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How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT

Practical steps to make a UK small business eligible for ChatGPT search answers — and how that differs from Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.

Editorial graphic titled Making a business eligible for ChatGPT search, comparing ChatGPT search (OAI-SearchBot) with model training (GPTBot), and a band reading Shared foundation: crawlable, consistent, useful pages.

If customers ask ChatGPT for a local plumber, accountant or café near Brighton & Hove, you want your business to be a credible answer — not a guess. Clear, findable information helps people choose you. Overpromising what any assistant will “recommend” does not.

OpenAI says ChatGPT search placement is not guaranteed. Allowing the right crawler only makes you eligible. Schema markup, fancy formatting and “AI SEO” plugins do not unlock a special recommendation slot.

A local example of how answers can differ is the Brighton plumbers ChatGPT vs Gemini study: the same eight Brighton & Hove plumber questions were run through both tools, five fresh chats per tool, on 6 November 2026, and the shortlists were not the same.

Search answers are not the same as model training

OpenAI documents several bots. The important split for site owners is:

  • OAI-SearchBot — used to surface websites in ChatGPT’s search features.
  • GPTBot — used to crawl content that may be used when training OpenAI’s generative foundation models.
  • ChatGPT-User — used when a person asks ChatGPT to fetch a page during a conversation. It is not the control for whether your site can appear in ChatGPT search answers.

Those settings are independent. You can allow OAI-SearchBot so you are eligible for search citations while disallowing GPTBot if you prefer your pages not to be used for training. That choice is about crawling purpose, not about ranking magic.

Crawling is not indexing, and indexing is not a recommendation. A crawler fetching a page does not mean the page will be stored, ranked or cited in an answer.

What helps ChatGPT search eligibility

OpenAI’s help centre states that ChatGPT ranks search results using multiple factors intended to help people find relevant, reliable information, and that placement is not guaranteed.

To make a website eligible for inclusion in those search results, OpenAI says you should:

  1. Allow OAI-SearchBot to crawl the site (via robots.txt).
  2. Confirm your host or content delivery network (CDN) allows traffic from OpenAI’s published search-bot IP ranges.

OpenAI also notes that after a robots.txt change it can take about 24 hours for systems to adjust for search.

ChatGPT search sometimes partners with other search providers and rewrites the user’s question into queries sent to those partners. OpenAI links Microsoft’s privacy statement in that context. Keeping your presence healthy in mainstream search indexes still helps customers find you — it is not a promise that any one partner “is” ChatGPT search.

ChatGPT is not Gemini, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews

People often talk about “getting recommended by AI” as if every assistant works the same way. They do not.

ExperienceWhat site owners should know
ChatGPT searchAllow OAI-SearchBot and the published IP ranges. Training crawl (GPTBot) is separate. Placement is not guaranteed.
Google AI Overviews / AI ModeBuilt into Google Search. To be eligible as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet. Google says there are no extra technical requirements, no special AI files, and no special schema needed for these features.
Gemini Apps grounding / training preferenceGoogle’s Google-Extended robots token lets publishers manage whether crawled content may be used for training future Gemini models and for grounding in Gemini Apps / Vertex AI. Google states Google-Extended does not affect inclusion or ranking in Google Search.
PerplexityPerplexity documents PerplexityBot for surfacing and linking sites in its search results (not for foundation-model training). Allow the bot and published IP ranges if you want eligibility there.

Work aimed at ChatGPT search does not automatically fix Google AI Overviews. Google Search visibility is still the foundation for Google’s own AI features in Search. See How to appear in Google AI Overviews. OpenAI has also launched a Business Hub for claimed businesses — what that means for UK firms is a separate question from appearing in ChatGPT answers.

If you want a structured review of crawl access, entity clarity and answer-worthy pages across these surfaces, an AI search audit is a practical next step — after the basics below are in order.

A practical checklist for UK small businesses

Work through this in order. Get the access and accuracy right before spending on extras.

1. Make important pages fetchable

  • Public pages that describe what you do, where you work and how to contact you should return a normal successful response (not a login wall, soft 404 or block page).
  • Check robots.txt does not disallow OAI-SearchBot on those URLs if you want ChatGPT search eligibility.
  • Ask your host or CDN whether bot challenges or geo rules might reject OpenAI’s published IP ranges even when robots.txt allows the bot.
  • Do the same sense-check for Googlebot (Google Search / AI Overviews eligibility) and, if relevant, PerplexityBot and Bingbot.

2. Keep facts consistent everywhere people look

Assistants that search the web will read whatever they can reach. Conflicting names, phone numbers, addresses, service areas or opening hours make your business harder to describe accurately — and harder for a customer to trust.

Prioritise consistency across:

  • Your website contact and service pages
  • Your Google Business Profile (if you are eligible)
  • Major directories you already use

You do not need a sprawling citation campaign invented for “AI.” You need the same honest details customers already rely on.

3. Write pages that answer real customer questions

A page that plainly answers “Do you cover Hove?” or “What’s included in a boiler service?” gives a search-backed assistant something concrete to cite. Vague homepage slogans do not.

Useful patterns:

  • Service + area pages that say who you help and what is included
  • Clear pricing ranges or “how we quote” explanations where you can publish them honestly
  • FAQs written in the customer’s words, with straight answers
  • Evidence you already have: process steps, credentials, photos of real work — not invented testimonials

If Google cannot index a page, Google’s AI features in Search cannot use it as a supporting link. Clear, crawlable pages also support discovery in other search indexes customers and partners still use.

Fix discovery and indexing problems first. See Why isn’t my website showing on Google? for a Search Console sequence.

5. Treat schema and extra AI files as optional helpers

Structured data can help machines understand visible content when it matches what people see. Google’s AI features guidance says you do not need special schema or new machine-readable AI files to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.

Do not expect markup alone to get you recommended. If the underlying page is thin, blocked or inconsistent, markup will not rescue it.

What not to waste budget on

  • Guarantees of ChatGPT recommendations, AI Overview citations or inclusion
  • Separate “GEO/AEO algorithms” sold as replacements for crawlable, clear, useful pages
  • Keyword-stuffed pages written for bots instead of customers
  • Buying reviews or other tactics that break platform rules

How to sense-check progress

  • Confirm OAI-SearchBot (and any other bots you care about) are allowed where intended.
  • Use Google Search Console to confirm key pages are indexed and snippet-eligible.
  • Ask category-and-area questions in ChatGPT search, then open citations and check they support the answer — OpenAI notes results can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect.
  • Track enquiries and branded searches you already measure. Do not invent an “AI ranking” score.

Short Q&A

If I disallow GPTBot, will I disappear from ChatGPT search?
Not according to OpenAI’s crawler docs: OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot are controlled separately. Search eligibility is managed with OAI-SearchBot.

Does Google Business Profile get me into ChatGPT?
OpenAI does not publish a GBP-style listing product for ChatGPT recommendations. A strong local presence still helps customers — and keeps facts consistent when any system reads the web — but it is not a ChatGPT inclusion switch.

Will schema get my business recommended?
No. Schema that matches visible content can aid understanding. It does not unlock guaranteed search placement in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or anywhere else.

Next step

If you want help checking crawler access, entity consistency and whether your pages are answer-worthy, start with an AI search audit, and pair it with solid local SEO where you serve customers face to face or on site.

Sources

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