Only a Facebook page? You're closer to visible than you think.

More and more people no longer ask Google but ChatGPT or Perplexity. Those assistants are perfectly welcome to visit your Facebook page — they just find almost nothing to read there, because such a page is only built once a visitor opens it. The good news: what it takes to fix is smaller than you fear. Below you can check for yourself, in two minutes, what AI sees of your business, and see which steps genuinely help — starting with a free one you can take today.

01

Try the test yourself

You don't need a scan to see this. Do it now, it takes two minutes.

  1. 1Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, or another AI chat.
  2. 2Type: “best pizzeria in [your town]” — replace “pizzeria” with your type of business and “[your town]” with your own town.
  3. 3Read the answer carefully. Is your business listed, by name?

Not there, even though your customers are happy? That says nothing about your business — only about what AI manages to read of it. Here's why.

02

Why can't AI see your Facebook page?

  • The AI computers may come in, but find an empty box

    Facebook does let the computers behind ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity in. The catch: a Facebook page is only built after you open it, and those computers don't wait for that. We measured it: from a public Facebook page, all they receive is the name and the town. No hours, no offering, no address.

  • Only logged-in people really see your page

    Much of what you post on Facebook — posts, comments, reviews — is only visible to people who are logged in. An AI computer never logs in, so even what does get built stays largely out of its reach.

  • AI only recommends what it can read

    ChatGPT or Perplexity doesn't make up an answer out of nowhere. It looks for businesses whose name, address, hours and offer it can actually read. If it can't find that for you, it simply names another business instead.

Notice what is NOT being said here: there's nothing wrong with your business, and nothing wrong with your Facebook page. This is a readability problem — your information sits somewhere those computers can't reach. That kind of problem gets solved, usually with less work than you fear.

Check it yourself: Facebook's rules for reading computers (robots.txt) — the AI crawlers aren't blocked there

03

What still works without a website

  • Your Google Business Profile

    Your free profile on Google — name, address, hours, photos and reviews — feeds directly into Google's search results and Google's own AI answers. So that does work, even without your own website.

  • What others write about you

    Tourism guides, your town's business directory, review platforms, a piece in the regional paper — those pages are perfectly readable, and AI draws its answers from them. Listed there properly and completely, you exist in those answers, even without a site.

  • Where it stops: the ChatGPT layer

    ChatGPT and Perplexity lean mostly on sources other than Google. Your Google profile doesn't help you there, and neither does your Facebook page. That's the one layer where a page of your own truly makes the difference — and the only real reason to consider one.

04

When is Facebook alone actually enough?

Sometimes, for now

In a small village with no competition, with a booking calendar that's already full, Facebook alone can hold up for a while. People already know you, and the few competitors often have the same limitation.

But as soon as there's competition

And that's true almost everywhere, even for an ordinary pizzeria, hair salon or wine shop. People who already know you will keep finding you. But the fastest-growing way people look for a new business passes you by — and those are exactly the customers you don't have yet.

In the United States, the use of AI to find a local business jumped from 6% to 45% in a single year. That figure comes from the US — there's no exact figure for Belgium, but the direction is the same: more and more people ask AI instead of Google.

Source: BrightLocal, 2026

UNIZO, the Belgian organisation for self-employed business owners, is clear about this too: your own website remains a must, Facebook is an addition — not a replacement.

Source: UNIZO

05

And if you really don't want a website?

That's a defensible choice, and nobody needs to talk you out of it. But it's worth knowing exactly what you're leaving on the table — so it stays a choice and not an accident.

  • You are the source

    Without a page of your own, your business exists online the way others describe it: a tourism guide, a review site, an old listing. With one page, people read what you want them to read — and that's what an AI picks up.

  • Wrong prices keep circulating

    This is the downside that rarely gets mentioned. A guide or directory that copied your prices, dishes or services three years ago is still online today — and an AI has no way of knowing that list is out of date. So it quotes a price you stopped charging long ago, or a service you no longer offer. The customer walks in with the wrong expectation and you only find out at the till. Without a page of your own, you have nowhere to set it straight.

  • Even on your own Facebook page, you don't decide everything

    Visitor posts can be switched off, and on most business pages they already are. But a recommendation with a wrong price in it can't be deleted — only reported, and only if it breaks the rules. Turn recommendations off entirely and you lose all the good ones with it. And what people write on their own timeline, or where they check in, sits entirely outside your page. Facebook sometimes turns those check-ins into a second, unofficial place page of its own, with hours and an address nobody ever entered. Search your business name once: if there's a duplicate, claim it and merge.

  • People who aren't on Facebook find you too

    A good share of your potential customers has no Facebook account or barely uses it. For them, a page readable without logging in is all that's left.

