

In the old days we used SEO to get on page one of Google. Today you need to do something called AEO.

What AEO is and why it matters for MSPs

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimisation. It’s the practice of making sure AI tools can find, understand, and recommend your business when someone asks a relevant question.

AND... there's good news for MSPs!

You see, AI engines prefer to base their recommendations on what's being said about businesses in places they don't control. It will look at review sites, forums, news articles, and Reddit threads.

When people are asking questions about which big brand to choose, the AI tools have to sift through enormous amounts of often contradictory information to form a view of them.

But of course your MSP almost certainly isn’t being talked about on Reddit, or in news articles.

Which sounds like a problem. But I see it's actually an opportunity.

Because it means AI tools are forming their view of your MSP almost entirely from what’s on your own website. Which means you have much more control over what AI says about you than a big brand does. You just have to give the AI clear, structured, accurate information to work with.

The MSPs who understand this and act on it now will have a significant advantage over the ones who figure it out in three years.

Here are 7 practical things you can do right now

Even better news, none of these require a developer or a big budget. Most of them are things you should be doing anyway as good marketing practice.

1) Write clearly about who you are and what you do

AI tools read your website and try to understand your business. If your homepage is vague and full of generic phrases like “managed IT services for businesses of all sizes,” the AI has very little to go on. Be specific. Name your location and your specialisms. Name the types of businesses you work with. The clearer you are, the more confidently an AI can recommend you to someone who matches your ideal client.

2) Answer the questions your prospects are actually asking

AI tools love content that directly answers questions. Think about what a business owner in your target market is genuinely worrying about and asking. “What happens to our business if our server fails?” “How do we pass a cyber insurance audit?” “What should a manufacturer look for in an MSP?” Write blog posts, FAQs, or guides that answer those questions clearly and directly. Not in jargon but in plain English.

3) Get your Google Business Profile in order

AI tools pull from Google Business Profile data. Make sure yours is complete, accurate, and up to date. Your services, your location, your opening hours, your description. Add new content every week. And keep collecting Google reviews, because AI tools use review signals as a trust indicator when deciding who to recommend.

4) Build your local and vertical signals

AI tools are much better at recommending local businesses when those businesses clearly signal their location and specialisms. Mention your town, city, or region naturally throughout your website. If you specialise in a vertical make sure that’s explicit too. “IT support for manufacturers in <town>” is a much more useful signal than “IT support for businesses.”

5) Get mentioned on other reputable websites

AI tools give more weight to businesses that are mentioned and recommended in places beyond their own website. Industry directories, local business associations, partner pages on vendor websites, press coverage if you can get it. Even being listed on a few credible third-party sites helps AI tools trust that you’re a real, established business.

6) Be consistent everywhere

Your business name, address, and phone number should be identical across your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, and anywhere else you appear online. Inconsistencies confuse AI tools and reduce the confidence with which they’ll recommend you. This sounds boring but it matters.

7) Publish content consistently

Fresh, regular content signals to AI tools that your business is active and authoritative. A weekly blog post, a LinkedIn newsletter, a YouTube video. Daily posts on LinkedIn. AI tools favour sources that are consistently producing relevant, useful content over ones that published twelve posts in 2022 and nothing since.

One thing worth being honest about

AEO is not a magic trick and it’s not a replacement for the fundamentals. The MSPs who will benefit most from it are the ones who already have:

• A clear Ideal Client Profile, so you know who you want to work with
• A strong Unique Selling Proposition, so you know why they would choose you
• A decent website and LinkedIn, and overall consistent marketing in place.

AEO builds on top of those things. It doesn’t and can't work without them. So if you’re still working on the foundations, start there. Then layer AEO on top.

But if your foundations are solid, the seven things above are very much worth your time doing. Because right now, very few MSPs are thinking about AEO at all. Which means the ones who do are going to have a real edge.

PS This is a useful tool: https://isitagentready.com/