Is claiming my Yelp listing free?

Yes. Claiming your Yelp business page is completely free. Yelp offers paid advertising, but the listing claim itself costs nothing and gives you control over photos, hours, and business details.

How long does it take to verify a Foursquare listing?

Foursquare verification typically takes 1-3 business days after you submit your claim through the Foursquare for Business portal. Phone verification is usually instant.

Do Yelp and Foursquare listings affect AI search results?

Yes. ChatGPT uses Foursquare data for local business results, and multiple AI systems reference Yelp reviews and ratings. Claimed, complete listings with accurate NAP data are more likely to appear in AI recommendations.

What information should I include when claiming my listing?

At minimum, include your business name, address, phone number (NAP), hours of operation, website URL, categories, and high-quality photos. The more complete your profile, the stronger your signal to AI systems.

Can I claim listings if my business is service-area based?

Yes. Both Yelp and Foursquare support service-area businesses. You can hide your street address while still claiming the listing and specifying your service radius or areas served.

How to Claim Your Yelp and Foursquare Listings for AI Visibility

February 19, 2026

ChatGPT pulls local business data primarily from Foursquare and secondarily from Yelp. If you have not claimed your listings on these platforms, you cannot control the information AI uses to decide whether to recommend your business. Claiming is free on both platforms and takes less than 30 minutes total. This guide walks through the exact steps for both Foursquare and Yelp, plus how to optimize each listing for maximum AI visibility. For the full picture of how ChatGPT uses these data sources, see does ChatGPT use Foursquare (/blog/does-chatgpt-use-foursquare).

How Do You Claim Your Foursquare Business Listing?

Foursquare is the most important listing to claim because ChatGPT queries Foursquare's Places API for local recommendations.

Step 1: Go to business.foursquare.com.

Step 2: Search for your business by name and location. Many businesses already exist in Foursquare's database from historical user contributions dating back to the Foursquare app era.

Step 3: If your business appears, click Claim this business. If it does not appear, click Add your business to create a new listing.

Step 4: Verify ownership. Foursquare typically verifies via phone call, email, or postal mail to your business address.

Step 5: Once verified, you gain full editing control. Update all fields immediately.

After claiming, complete these critical fields:

Exact business name (matching your website and other directories)
Full street address
Primary phone number
All relevant business categories
Hours of operation for each day
Business description
Website URL
Photos of your storefront, interior, and products or services

Every field you complete increases the likelihood that ChatGPT will recommend your business. For more on why Foursquare matters so much for AI, see how ChatGPT finds local businesses (/blog/how-chatgpt-finds-local-businesses).

How Do You Claim Your Yelp Business Page?

Yelp is the second most important data source for AI recommendations. ChatGPT cross-references Yelp data for review quality and business details.

Step 1: Go to biz.yelp.com (Yelp for Business).

Step 2: Search for your business. Most businesses already have a Yelp page created by customers or auto-generated from public data.

Step 3: Click Claim this business.

Step 4: Verify ownership via phone call or email.

Step 5: Once claimed, update your business information.

After claiming, optimize these critical fields:

Business name (must match your Foursquare listing and website exactly)
Address and phone number (must match all other directories)
Business hours
Business categories (choose all that apply)
Photos (storefront, interior, products, team)
Business description
Services offered

Also respond to existing reviews. Yelp's review content and star ratings are signals that AI systems use to assess business quality. Responding to reviews shows active management and can influence how AI describes your business.

How Do You Optimize Both Listings for AI Visibility?

Claiming is the first step. Optimization is where AI visibility is won.

Complete every field on both platforms. Empty fields are missed signals. AI systems use every available data point to evaluate and rank businesses.

Choose specific, accurate categories. On Foursquare, select all categories that accurately describe your business. On Yelp, do the same. Precise categories help AI match your business to user queries like "best Italian restaurant" or "emergency plumber near me."

Upload high-quality photos. Businesses with photos receive more detailed treatment in AI recommendations. Include storefront, interior, team, and product or service photos on both platforms.

Keep hours updated. Incorrect hours can cause AI to skip your business for users searching during those times. Update hours for holidays, seasonal changes, and any schedule modifications.

Monitor and respond to reviews. AI systems analyze review sentiment. Responding to negative reviews professionally and thanking positive reviewers demonstrates active business management.

Verify consistency quarterly. Directories change data through aggregation and user edits. Check your Foursquare and Yelp listings every quarter to ensure they still match your canonical NAP data. For more on maintaining data consistency, see NAP consistency for AI search (/blog/nap-consistency-ai-search).

What Other Directories Matter for AI Search?

While Foursquare and Yelp are the most critical for ChatGPT, other directories matter for other AI platforms.

Google Business Profile is essential for Google AI Overviews. Google's AI features pull from its own data, so your GBP listing must be claimed and complete.

Apple Maps Connect matters for Siri and supplementary AI data. Claim your listing at mapsconnect.apple.com and ensure consistency with your other directories.

Bing Places powers Microsoft Copilot and supplements ChatGPT's data. Claim at bingplaces.com and ensure data matches.

The pattern is consistent across all platforms: claim the listing, complete every field, and ensure data matches exactly across all directories. Your website's LocalBusiness schema markup should match all of these listings, serving as the authoritative first-party data source. For a comprehensive optimization plan covering all platforms, see how to improve AI visibility for local businesses (/blog/ai-visibility-local-businesses).

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