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AI12 min readUpdated Oct 13, 2026

How to get your business mentioned in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity

How AI assistants choose which businesses to name, a test to see where you stand today, and the settings, listings and pages that help you get mentioned.

Remar Catapang
Remar CatapangFull-funnel marketing strategist · In the field since 2020
Hand holding a phone where ChatGPT answers "What's the best restaurant in Tampa?" with a list of named restaurants and ratings
Short answer

AI assistants search the web before they answer, so they can only name businesses they can find, read and check. Run a test with five customer-style questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot. Then make sure their crawlers are not blocked, keep your Google and Bing listings complete and identical, write one clear page per service with facts in text and an FAQ, and earn mentions on the sites the assistants already cite. Repeat the test every month.

Key takeaways
  • ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity search the web before answering, so the basics of search still decide who gets named.
  • Test first: ask five customer-style questions in each assistant and note who is named and which sources are linked.
  • Do not block OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Googlebot or Bingbot. Check your host and CDN settings too.
  • Keep Google Business Profile, Bing Places and directories complete and identical.
  • Write one page per service, with facts in text and real customer questions answered.
  • Google says there is no special AI file or markup you need to add.
Key terms explained (15)
AI assistant
A tool such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Copilot that answers questions in plain language.
Generative AI
Artificial intelligence that writes new text, images or other content instead of only finding existing pages.
AI Overviews and AI Mode
Google’s AI-written answers shown in Google Search, with links to the pages they drew on.
Crawler (bot)
A program that visits web pages automatically to read them, for example OAI-SearchBot or Googlebot.
robots.txt
A small text file at the root of your website that tells crawlers which pages they may visit.
Index
The store of pages a search engine has read and can show in results.
Citation
A link to a source page shown with an AI answer.
Grounding query
The search phrase an AI tool uses behind the scenes to find pages for its answer.
CDN
Content delivery network. A service such as Cloudflare that sits in front of your website to speed it up and protect it.
XML sitemap
A file that lists the pages on your site so search engines can find them.
IndexNow
A free way to tell Bing and other participating search engines straight away when a page is added or changed.
Structured data
Code that labels facts on a page, such as your hours or address, so search engines can read them reliably.
SEO
Search engine optimisation. Work that helps your pages get found in search engines.
GA4
Google Analytics 4, Google’s free tool for measuring visits to your website.
UTM parameter
A tag added to a link that tells your analytics where a visit came from.

A growing number of customers now ask an AI assistant instead of typing into a search box. “Who is the best roofer in Hamilton?” “Which dentist near me takes new patients?” The assistant answers with a short list of names. If your business is not on that list, you never get the call.

In BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey of 1,002 US consumers, use of ChatGPT and other generative AI (artificial intelligence that writes new text) tools for local recommendations rose from 6% the year before to 45%. This playbook explains how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot decide which businesses to mention, how to test where you stand today, and the practical fixes that make you easier to recommend.

Hand-drawn doodle comparing two roofing businesses. On the left, a phone shows an AI answer to best roofer near me listing three other roofers; the owner, who is not mentioned, asks why not us, next to a robots.txt sign saying AI bots blocked. On the right, the same AI answer lists Your Roofing first with a twinkling star, the owner smiles, and three ticked cards read website, listings and reviews. Hard to recommend Easy to recommend Best roofer near me? Top picks: 1. Apex Roofing 2. Summit Roof Co. 3. Peak Roofs Sources: 4 links “Why not us?” robots.txt AI bots: blocked Not mentioned Blocked, thin listings, vague pages Best roofer near me? Top picks: 1. Your Roofing 2. Apex Roofing 3. Summit Roof Co. Sources: 4 links Website Listings Reviews Named, with a link Open to bots, clear facts, the same everywhere
In this example, the assistant names the roofers it could find, read and check. The fixes are mostly basics.

How AI assistants decide which businesses to mention

When you ask an assistant about something current or local, it usually searches the web first, reads a handful of pages and then writes its answer. The companies describe this in their own documentation:

