Why Doesn’t ChatGPT Recommend Me?
In short: When I asked AI my clients’ questions, it cited 93 websites and not one coach, including me. Then a narrower question made ChatGPT name me first. What AI says about you depends less on how good you are than on the words in the question, and on which AI is asked.
There is a particular humility in discovering that a machine has read everything you have written and still does not think of you.
I discovered it this month, with our own tools. At Nuumani we built a report that puts the questions a coach’s clients ask to the AI behind ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, then records every website each AI cites in its answer. I ran it on my own practice. I coach multi-passionate people: the ones with too many interests and no idea which to follow. So I gave it their questions. Why can’t I pick a career path? Why do I feel so stuck in my career? What are 10 signs that it’s time to quit my job?
AI cited 93 websites. Not one was mine.
Across two reports, which also included a couple of broader career questions, the three AI tools gave 27 answers and cited 93 different websites. My site was not cited once, and none of the most-cited sites belonged to a coach. Indeed alone was cited 13 times. Harvard Business Review, five.
The uncomfortable part: I have written about these exact subjects. I have a post called “I Want To Do Everything: Which Career Should I Choose?” and another on how creative generalists can get unstuck. Neither appeared in a single AI answer, or in the Google top-five results the report captured.
Then we asked a different question
Bar, who builds our tools, asked ChatGPT something narrower: “best coach for creative generalists.” He asked it logged out, as any stranger would, with no account and no history to sway the answer.
It named me first. It labelled me “Best overall fit” and described my work on portfolio careers and finding the common thread between interests. It was accurate.
Same coach. Same website. A different question, and the opposite result.
ChatGPT added, to its credit, that its shortlist reflected each coach’s stated focus, not a verified ranking of outcomes. That distinction matters, and it points to the real lesson: what AI says about you can depend heavily on how the question is asked.
AI doesn’t rank coaches. It matches language.
“Creative generalist” is my phrase. It is on my website, in my titles and in how I describe my work. When someone searched in my vocabulary, the AI found me. When someone searched in their own vocabulary (“I can’t decide on a career”), the AI found whoever wrote in theirs. Most often, that was Indeed.
Look at the titles that won. Indeed’s: “7 Things To Do When You Can’t Decide on a Career.” A small site called Ambrion: “10 Signs It’s Time to Quit Your Job.” Ambrion has none of Indeed’s authority, yet it reached Google’s top five and was cited by Gemini.
Now mine: “I Want To Do Everything: Which Career Should I Choose?” Same subject, different words. My title describes my client the way I see her. Theirs repeats the question the way she types it.
I want to be careful here. I cannot prove the title alone made the difference. Google’s own guidance calls the title often the primary piece of information people use to decide which result to click, and asks for titles that are descriptive and concise. It does not say a matching title makes a page rank, and neither will I. Authority, links and how quickly a page answers the question all play their part. But the pattern is hard to ignore.
There is a quiet paradox in it, too. The person who already knows the words “creative generalist” has, in a sense, half-diagnosed herself. The person still typing “why do I feel so stuck” is earlier in her search. She may need me just as much, and she is the one who never meets me.
And it depends on which AI you ask
Each tool keeps its own reading list. In my reports:
ChatGPT leaned on institutions and research, such as Harvard Business Review and Mayo Clinic.
Perplexity leaned on practical how-to articles. Ten of its citations went to Indeed.
Gemini ranged widest, citing Medium posts and small independent sites. For an individual coach, it was the most open door.
So “Does AI recommend me?” has no single answer. The honest answer is that it depends on the question and the model, and citations can change over time. A coach who checks one AI once, with one question, has learned very little.
What this means for your practice
Own your niche name. Use it consistently, everywhere, so AI can attach it to you. That consistency is likely part of why ChatGPT found me.
Answer your client’s question in your client’s words. Write one page per real question, with a title that repeats the question and the answer in the first few lines. Your voice can live in the second half of the title, for example: “Can’t Decide on a Career Path? Why Multi-Passionate People Struggle to Choose (and What to Do).”
Test more than one AI. A good result in ChatGPT tells you nothing about Perplexity or Gemini.
A word of honesty about the data. This is a small sample: two reports run on one day, and one ChatGPT test, in one niche, in October 2026. Treat it as a field note, not a law.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend me as a coach?
Often because the question someone asks doesn't use your words. In our reports, AI answered general career questions with articles from sites like Indeed and Harvard Business Review, not coaches. When the question matched my niche ("best coach for creative generalists"), ChatGPT named me first.
Do ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity recommend the same people?
No. In our reports, ChatGPT leaned on institutions and research, Perplexity on practical how-to articles, and Gemini on a wider mix that included small independent sites. A good result in one tells you little about the others.
Does the title of my blog post matter for AI?
Possibly, as one factor. The pages that won used the searcher's exact words in their titles. Google advises descriptive, concise titles, but doesn't say a matching title makes a page rank. Authority and how quickly a page answers the question matter too.
Should I stop using my niche name and write like my clients do?
No, do both. Your niche name is how AI connects you to people who already know what they need. Your clients' everyday words are how you reach people earlier in their search.
How do I find out if AI recommends me?
Ask more than one AI tool, with more than one question, on more than one day. Or run Nuumani's free AI Visibility Check, which shows whether AI names you in your niche and who it names instead.
Which side of the line are you on?
Our free AI Visibility Check asks AI to recommend a coach in your niche, and shows whether it names you and who it names instead. It’s one free check per coach, with no membership needed.
Run your free AI Visibility Check: https://www.nuumani.com/blog/nuumani-free-ai-visibility-check-for-coaches
SOURCES
Nuumani Competitive Report runs, October 10, 2026 (internal data: AI citations from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for career questions)
ChatGPT answer to “best coach for creative generalists,” asked logged out, October 13, 2026 (screenshot on file)
Google Search Central, Influencing title links in search results: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link
Murielle Marie, I Want To Do Everything: Which Career Should I Choose?: https://www.muriellemarie.com/blog/i-want-to-do-everything-which-career-should-i-choose
Murielle Marie, Career Coaching for Creative Generalists: How to Get Unstuck and End the Overthinking Cycle: https://www.muriellemarie.com/blog/career-coaching-for-creative-generalists-how-to-get-unstuck-and-end-the-overthinking-cycle
