MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 17, 2026: Imhauser Technologies, a software and AI firm in McLean, Virginia, today opened its AI Search Optimization service to small businesses anywhere in the United States. The service helps a business get found, read and described correctly when customers ask AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity for a recommendation. It works on the website the business already has, costs $299 to set up and $149 a month, and runs month to month.

The firm tested the method on itself first. On September 11, 2026, it asked ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini the questions a McLean business owner would ask about AI optimization and websites. None of the answers mentioned Imhauser Technologies. On September 23, asked "where can I do AI optimization for my business here in McLean", ChatGPT named the company, described its service and linked to it.

The work had two parts. On the website: a robots.txt file that lets AI crawlers in, an llms.txt summary, structured data on every page, a page for each town served and articles that answer a question in their first paragraph. Off the website: claimed business listings on Google, Bing Places, BBB, Clutch, Patch and TechBehemoths, because AI assistants check a business against outside sources before naming it.

"People now ask an AI assistant before they search, and the answer names only a handful of businesses," said Eric Imhauser, founder of Imhauser Technologies. "Nobody can make an assistant recommend you. What we can do is make sure it can find your business, read it and get the facts right. We did it for our own company before offering it to anyone."

The firm is careful about what the result shows: it is one engine and one question, answers change with wording and over time, and it tracks a fixed panel of questions every week across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Perplexity. The full account is at imhauser.com/insights/how-we-got-recommended-by-chatgpt.html.

The service includes a version for real estate agents who want to be named for the neighborhoods they work in. Any business can request a free AI visibility check, a report on what the AI engines say about it today next to two competitors, at imhauser.com/ai-visibility-check.html.

About Imhauser Technologies

Imhauser Technologies is a software and AI firm in McLean, Virginia, led by Eric Imhauser, a software architect with 35 years of experience. It helps small businesses get found and described correctly by Google and by AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, with AI Search Optimization at $299 setup and $149 a month, remote anywhere in the US. It also builds managed websites, sets up Claude for small businesses and law firms, and designs and optimizes Azure systems for growing companies. More at imhauser.com.

Media contact

Eric Imhauser, Imhauser Technologies, info@imhauser.net, 240-670-3459

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