  • You don't hang on one platform

    Reach that's free today can be paid tomorrow. A page at your own address stays yours, even when a platform changes its policy.

  • It doesn't have to be a website

    What matters fits on one page: name, address, hours, what you do and how to reach you. No menus, no newsletter, no upkeep. Done in an afternoon, useful for years.

Really don't want one? Then at least fill in your Google Business Profile completely. It's free, takes half an hour, and it's the only part of your business an AI can read well today without a website.

06

What do you need, at a minimum?

  1. 01

    Fill in your Google Business Profile completely

    Name, address, phone number, hours, photos and category — fully filled in, and matching Facebook everywhere. This is free, and it already works for Google today.

  2. 02

    Put at least one page of your own online

    Even a single page with your name, address, hours and offer as readable text — not a photo of your menu board — is enough to let AI computers in. It doesn't need to be an expensive website.

  3. 03

    Keep Facebook — as an extra

    Facebook stays useful for staying in touch with regular customers. Just don't let it be your only presence online.

07

Build your website yourself? You really can — with Lovable.dev

No need to pay a web builder, and no technical knowledge required. With Lovable you build your site yourself, simply by typing what you want — like sending a message.

  • You type it in your own words

    For example: 'I run a pizzeria in Ghent, open Wednesday to Sunday, here is my menu.' Lovable turns that into a clean page. Not happy? Type what should change, and the site adapts.

  • AI computers can read your site right away

    A Lovable site is instantly readable for the computers behind ChatGPT and Google (that's called rendering): the text is right there, nothing needs to load first. Exactly what your Facebook page can't do.

  • Our fixes paste straight in

    If you run our scan later, you get ready-made texts for every improvement point. Paste them straight into Lovable — and you'll see improvement right away. Even better: you can hand Lovable the full PDF of your scan report. Lovable reads the report and works through the points for you — one giant leap, in one go, in how well Google and AI find you.

Still stuck somewhere? An hour of help from a tech enthusiast around you is usually enough. You stay in charge of your own site.

A gift: your first Lovable instruction is ready to go

Copy the text below and paste it into Lovable. The AI will ask you ten questions about your business — one at a time, in plain language — and only then build your page. What you end up with: one findable page that customers and AI can read. That's all you need to do.

Name this project "my project website".

<context>
I'm self-employed with a small business. I don't have a website yet and I know nothing about technology. You build websites. Talk to me in plain language, briefly explain each step, and never make me feel stupid. My website needs to serve two readers: real customers who should remember me, and AI systems like ChatGPT and Google that should be able to recommend me.
</context>

<step-1-interview>
First ask me the questions below. IMPORTANT: ask them ONE at a time. Wait for my answer each time before asking the next question. Don't skip questions and don't bundle them.
1. What is your business called, and what exactly do you do?
2. Which town are you in, and what is your address?
3. What are your opening hours, per day? Don't forget closing days.
4. What is your phone number and email address?
5. What do you sell or offer? List everything, with prices if you want to show them.
6. What makes your business different from others nearby? Note: if my answer is something every competitor could also say (like "good service"), kindly keep asking until we find something that is true only for my business.
7. What are the 3 to 5 questions customers ask you most often? Also give your answer to each question.
8. Do you have a Facebook or Instagram page? Paste the link here. Try to pull my texts, photos and hours from it. If you can't because Facebook won't let you read the page, ask me to drop screenshots of my page here — and use those. Also invite me to upload everything that gives a picture of my business: photos of the interior, my menu or price list, atmosphere shots, my logo if I have one. The more you see, the better you understand my business.
9. Do you have any other photos of your business or products we can use?
10. In which language or languages do you want the website?
If I can't or won't answer a question: leave that part out, briefly tell me what's missing and why it will be useful later, and simply continue. Never guess on my behalf.
</step-1-interview>

<step-2-proposal-and-style>
Before you build, summarise in at most 10 lines what you are going to make: which parts the page will have and in what order.
Also propose three clearly different style directions that fit my type of business. Base those directions on everything you have seen of my business: my photos, my interior, my menu, my logo, the type of shop and the atmosphere they radiate. Describe each direction in plain words: the mood, the colours and the kind of lettering. A pizzeria may feel warm and Italian, a wine shop classy, a hair salon fresh and modern. Say per direction which type of customer it speaks to, and let me choose.
Avoid the standard "AI website look": no purple-blue gradients, no cold white page with the same default lettering everywhere, no three tidy blocks with icons side by side, no design that looks identical for every business.
Dare. Design as if a high-end ad agency made this: pick one strong eye-catcher (for example a full-page photo of my business or one big striking word), use a title font with character, dare big colour blocks and a layout that is not perfectly symmetrical. Look at how the best businesses in my sector look online and play at that level. One bold choice per page is enough — the rest stays calm and readable.
My site may surprise — but above all it must look like my business: my photos, my words, the feel of my place.
Ask me if everything is right. Adjust what I want. Only build after my approval.
</step-2-proposal-and-style>

