Do you only have a Facebook page? Then AI can't find your business.

More and more people no longer type their question into Google, but ask ChatGPT or Perplexity instead. If you only have a Facebook page, that's a problem: those AI tools are technically not allowed to read your Facebook page at all. Below you'll see how to check this yourself, why it happens, and what you can do about it.

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? Here's why.

02

Why can't AI see your Facebook page?

  • Facebook itself keeps the door shut for AI

    Facebook has set its own rules so that the computers behind ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity aren't allowed in. This isn't your mistake and it isn't random — it applies to every Facebook page, including yours.

  • 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 without that closed door, it could read very little of your page.

  • 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.

Check it yourself: Facebook's rules for reading computers (robots.txt)

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.

  • But not the ChatGPT layer

    ChatGPT and Perplexity mostly rely on other sources than Google. Without a website, or with only Facebook, you miss that layer completely — no matter how good your Google profile is.

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 — you lose something important: the fastest-growing way people search for a business today.

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

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.

06

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

07

Frequently asked questions

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

    Yes. Facebook publishes a list of rules for computers that want to read the site. It literally states that the computers behind ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity are not welcome. You can see that list yourself via the source link at the bottom of this page.

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

    For people who already know you, yes. But AI doesn't know you through your followers — it simply can't read your page. New customers searching through AI won't find you.

  • 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?