Why Does ChatGPT Recommend the Wrong Business When Multiple Businesses Share One Address?

Why do businesses at one address get mixed up?

• Shared phone numbers, such as a building's reception or a shared switchboard.
• Missing suite numbers, so every business has the identical address.
• Directories listing all tenants under the building's name.
• A dominant business, such as a co-working brand, hospital or shopping centre, whose listing outranks the tenants.
• Reviews that mention the building, not the business.
• Similar names or categories, such as two physiotherapy practices in the same medical centre.
• Old tenants, whose listings remain after they moved out.

How do you separate your business from others at the address?

1. Use your own name consistently, exactly as on your signage.
2. Add your suite or unit number in every listing. Google's guidelines say to put it in the second address line.
3. Use your own phone number, not the building's.
4. Give your website a location page with your full address including suite, directions within the building and your hours.
5. Choose accurate categories that differentiate you from neighbours.
6. Add photos of your own signage and entrance, so it is clear where you are.
7. Mark up your address in LocalBusiness structured data, including the suite.
8. Send customers your own profile’s review link, so reviews are attached to your business and not a neighbour at the same address.
9. Correct directories that list you under the building or another tenant.

ChatGPT has no direct access to your Google Business Profile. Its local business cards draw on providers such as Yelp, and its maps use Mapbox data built on OpenStreetMap, so check that your Yelp, Bing Places and Apple Business listings and the OpenStreetMap entry for the building show your own name, suite and phone, not the building's or a neighbour's.

For co-working spaces, Google's guidelines only allow a listing if the office has clear signage, receives customers during business hours and is staffed by your own team. Virtual offices are not eligible. Consistent details across the web are covered in whether inconsistent NAP data can stop ChatGPT from recommending a local business.

How solo practitioners in shared offices can build a distinct AI-recognized entity

Google's Business Profile guidelines treat doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial planners and insurance or real estate agents as individual practitioners, who may have their own profiles. The rules depend on the setup:

• One of several practitioners at a location: the organisation should have its own profile for the location, and each practitioner's profile should use only the practitioner's name, not the organisation's.
• The only practitioner at a branded organisation's location: it is best to share one profile with the organisation, named with both, such as "[Organisation]: [Name]".
• An independent practitioner renting space: create your own profile with your suite number, phone and hours.

Beyond the profile:

• Publish your own bio page with your credentials, registration numbers, specialisms and booking link.
• Keep your name format consistent, including titles such as Dr. or credentials such as JD or CFA, which Google allows in practitioner profiles.
• List yourself in professional registers and directories with the same details.
• Link your profiles to one another, and use sameAs links in Person markup on your bio page.
• Collect reviews on your own profile, not the building's.

What if a larger business at the address dominates?

When a hospital, co-working brand or shopping centre dominates, ask it to list tenants correctly on its own site, with separate names, suites and links. Some directories and data aggregators build "businesses at this address" lists from sources like these, so a correct tenant list helps. Make your own listings more complete than the dominant business's references to you, and check that its listing does not claim your services or phone number.

How do you check whether assistants are mixing you up?

Ask assistants "What is [your business]?", "[Your service] at [building or address]" and "Phone number for [your business]". Run each a few times. Note any answers that give a neighbour's phone number, name another business at your address, or merge details. Open the cited sources to find where the mix-up comes from. A related problem, where assistants link your business to the wrong website, is covered in why ChatGPT recommends the wrong website for a business.

What might an illustrative case look like?

Consider an illustrative counsellor who rents a room in a wellness centre shared with three other practitioners. When clients ask ChatGPT for the counsellor, it gives the centre's reception number and sometimes recommends a physiotherapist in the same building. The counsellor's only listing is on the centre's website, with no suite number. The counsellor creates their own Business Profile with their name, room number, direct phone and hours, and a bio page on a personal site with their registration details. They update two therapy directories and ask the centre to list each practitioner separately with direct links. Within a few weeks, assistants give the counsellor's own number and stop recommending the physiotherapist for the counsellor's name.

What do people ask about shared addresses and AI?

Can two businesses at the same address both have Business Profiles?

Yes, if each is a distinct, staffed business that meets the guidelines. Suite numbers and separate phone numbers help.

Should I use the building's name in my business name?

No. Use your real business name. Put the building or suite in the address.

What if an old tenant's listing uses my suite?

Report the old listing as moved or closed, and make sure your own listing is complete.

Does structured data help separate businesses?

It supports clear identifiers on your own site, but listings and reviews matter more.