Insights
How do I get my business mentioned in ChatGPT answers?
The four steps that get a business named by ChatGPT and other AI tools, from OpenAI, Google and Bing guidance and our own benchmark.
ChatGPT names the businesses its search can find and trust. To be one of them, let its search crawler into your website, publish pages that answer the questions your buyers ask, get listed on the sites AI tools read, and keep your facts the same everywhere. You can do this yourself, or hire someone who measures where you stand and does the work each month.
How does ChatGPT decide which businesses to mention?
When ChatGPT searches the web, it uses its own crawler. OpenAI's crawler documentation says "OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in search results in ChatGPT's search features", and that sites which block it "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers".
So the first question is simple: can ChatGPT read your website? The second is whether your website, and the sites that talk about you, answer the question being asked.
We measured this on our own business before offering it to anyone. We put eight buyer questions to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini, 32 answers in all, and none of them named us. The answers leaned heavily on business directories and published lists of agencies.
Source: Scott Charnley benchmark audit, October 2026
Step 1: let the AI crawlers in
Check your robots.txt file, the short file that tells crawlers what they may read. OpenAI recommends "allowing OAI-SearchBot in your site's robots.txt file", and notes "it can take ~24 hours from a site's robots.txt update for our systems to adjust".
You can keep search and training separate. OpenAI uses a different crawler, GPTBot, for content "that may be used in training our generative AI foundation models", and you can block that one while still allowing search.
Google asks for the same basics in its guidance on AI features: "ensuring that crawling is allowed in robots.txt, and by any CDN or hosting infrastructure". If your website sits behind a security service, check that it lets the crawlers through too.
Step 2: answer the questions your buyers ask
AI tools quote pages that answer a question clearly. Bing's AI Performance announcement puts it plainly: "Clear headings, tables, and FAQ sections help surface key information and make content easier for AI systems to reference accurately." It adds that "examples, data, and cited sources help build trust when content is reused in AI-generated answers."
Google's guidance on helpful content, updated on 1 October 2026, asks the questions worth putting to every page:
- "Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?"
- "Is this content written or reviewed by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?"
- "Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?"
Write one page for each question your buyers ask. Answer it in the first paragraph, then give the detail, the figures and the sources.
Step 3: get listed where AI tools look
In our benchmark, the websites cited most often were business directories, led by GoodFirms in a quarter of Claude's answers. A complete directory profile, with your services, location and reviews, gives AI tools a second, independent source that describes you.
Keep every listing consistent. Bing advises that you "align text, images, and video so they consistently represent the same entities, products, or concepts". Use the same business name, the same description and the same website address on your own site, your directory profiles, your LinkedIn page and your Google Business Profile. Google's guidance also lists keeping "Merchant Center and Business Profile information" up to date.
Step 4: keep it fresh, and tell the search engines
Bing notes that "regular updates help ensure AI systems reference the most current version of your content". When you publish or update a page, tell the search engines straight away. Bing recommends IndexNow, which "helps keep information fresh across search and AI experiences by notifying participating search engines whenever content is added, updated, or removed." For Google, submit your sitemap in Google Search Console.
Skip the shortcuts
You will be offered special files, hidden prompts and "AI schema" that promise to get you into ChatGPT. Google's own guidance is clear: "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary."
It goes further: "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features. There's also no special schema.org structured data that you need to add."
The work that gets businesses named is the steady work above: a readable website, useful pages, consistent listings and fresh content.
How do you know if it is working?
Measure before you start, then measure again every month.
- Ask the tools yourself. Put your buyers' questions to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini, and record who they name. Ask each question more than once, because the answers vary.
- Check Bing's free report. Bing Webmaster Tools now has an AI Performance report covering "Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing, and select partner integrations". It shows which of your pages are cited and how often.
- Watch the sources. Note which websites the answers cite. Those are the places your business needs to appear.
Who can do it for you?
You can run all four steps yourself, with time each week. If you would rather hand it over, our AI marketing team does it as a monthly service. It measures your buyers' questions across the AI engines, writes the pages that answer them, keeps your listings in order and shows every result in your own portal, with a Client Manager approving each page. Programmes run for 12 months, from £3k a quarter.
Before you hire anyone, read what to check before you hire an AI marketing team.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?
The guidance from OpenAI and Google describes two routes in: letting their crawlers read your site, and publishing helpful content. Treat any offer of guaranteed placement with care.
Should I block GPTBot?
That is your choice. OpenAI says GPTBot is used for training, and OAI-SearchBot for search. You can block training and still appear in ChatGPT search.
How long does it take?
OpenAI says robots.txt changes take around 24 hours to apply. Pages, listings and reviews take longer to build, so measure once a month and judge the trend.
Does this help with Google too?
Yes. Google says the same SEO best practices apply to its AI Overviews and AI Mode as to Search, so the same work counts on both.
Sources
- Overview of OpenAI crawlers (OpenAI)
- AI features and your website (Google Search Central, updated 10 December 2025)
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (Google Search Central, updated 1 October 2026)
- Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools (Bing, 10 February 2026)
- Scott Charnley AI marketing team