  • ChatGPT finds pages for its search feature with a crawler (a program that visits web pages to read them) called OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI’s crawler documentation says sites that block it “will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers”. Its publishers FAQ says “Any public website can appear in ChatGPT search” and mentions that it also gets some links from a third-party search provider.
  • Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are built on Google Search. Google’s guide to AI features says that to be shown as a supporting link, “a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet.” The Gemini app can also show sources and related links under its answers.
  • Microsoft Copilot draws on Bing. Bing’s AI Performance report counts how often a site is cited in “Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing, and select partner integrations”.
  • Perplexity uses PerplexityBot, which its crawler page says “is designed to surface and link websites in search results on Perplexity.”
Diagram of how an AI assistant builds an answer. Step 1, someone asks a question such as who is the best roofer in Hamilton. Step 2, the assistant searches the web: ChatGPT uses its OAI-SearchBot crawler plus a search provider, Google’s AI features use Google’s search index, Copilot uses Bing’s index, and Perplexity uses PerplexityBot. Step 3, it reads sources: your website, Google and Bing listings, reviews and other sites that mention you. Step 4, it writes an answer that names businesses and often links to the pages it used. HOW AN AI ASSISTANT BUILDS AN ANSWER 1. A QUESTION “Who is the best roofer in Hamilton?” 2. IT SEARCHES THE WEB ChatGPT OAI-SearchBot + a search provider Google AI Google’s search index Copilot Bing’s index Perplexity PerplexityBot 3. IT READS SOURCES Your website Google and Bing listings Reviews Other sites that mention you 4. IT WRITES AN ANSWER It names businesses and, often, links to the pages it used. You can only be named if you were found. Simplified. Based on documentation from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft Bing and Perplexity.
Every assistant has to find you before it can name you. That is why the basics of search still matter.

So there is no secret AI index you need to get into. The assistants lean on the same things search engines do: pages they are allowed to read, listings they can check, and other sites that talk about you. Google says it plainly: “There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.” If you want the background on how this differs from SEO (search engine optimisation), the SEO vs AEO vs GEO playbook covers the terms.

One more reason this matters: fewer people click through when an AI summary answers the question. Pew Research Center tracked the Google searches of 900 US adults in March 2025 and found they clicked a regular result less often when an AI summary was shown, and rarely clicked the links inside the summary.

Bar chart from Pew Research Center. When no AI summary appeared, Google users clicked a regular search result on 15 percent of visits. When an AI summary appeared, they clicked a regular result on 8 percent of visits, and clicked a link inside the AI summary on 1 percent. Based on 900 US adults and their Google searches in March 2025. HOW OFTEN GOOGLE USERS CLICKED THROUGH Regular result, no AI summary 15% Regular result, AI summary shown 8% Link inside the AI summary 1% Pew Research Center: share of visits with a click, 900 US adults, Google searches in March 2025.
If people read the answer and stop, being named in the answer matters more than ranking underneath it.

Test where you stand today

Before you change anything, find out what the assistants say now. Use the builder to create five questions that sound like a real customer, then ask each one in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot.

Try it

AI visibility test builder

Fill in four boxes to get five test questions. Ask each one in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot, and write down what comes back.

Ask questions the way a customer would. Save the answers with the date so you can compare them in 30 days. Answers change from one day to the next, so look for patterns, not single results.

Look for three things in each answer: whether you were named, whether the details about you were right (hours, area, services), and which websites were linked as sources. The sources are the most useful part. They show you which directories, review sites and articles the assistant trusts in your area, and that tells you where you need to be.

Hand holding a phone with a folder named AI containing assistant apps such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot
Your customers do not all use the same assistant. Test the main ones, not just your favourite.

Make sure AI crawlers can read your site

This is the fix that takes five minutes and matters most. If a bot is blocked, nothing else on this list helps with that assistant. Each company publishes the name of its crawler, and you control them in robots.txt (a small text file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt that tells bots which pages they may visit).

CrawlerCompanyWhat it doesFor visibility
OAI-SearchBotOpenAIFinds pages for ChatGPT search answersAllow
GPTBotOpenAICollects content that may be used to train OpenAI modelsYour choice: blocking it does not remove you from ChatGPT search
PerplexityBotPerplexityFinds and links pages in Perplexity answersAllow
GooglebotGoogleCrawls for Google Search, which AI Overviews and AI Mode build onAllow
BingbotMicrosoftCrawls for Bing, which Copilot draws onAllow

OpenAI says its settings are independent: you can allow OAI-SearchBot and block GPTBot, and changes take about 24 hours to reach its search systems. Perplexity gives the same 24-hour estimate. OpenAI also notes that ChatGPT-User, which fetches a page when someone asks about it, is not used to decide what appears in search.

Most small business sites do not block these bots in robots.txt. The more common problem is a setting further up: Google's guide lists "Ensuring that crawling is allowed in robots.txt, and by any CDN or hosting infrastructure" as a basic. A CDN (content delivery network, a service such as Cloudflare that sits in front of your site) or a security plugin can have its own bot blocking. Check those settings, or ask whoever manages your hosting.

If your robots.txt blocks everything except Google, add lines like these. Copy them, then ask your web person to add them to the file.

robots.txt · Allow AI search crawlers

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

Two more basics from Bing's guidance on sitemaps for AI-powered search: submit an XML sitemap (a file that lists every page on your site) in Bing Webmaster Tools, and use IndexNow, a free way to tell Bing straight away when a page changes. Some WordPress SEO plugins can switch IndexNow on for you. If your site is not yet in Google Search Console, the GA4 setup guide walks through the free Google tools.

