How Parents Choose a Nursery with AI Search, and How to Be in the Answer

Choosing a nursery is one of the first big decisions parents make. More of them now start by asking an AI assistant for a shortlist, before they book a single visit.

What parents are asking

Parents don’t type “nursery Croydon” into ChatGPT. They type their whole situation:

• “Which nurseries in Croydon take the 30 hours free childcare? My son turns one in March.”
• “I start work at 7.30. Which nurseries near Canary Wharf open early enough?”
• “My daughter has a speech delay. Which nurseries nearby give children extra support?”
• “What is a Montessori nursery, and which ones near Hampstead are good?”

ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini answer with a few names and a reason for each. Those names get the visits. The rest may never be considered.

What AI assistants look for

1. Clear, specific information. Opening hours, ages you take, funded hours, fees, meals, your approach to learning and how you support children with additional needs. If it isn’t written on your website, an assistant can’t tell a parent about it.

2. Trust signals. Your Ofsted report, reviews from parents, and mentions on trusted local and childcare websites all help an assistant decide your nursery is a safe recommendation.

3. Your local area, in words parents use. Parents ask by neighbourhood, station and school. Saying where you are and which areas your families come from helps you appear when they do.

4. The same facts everywhere. Your name, address, hours and contact details should match on your website, Google Business Profile and childcare directories.

5. A website that loads fast and reads well on a phone. Most parents are searching on their phone, often with a child on their lap.

Simple steps for your nursery

1. Ask the questions yourself. Try five questions a parent in your area would ask, in two or three AI assistants. Note which nurseries come up.
2. Answer what parents worry about. A clear page on fees and funded hours, a typical day, settling in, meals, and support for additional needs.
3. Show what makes you different. Forest school, Montessori, a garden, long opening hours, small rooms: say it plainly and early.
4. Keep your Google Business Profile up to date, with real photos, correct hours and replies to reviews.
5. Link to your latest Ofsted report from your website, so parents (and AI tools) can find it easily.
6. Check again every few weeks. AI answers change, so keep an eye on where you appear.

What this looks like in practice

We have worked with two nurseries on AI search. For a Montessori nursery school, the owner named the prompts they wanted to be found for, and the nursery came first in AI search for every one. For another nursery, a six-month AI search and SEO campaign is still running: over its first two months it brought in 30 additional qualified parent enquiries and six confirmed registrations, 50% above the enquiry target we agreed. Neither nursery is named, at their request. You can see more on our page for nurseries.

A note on promises

AI answers vary between people and over time, and nobody can promise a place in them. What helps is making sure the right information is there, clearly and consistently, and tracking the questions that matter to your families.

Is your nursery in the answer?

See what we do for nurseries, or get in touch. Someone senior will reply within one working day.