To get ChatGPT to recommend your business, it first has to be able to find you, then it has to trust what it finds. That means letting OpenAI’s search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, access your website, making your site crystal clear about what you do and where, and being mentioned positively in the reviews, directories and articles ChatGPT draws on. There’s no form to fill in and no way to pay for a place in the answer.
With hundreds of millions of people using ChatGPT every week, “who’s a good accountant in Brighton?” or “best CRM for a small charity?” is now a question many customers ask an AI before they ask Google. Here’s how to give yourself the best chance of being named.
The short version
- Allow OAI-SearchBot in your robots.txt and firewall. OpenAI says sites that block it “will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers”.
- Blocking GPTBot only stops your content being used for training. It doesn’t affect whether you can appear in search answers.
- In BrightLocal’s study of local searches, 58% of ChatGPT’s sources were business websites, 27% were mentions in articles and lists, and 15% were directories.
- Mentions and reviews matter. AI tools recommend businesses that other trusted sources talk about.
- Check monthly by asking ChatGPT the questions your customers ask. Answers vary, so look for patterns over time.
In this article
How ChatGPT finds businesses
When a question needs current information, ChatGPT searches the web, reads a selection of pages, then writes an answer with links to its sources. Questions about local services, products and “the best” anything usually trigger a search.
OpenAI uses separate crawlers for separate jobs:
| Crawler | What it does | Affects ChatGPT search answers? |
|---|---|---|
| OAI-SearchBot | Finds and indexes pages for ChatGPT’s search features | Yes. Block it and you won’t be shown |
| GPTBot | Collects content that may be used to train OpenAI’s models | No |
| ChatGPT-User | Visits a page when a user asks ChatGPT to look at it | No |
OpenAI says each setting “is independent of the others”. So you can allow OAI-SearchBot and block GPTBot if you’d rather your content wasn’t used for training. Changes take about 24 hours to take effect.
Where ChatGPT gets its information about businesses
BrightLocal ran 800 local searches through ChatGPT across 20 types of business and recorded the sources it used. Business websites made up 58% of sources, mentions in articles, lists and guides made up 27%, and directories 15%. When people were ready to buy, for example “book a plumber near me”, business websites rose to 72%.
In other words: your own website does a lot of the work, but what others say about you decides whether you make the shortlist.
Eight steps to get recommended
1. Let the right crawlers in
Check your robots.txt file allows OAI-SearchBot, and that your firewall or CDN isn’t quietly blocking it. In July 2025, Cloudflare started blocking AI crawlers by default, so if your site uses Cloudflare, check its AI crawler settings. Our guide to AI crawlers and robots.txt explains each setting.
2. Be easy to find in Bing too
Many AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot, rely on Bing’s index. Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your sitemap and turn on IndexNow so new and updated pages are picked up quickly.
3. Make your website impossible to misunderstand
On your home page and service pages, say plainly:
- what you do, in the words customers use
- where you work, listing towns and areas
- who you work with, by industry, size or type of customer
- typical prices or price ranges, if you can share them
- what makes you different, with evidence such as qualifications, awards or years in business
AI tools can’t recommend you for something your website doesn’t clearly say you do.
4. Answer the questions people ask ChatGPT
People ask AI assistants comparison and decision questions: “Which is better for a small business, X or Y?”, “What should I look for in a wedding photographer?”, “How much does a loft conversion cost in Sussex?” Write honest, specific answers to these on your site, from your own experience.
5. Get into the sources AI trusts
Look at which websites ChatGPT cites when you ask about your industry and area. These are often local news sites, trade associations, respected directories and “best of” round-ups. Then:
- make sure your listings on relevant directories are complete and accurate
- join the trade bodies and accreditation schemes that publish member lists
- offer expert comment to local and trade journalists
- ask partners and suppliers to list you on their websites
6. Collect genuine reviews
Reviews on Google, Trustpilot and industry sites give AI tools evidence about your service and its quality. Ask every happy customer, reply to every review, and never buy or fake them. Fake reviews are banned under UK consumer law.
7. Describe your business the same way everywhere
Use the same business name, description, address and phone number on your website, Google Business Profile, directories and social profiles. Add Organization or LocalBusiness structured data to your site, with links to your official profiles. Consistency helps AI systems connect every mention to one business.
8. Keep it fresh
Update key pages when prices, services or team members change, and show the date. Out-of-date information on your site, or old details on directories, can end up in AI answers.
How to check what ChatGPT says about you
Once a month, ask ChatGPT the five or six questions a new customer might ask, such as “Who are the best [service] providers in [town]?” or “Is [your business] any good for [need]?” Note:
- whether you’re mentioned, and where in the answer
- which competitors appear
- which sources ChatGPT links to
- whether anything it says about you is wrong
Answers change from one conversation to the next, so look for trends over several months. To see the visits ChatGPT sends you, set up an AI channel in Google Analytics, as described in our AI traffic tracking guide.
Can I pay ChatGPT to recommend my business?
No. There’s no way to pay for a place in ChatGPT’s answers. Recommendations come from what ChatGPT finds on the web, which is why your website, reviews and mentions matter.
Why does ChatGPT recommend my competitors and not me?
Usually because they’re mentioned in more of the sources ChatGPT trusts, have more reviews, or explain their services more clearly. Ask ChatGPT for its sources and see where your competitors appear.
Should I block GPTBot?
That’s a business decision. Blocking GPTBot stops your content being used to train OpenAI’s models, but it doesn’t affect whether you can appear in ChatGPT’s search answers. That’s controlled by OAI-SearchBot.
What if ChatGPT says something wrong about my business?
Correct the information at the source: your website, Google Business Profile and any directories with old details. Answers usually improve as ChatGPT finds the updated information.
Ready for some help?
Curious what ChatGPT says about your business today? Book a free chat and we’ll run your customers’ questions through ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot with you. Our generative engine optimisation service covers the technical checks, content and digital PR that get businesses recommended.
References
- OpenAI, Overview of OpenAI crawlers.
- BrightLocal, Uncovering ChatGPT search sources, December 2024 (800 searches, 20 US cities).
- Ahrefs, An analysis of AI Overview brand visibility factors (75K brands studied), May 2025.
- MIT Technology Review, Cloudflare will now, by default, block AI bots from crawling its clients’ websites, 1 July 2025.
- Search Engine Land, ChatGPT statistics, 2026.