Make your listings say the same thing everywhere

Assistants cross-check. If your website says you close at 6, Google says 5 and a directory has an old phone number, you look less certain than a competitor whose details match everywhere. Google's guide to AI features includes "Checking that your Merchant Center and Business Profile information is up-to-date" in its list of basics, and Bing tells local businesses to keep their details current in Bing Places for Business.

  • Google Business Profile. Complete every field, choose accurate categories and list your services. The Google Business Profile guide goes field by field.
  • Bing Places for Business. Often forgotten. Microsoft recommends it for local businesses that want to be cited in Copilot.
  • The directories your test turned up. If an assistant linked to Yelp, a trade association, a local chamber or a "best of" list, make sure you are on it and your details are right.
  • Name, address, phone and hours. Write them the same way everywhere. The local SEO checklist has the full list.

Reviews matter here too. BrightLocal found that 82% of consumers read AI-generated review summaries. When an assistant summarises what people say about you, it can only work with the reviews you have, so keep asking happy customers for them.

Hand holding a phone where ChatGPT answers "What's the best restaurant in Tampa?" with a list of named restaurants and ratings
Ask an assistant for a recommendation and you get names, ratings and opening hours, pulled from listings and reviews.

Write pages an AI assistant can quote

An assistant can only repeat what it can read and understand. Bing's advice on being cited in Copilot is practical: strengthen depth and expertise, improve structure and clarity with clear headings, tables and FAQ sections, support claims with evidence, and keep content fresh. Google asks for important content "in textual form" and for structured data (code that labels facts like your hours for search engines) that matches what the page shows.

Annotated wireframe of a service page that an AI assistant can quote, titled Roof repair in Hamilton. Six numbered notes: 1, the heading says what you do and where. 2, a short answer comes first. 3, facts such as price, area and hours are written as text in a table. 4, an FAQ answers real questions. 5, proof such as reviews and photos. 6, an updated date shows the page is kept current. A SERVICE PAGE AN AI ASSISTANT CAN QUOTE Roof repair in Hamilton Price Area Hours FAQ Updated October 2026 1 Says what you do and where The service and the town, in plain words 2 Answers first Two or three sentences a tool can lift 3 Facts as text Prices, area, hours: not only in images 4 Real questions An FAQ with short, direct answers 5 Proof Reviews, photos and examples 6 Kept current Update it when anything changes Based on Microsoft Bing's advice for being cited and Google's guidance on AI features. Example page.
One page per service, written so a stranger could answer "what, where, how much and who says so" in ten seconds.

In practice that means one page for each main service, not a single "Services" page with a list. The service pages playbook has a builder that drafts the outline for you. Three habits make the biggest difference:

  1. Answer first. Start each page with two or three sentences that answer the obvious question: what you do, where, and for whom.
  2. Put the facts in text. Price ranges, service area, hours and guarantees should be written out, not only in a photo of a flyer.
  3. Add the questions customers really ask. Use the wording from your phone calls and emails, with short, direct answers.

What you do not need: Google says you do not need "new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup" and that there is "no special schema.org structured data that you need to add." Be careful with anyone selling a special AI file or code as the answer.

Laptop screen showing Google Gemini asking "Where should we start?" above an empty Ask Gemini box
Every assistant starts from a blank box. What fills the answer depends on what it can find about you.

Earn mentions on other websites

Your own site says you are good. Other sites saying it is more convincing, to people and to the assistants that read them. Look back at the sources from your test: those are the sites worth being on. Common ones for local businesses are:

  • Local news and community sites, which often cover new openings, awards and charity work.
  • Industry and trade association directories.
  • "Best of" lists from local publications.
  • Suppliers and partners who list recommended installers or stockists.
  • Answers on community forums, as long as you are helpful and open about who you are.

Bing also suggests making sure text, images and video describe the same things the same way. If your videos call it "eavestrough repair" and your website says "gutter cleaning", pick the words your customers use and stick to them.

