GEO courseModule 5 of 10: Local and ReviewsLesson 5.3
Bing, Apple, Directories and Voice Assistants
The listings beyond Google: Bing Places (which feeds Microsoft's Copilot), Apple Business (Apple Maps and Siri), and the directories and comparison sites AI tools sometimes cite. Keeping them claimed and consistent is cheap, and it's the only lever you have for voice assistants.
Why it matters
ChatGPT and Copilot lean on Bing, and Siri on Apple Maps. An unclaimed listing with an old phone number is what they'll repeat.
The evidence
Evidence: Official guidance
Official guidance for Bing Places and Apple's tools. ChatGPT's reliance on Bing comes from a US vendor study. Voice assistant sources are unproven.
Do this first
Search your agency in Bing and in Apple Maps, and check the name, address, phone and hours against your fact sheet.
01What it is
Google is one phone book. Bing and Apple have their own. If your number’s only in one, people using the others can’t find you.
Think of it like
Pruning a hedge. A few tidy, healthy branches look better than a tangle, and you can see what's actually growing.
02Why it matters
To the people searching
iPhone users search Apple Maps and ask Siri. Copilot users see Bing's data. A tenant who finds your old number on Apple Maps rings a dead line and never knows the problem was the map, not you.
buyers
Use Bing, Copilot, iPhones and voice to find and ring agents.
tenants
Ask quick "near me" questions on phones and smart speakers.
sellers
Check addresses and phone numbers when comparing agents.
landlords
Sometimes ask a voice assistant for the nearest letting agent while driving.
To Google, Bing and AI
Evidence: Official guidanceMicrosoft recommends Bing Places so a business's address, hours and contact details stay current, and Copilot works from Bing. In BrightLocal's study, ChatGPT relied on Yelp and Bing for local answers. Apple says Applebot data powers Siri, Spotlight and Safari, and Apple merged Business Connect into a new, free Apple Business in April 2026, with existing place cards carried over. Directories and comparison sites do get cited in AI answers, but which ones varies by town and tool. Nobody has confirmed where Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant get their local data, so treat voice as hygiene, not a target.
An agent example
A branch finds that Siri gives an old opening time, because its Apple place card was never claimed. It claims Apple Business and Bing Places, copies every detail from its fact sheet, then searches its phone number and old address and finds four directory entries with the old address and one with a former trading name. It corrects what it can, asks for duplicates to be removed, and repeats the voice test a week later.
03Your turn
Check yours, then fix it
- 1Search your agency name in Bing. Check name, address, phone and hours.
- 2Search your agency in Apple Maps on an iPhone or Mac. Check the same.
- 3Ask Copilot "Best estate agents in [town]" and "Best letting agents in [town]", and note what it cites.
- 1Search your phone number, address and agency name in quotes on Google.
- 2List the first 20 listings and tick correct or incorrect.
- 3Check your redress scheme, trade body and portal member directories for your entry.
- 1Ask your phone: "Find an estate agent near me", "What time does [agency] open?", "Call [agency]".
- 2Write down what it says, and ring the number it gives.
Where is [agency] in [town] listed online? List the websites you find, and for each one show the name, address and phone number it gives.
- 1Claim and verify Bing Places for Business. You can import from your Google profile.
- 2Claim your place card in Apple Business (Apple's replacement for Business Connect, free).
- 3Copy every detail from your fact sheet: name, categories, hours, phone, website link, photos.
- 1Fix the main ones first: Yell, your Chamber of Commerce, trade body and redress scheme lists, Facebook, LinkedIn.
- 2Claim old listings and request removal of duplicates.
- 3Avoid bulk submission packages. They spread mistakes and promise AI visibility nobody can deliver.
- 1Services such as Moz Local, BrightLocal and Whitespark push your details to many directories at once.
- 2Check exactly what they publish before you pay again: they can spread a mistake as fast as a fix.
- 3Keep control of your own accounts.
- 1Set it up with the same details as everywhere else.
- 2Don't pay for "voice search" or "Siri optimisation" packages. Nobody can show where those assistants get their data.
Then: Re-check every listing after any move, new phone number, branch rename or change of hours, the same day if you can.
04Keep it up
Check Bing and Apple quarterly. Search for old directory entries twice a year.
That's lesson 5.3
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