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Inside the race to get recommended by AI: The business directory cracking the code

Getting to the top of Google is no longer the only game in town. Little-known Australian business directory Starworks offers clues about how businesses get recommended by AI.
Starworks founder Ben Adler
Starworks founder Ben Adler has been testing how businesses surface in AI-generated recommendations. Image: Supplied

Australian businesses have spent decades working to get to the top of Google. As consumers increasingly turn to AI tools for recommendations, marketers are racing to understand what makes one business appear in an AI-generated answer over another.

Two Australian studies this year suggest the answer may not always be the websites or strategies we expect to drive traffic.

In September, Perth-based Search Scope recorded 2,400 AI responses across 20 industries and found Starworks, a relatively little-known Australian business directory, appeared 199 times.

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