Measure what AI sends you

You cannot see a ranking for AI answers, but you can see some of the effect:

  • Referral traffic in GA4 (Google Analytics 4). OpenAI says ChatGPT "automatically includes the UTM parameter utm_source=chatgpt.com" in links it sends. A UTM parameter is a tag added to a link that tells analytics where the visit came from. Look for chatgpt.com in your traffic sources. You may also see perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com or copilot as referrers.
  • Bing Webmaster Tools. The AI Performance report, in public preview since February 2026, shows how often your pages are cited in Copilot and Bing's AI summaries, and the "grounding queries" (the search phrases the AI used to find your page).
  • Google Search Console. Google counts clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode in the normal Performance report under the "Web" search type. They are not shown separately.
  • Your monthly test. Repeat the five questions every month and compare. This is the most direct measure you have.
Five-step plan for the first 30 days. Week 1: run the test and make sure AI crawlers are not blocked. Week 2: fix your Google and Bing listings. Week 3: rewrite your service pages. Week 4: ask for reviews and earn mentions on other sites. Day 30: run the test again and check your traffic. YOUR FIRST 30 DAYS 1 Week 1 Test, then open the doors 2 Week 2 Fix your listings 3 Week 3 Rewrite your service pages 4 Week 4 Reviews and mentions 5 Day 30 Test again and measure
Thirty days is enough to fix the basics. After that, it is a monthly check, like any other channel.

Tick these off as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser.

  • Ran the five test questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot, and saved the answers.
  • Checked robots.txt: OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Googlebot and Bingbot are not blocked.
  • Checked the hosting, CDN and security plugin settings for AI bot blocking.
  • Added the site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, with a sitemap submitted to both.
  • Completed the Google Business Profile so it matches the website.
  • Claimed and updated the Bing Places for Business listing.
  • Made name, address, phone and hours the same on every listing.
  • Gave each main service its own page that names the service and the area.
  • Wrote prices, service area and hours as text, not only in images.
  • Added an FAQ with real customer questions to each service page.
  • Asked recent customers for reviews this month.
  • Set a monthly reminder to repeat the test and check AI referrals in GA4.

If you use AI in your own marketing too, the Claude for marketing playbook has prompts for writing the FAQ answers and service pages above.

Tools for the job

ToolUse it forCost
ChatGPTRunning the visibility test questionsFree and paid plans
Google GeminiRunning the visibility test questionsFree and paid plans
PerplexityRunning the test and seeing which sources it citesFree and paid plans
Microsoft CopilotRunning the visibility test questionsFree and paid plans
Bing Webmaster ToolsSitemaps, IndexNow and the AI Performance reportFree
Google Search ConsoleChecking your pages are indexed in GoogleFree
Bing Places for BusinessYour business listing on Bing and CopilotFree

Plans and pricing change. Check each tool's site for current details.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?

Make sure ChatGPT can find you: do not block OAI-SearchBot, keep your listings complete and consistent, publish clear pages for each service, and earn mentions on sites it already cites. OpenAI says any public website can appear in ChatGPT search, but no one can guarantee a mention.

Do I need an llms.txt file or special AI code?

Not for Google. An llms.txt file is a proposed text file that summarises a website for AI tools. Google says you do not need new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and there is no special schema you need to add. Spend the time on your listings and pages instead.

Will blocking GPTBot remove me from ChatGPT?

No. OpenAI says its crawler settings are independent. GPTBot collects content that may be used for training, and OAI-SearchBot finds pages for ChatGPT search. Keep OAI-SearchBot allowed if you want to appear in ChatGPT answers.

Why does an AI assistant recommend my competitor and not me?

Usually because it found more, clearer or more consistent information about them: a complete profile, more reviews, a page for the exact service, or mentions on sites it trusts. Run the test, look at the sources it linked, and close those gaps first.

How long does it take to show up in AI answers?

There is no published timeline. OpenAI and Perplexity say robots.txt changes take about 24 hours to reach their search systems, but being named depends on what the assistant finds and trusts, which builds over weeks and months.

How can I tell if AI tools send me customers?

In GA4, look for chatgpt.com in your traffic sources; OpenAI adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to its links. Bing Webmaster Tools shows Copilot citations, and Google counts AI Overviews clicks in Search Console. Also ask new customers how they found you.

Browse every playbook on AI for marketing, or see all marketing playbooks.

Sources

  1. AI features and your websiteGoogle Search Central · updated December 10, 2025
  2. Overview of OpenAI crawlersOpenAI
  3. Publishers and developers FAQOpenAI Help Center
  4. Perplexity crawlersPerplexity
  5. Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools public previewMicrosoft Bing Webmaster Blog · February 10, 2026
  6. Keeping content discoverable with sitemaps in AI-powered searchMicrosoft Bing Webmaster Blog · July 31, 2025
  7. View related sources and double-check responses from Gemini AppsGemini Apps Help
  8. Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the resultsPew Research Center · July 22, 2025
  9. Local Consumer Review Survey 2026BrightLocal · February 11, 2026
Remar Catapang
About the author

Remar Catapang is a full-funnel marketing strategist based in Ontario, Canada. He has worked in marketing since 2020 and continues to lead search, CRM automation, web, paid media and experiential campaigns for businesses in Canada, the United States, Australia, Egypt and the Philippines. His playbooks are based on that ongoing work. Questions about this playbook: remarcatapangjr@gmail.com

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