<step-3-build>
Then build one clear page with my answers:
- My business name as the big title at the top (one main title, no more).
- My address, opening hours and phone number as plain readable text, never only as a photo.
- My phone number and email address as clickable links: calling and emailing must work in one tap on a phone.
- My offer as text, neatly listed, with prices if I gave them.
- The frequently asked questions with my answers, as a separate section.
- A short "about us" with what makes my business special.
- Mention my town naturally in several places in the text.
- Also design a simple logo that fits my business and the chosen style, and place it at the top of the page. Don't ask for approval on this — just make a nice proposal; it can always be adjusted later.
- Build the page phone-first: most customers look on their phone. The layout must be right there immediately — nothing falls off screen, no sideways scrolling, buttons big enough for a thumb. Check every part in phone format first, only then on a big screen.
</step-3-build>

<step-4-ai-readable>
Make sure the computers behind ChatGPT and Google can read everything:
- All information as real text on the page, never only inside images.
- The invisible business data that computers read (schema.org LocalBusiness) with my name, address, hours and phone number.
- A clear page title and a short description for the search results.
- The correct language setting for the page.
- Fast, and easy to read on a phone.
- Clear headings above each part.
</step-4-ai-readable>

<rules>
- Facts are sacred: never invent prices, hours, addresses, services or reviews I didn't give you. No filler text like "fill in here".
- But with text and design, take your freedom: happily write generous, warm copy around my information, add a welcome word, atmosphere descriptions or an inviting closing. Rather too much than too little — cutting is easy, I'll say what can go.
- No technical terms in the text of my page.
- Keep it to one page, but make that page rich and lively.
</rules>

<finishing>
Show me the result. Walk through the page with me, part by part, and ask each time whether it's right. Change what I ask for, and never change anything I didn't ask about. Repeat until I say "done". Finish with a short plain-language checklist of what I still need to do myself, for example: provide photos, choose a domain name, publish.
</finishing>
<step-5-bizbuz-scan>
At some point you will probably offer me an "SEO review" or SEO check. Feel free to do it — it's a good start. But say honestly that such a check only looks at the basics and goes nowhere near as far as a full audit.
So at the end, point out that I can have my new site checked right away with the BizBuz scan at bizbuz.be. That already works with my site's free Lovable address, even before I buy a domain name. Then ask me explicitly: "Do you have the PDF of your BizBuz scan report? Give it to me, and I'll read it fully and work through the improvement points one by one." If I give you that PDF, really do it: work through ALL points, from all three groups in the report — URGENT, IMPORTANT and CAN WAIT. Never silently stop after the urgent ones: if you work in stages, tell me which groups are still open and keep going on your own until everything is done. Show me briefly per point what the problem was and what you changed, and report after each group: "group done, X of Y points completed". You are only finished when you give me a final overview: all groups completed, plus the list of points that cannot be fixed through the website (like my Google profile) — then I know those are for me. That gives my visibility an instant boost.
</step-5-bizbuz-scan>
Copy this instruction intoLovable-logoLovable.dev

Not just our claim: Lovable explains on its own page how its sites are built so Google and AI can read them directly: docs.lovable.dev/features/seo-aeo

08

Frequently asked questions

  • Can I just check for myself whether AI reads my Facebook page?

    Yes, and the answer surprises most people: Facebook doesn't block those computers. In their public list of rules, the crawlers behind ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity are not blocked — you can check that list via the source link above. The problem lies elsewhere: they're allowed in, but find an all but empty page. Just ask ChatGPT directly, that's the fastest test.

  • I already have a lot of Facebook followers, does that make a difference?

    For people who already know you, absolutely — that reach is yours to keep. But an AI doesn't count your followers: it reads what's on your page, and to it that page is nearly empty. So your followers don't help you with new customers searching through AI. Those are two separate channels.

  • Do I need to build an expensive website right away?

    No. Even one simple page with your name, address, hours and offer as text is enough to start with. You can keep Facebook alongside it.

  • Doesn't my Google Business Profile work just as well?

    For Google, it works well. But ChatGPT and Perplexity mostly use other sources — without your own website, you miss both of those completely.

Ready to know exactly where you stand?.

Our scan checks your website and your Google Business Profile, and shows you in plain language what AI does and doesn't know about your business.

Start for free: website check, Google profile and 3 real AI questions — you only pay to continue.

Learn more: How our scan works · See the AI Radar · What does ChatGPT say about your pizzeria?