ChatGPT SEO: how to get your site into ChatGPT search

How ChatGPT finds web pages

When ChatGPT searches the web, it shows pages found by OpenAI's crawler OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI says OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in search results in ChatGPT's search features. If you want your site to appear in those answers, this is the crawler that matters most.

GPTBot is a different crawler, used for training OpenAI's models. Blocking GPTBot tells OpenAI not to use your content for training. It is not the switch for ChatGPT search. Many business owners confuse the two, so it helps to keep them separate in your mind.

ChatGPT-User opens a page when a person asks ChatGPT to. OpenAI says it is not used to decide what appears in search. So it is not the crawler you need to focus on for visibility.

• OAI-SearchBot: used to surface websites in ChatGPT search results.
• GPTBot: used for training OpenAI's models, not for search visibility.
• ChatGPT-User: opens pages when a person asks ChatGPT to, not used to decide search results.
• Details for each crawler: OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, ChatGPT-User.

Step one: let OAI-SearchBot in

OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers. That is a direct statement, so if you have blocked it, you are invisible in those answers. The first job is to check your robots.txt file and make sure OAI-SearchBot is allowed.

Robots.txt is not the only gatekeeper. Firewalls and bot-blocking services can block OAI-SearchBot even when robots.txt allows it. If your site sits behind a service like Cloudflare or a security plugin, check its settings too. For example, a dentist in Leeds might find their robots.txt is fine but their firewall is blocking the crawler.

OpenAI says changes to robots.txt can take about 24 hours to apply to search results. So after you update the file, give it a day before you expect to see a difference. The free checker at robots.txt checker shows which AI crawlers your site lets in.

1. Open your robots.txt file (usually at yourdomain.com/robots.txt).
2. Look for any rule that disallows OAI-SearchBot.
3. Remove or adjust that rule so OAI-SearchBot is allowed.
4. Check your firewall or bot-blocking service for any block on OAI-SearchBot.
5. Wait about 24 hours for robots.txt changes to apply to search results.

Make pages ChatGPT can use

Once the crawler can reach your site, the next step is making your pages easy to read. Put the answer near the top: what you do, where, for whom, and prices where they help. A visitor should not have to scroll through a story to find out if you serve their area.

Use clear headings that match the questions customers ask, and add a short FAQ. For example, a plumber in Manchester might have a heading like "Do you cover Salford?" with a one-line answer. That matches how people ask ChatGPT questions.

Make sure the main text is in the page itself, not only loaded later by scripts. If your content only appears after JavaScript runs, crawlers may miss it. Keep your name, address and phone the same everywhere. The free audit at AI visibility audit scores a page on this.

• Put the answer near the top: what you do, where, for whom, and prices where they help.
• Use clear headings that match the questions customers ask, and a short FAQ.
• Make sure the main text is in the page itself, not only loaded later by scripts.
• Keep your name, address and phone the same everywhere.

Be mentioned on the sites ChatGPT cites

For many questions ChatGPT cites review sites, directories, comparison articles and forums rather than business websites. That means your own site can be perfect and still not be named, because the assistant is reading what others say about you.

Find out which sites it cites for your questions, then work on being listed or mentioned there. For example, a wedding photographer in Dublin might find ChatGPT cites a local wedding directory and a blog post about venues. Getting listed in that directory and mentioned in that blog post is the work.

The free tool at AI citation gap tool lists pages that name competitors but not you. That gives you a starting list of places to approach.

Check what ChatGPT says about you

Ask the questions your customers ask and note who is named and which sites are cited. Do this yourself first, so you know the baseline. Answers change, so check regularly rather than once.

Vasukai checks ChatGPT and other assistants on a schedule and shows each answer in full. It also shows who is named instead and which websites the assistants cite. The free AI check needs no card.

For the companion guide on being recommended rather than just findable, see how to rank in ChatGPT. For a plain comparison of the two disciplines, see GEO vs SEO.