SEO
How to show up in ChatGPT and other AI search tools
AI search tools quote pages they can find, understand and trust. Good SEO is the foundation, plus clear facts, direct answers and mentions of your business on other trusted sites.
How AI search finds sources
Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews search the web, read the most relevant pages and summarise them. Google's AI Overviews draw on Google's own index, and ChatGPT's search has been widely reported to draw on Bing. If your pages don't rank or can't be crawled, they're unlikely to be quoted.
Make your pages easy to quote
- Answer the question in the first sentence or two
- Use clear headings that match the questions people ask
- State facts plainly: what you do, who for, where and from what price
- Add FAQs with short, direct answers
- Use structured data so machines can read your key details
Let AI crawlers in
Check your robots.txt allows the crawlers used by AI search tools, such as OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Googlebot. Some sites block them by accident.
Build trust beyond your site
AI tools weigh what others say about you. Reviews, case studies, directory listings, press coverage and mentions in industry articles all help.
What about llms.txt?
llms.txt is a proposed file that summarises your site for AI tools. It's cheap to add and can't hurt, but the major AI search tools haven't confirmed they use it, so don't rely on it alone.
FAQs
Is AI search optimisation different from SEO?
It builds on SEO. The same foundations apply, with extra focus on clear answers and facts.
Can I pay to appear in ChatGPT answers?
Not in the organic answers. You earn a place by being a trusted, relevant source.
How do I know if AI tools mention us?
Ask them the questions your customers ask, and check referral traffic from AI tools in your analytics.