TL;DR
To get recommended by ChatGPT, be easy to find in search and easy to quote. ChatGPT search sends queries to search providers and reads the results, and Google says its AI answers use the same foundations as normal Search. So build one focused page per service, answer the question first, show prices and who you help, and skip the gimmicks.
Why trust this page: I do SEO and GEO work for small businesses, and I sell it, so read with that in mind. The claims about how Google and ChatGPT work come from their own documentation, linked below. The test results are mine, and the sample is small.
How ChatGPT and Google AI answers find businesses
They mostly lean on search. When ChatGPT searches the web, OpenAI says it rewrites your prompt into one or more queries and sends them to third-party search providers, and it points readers to Microsoft's privacy statement for how those providers handle queries. It then reads the pages that come back and cites some of them.
OpenAI also runs its own search crawler. Its crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in ChatGPT's search features, and sites that block it "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers".
Google is clearer still. Its page on AI features and your website says there are "no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary". Pages need to be indexed and eligible for Search, and the same SEO basics apply. Both features may use "query fan-out", running several related searches to build one answer.
The takeaway: if you can't be found for the searches behind the question, you're unlikely to be quoted in the answer.
What my own small test showed
On 10 October 2026 I ran four buyer-style prompts through OpenAI's gpt-4.1-mini model with web search switched on, using a paid API rather than the ChatGPT app. That's a tiny sample, on one day, with one model. Treat it as a clue, not a finding.
- Prompt 1 (a UK firm looking for help with website, funnels and CRM) was cut off after the introduction and named nobody. It doesn't count.
- Prompt 3 asked how to get recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, and whether a consultant does this. It cited three small, niche GEO consultancies, each with a dedicated page whose title closely matched the question.
- Prompt 4 asked whether to hire a freelancer, fractional CMO or agency. Every cited page was a single fractional CMO service page from a small UK firm, and the prices in the answer came from pages that stated "from £3,000" or "from £3,500" a month.
- Prompt 2 (a US automation consultant) named small automation studios, and its whole pricing answer came from one blog post with the price range in its title.
The pattern across the three usable answers: focused service pages, visible prices and titles that matched the question got cited. None of the answers named a big agency. Three answers can't prove that pattern holds, but it lines up with the guidance above.
One result of my own, for context. When I launched my web studio, 1 Week Sites, the site had 566 search impressions in its first 30 days, and one 1 Week Sites article appeared as a ChatGPT citation. Those are my own figures, with no clicks, enquiries or sales claimed for that period, and the citation was one result on one day.
A practical checklist
- One page per service. A single "Services" page that lists everything gives a search engine nothing specific to match. Give each service its own page, with a title that says what it is and who it's for.
- Answer first. Start each section with a plain answer to the question in its heading, then the detail. Practitioners such as Nico Gorrono recommend a 40 to 60 word answer; that's opinion, not tested. Google says there's "no requirement to break your content into tiny pieces", so write natural sections that happen to lead with the answer.
- Show prices and who it's for. In my test, the prices quoted came straight from pages that published them. A "from" price and a line on who you help give an AI something concrete to repeat.
- Keep your business details consistent. Name, address, phone and what you do, written the same way on your site, Google Business Profile and directories.
- Earn reviews and third-party mentions. SEO practitioners argue that being described the same way across reviews, directories and other people's articles helps AI tools trust you. It's practitioner opinion, but reviews help buyers anyway.
- Don't block the crawlers. Check your robots.txt allows OAI-SearchBot and Googlebot. This site allows both.
- Set up Bing Webmaster Tools. Since February 2026 its AI Performance report (in preview) shows when your pages are cited in Microsoft Copilot and Bing's AI summaries, and the "grounding queries" used to find them. It doesn't cover ChatGPT, and the data is sampled, but those queries show you the searches behind AI answers.
- Use Search Console. Google counts AI feature appearances in the Performance report under the "Web" search type, alongside normal results.
Myths: llms.txt, schema and secret tricks
- "You need an llms.txt file." Not for Google. Its guide to optimising for generative AI says you don't need "new machine readable files, AI text files, markup, or Markdown", and that maintaining them "will neither harm nor help" your visibility in Google Search. That statement covers Google only.
- "Schema guarantees AI citations." Google says structured data "isn't required for generative AI search" and there's no special markup to add. It can still help with rich results, and it must match the visible text on the page.
- "GEO is a separate discipline." Google's own line is that AI features follow the same SEO foundations. The extra work is clarity, not tricks.
- "Write for robots." Google asks for "non-commodity" content: your own experience and specifics, not a rewrite of what everyone else says.
How to check where you stand
- Write five to ten questions a real buyer would type, in their words. "Who can fix our website and CRM in [town]?" beats "best marketing agency".
- Once a month, run them in a fresh chat in ChatGPT, and in Google's AI Mode, Copilot and Perplexity if your buyers use them.
- Note who gets named, which pages are cited, and what prices are quoted.
- Look at the cited pages. What do they have that yours doesn't?
- Fix one page, then check again next month.
Expect answers to move about. OpenAI says your approximate location and, if memory is on, saved memories can shape how ChatGPT rewrites a search, so two people can see different results. Look for patterns over months. For the wider picture, the free six-minute search check walks you through your Google result, reviews, website and AI answers in one go.
The practical summary
There's no secret file and no special markup. Get found in search, then make each page easy to quote: one page per service, the answer first, prices and who it's for visible, consistent details everywhere, and crawlers allowed in. Check a handful of buyer prompts each month and fix one page at a time. If you'd rather hand it over, see SEO and GEO, or browse my comparisons for examples of question-first pages with prices on show.
Sources: Google Search Central, "AI features and your website" (updated 10 December 2025) and "Optimizing for generative AI features" (updated 10 July 2026); OpenAI Help Center, "Searching the web with ChatGPT"; OpenAI crawler documentation (OAI-SearchBot); Bing Webmaster Blog, "Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview" (10 February 2026). All checked 10 October 2026. My test: four prompts, gpt-4.1-mini with web search via API, 10 October 2026, one answer truncated. Practitioner advice (Nico Gorrono, Edward Sturm) is opinion, not evidence of effect.
Fair questions
How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?
Give it pages it can find and quote. ChatGPT search sends rewritten queries to search providers, then reads what comes back. So have one clear page per service, answer the buyer's question at the top, show your prices and who you help, keep your details consistent, and make sure OpenAI's search crawler isn't blocked.
Do I need an llms.txt file to appear in AI answers?
Not for Google. Google says you don't need AI text files, markup or Markdown to appear in Search or its AI features, and that maintaining them will neither help nor harm your visibility there. Google's statement covers Google only, but there's no good evidence it's required elsewhere either.
Does schema markup get you into AI Overviews?
No. Google says structured data isn't required for generative AI search and there's no special schema to add. Structured data can still help with rich results, but it must match the text people can see on the page. It's a tidy-up, not a guarantee.
Is GEO different from SEO?
Mostly not. Google says its AI features follow the same foundational SEO practices as the rest of Search, and pages must be indexed and eligible to appear. The extra work is making each page easy to quote: clear headings, direct answers, visible prices and consistent business details.
How can I see if ChatGPT mentions my business?
Write five to ten questions a real buyer would ask, run them in a fresh chat each month, and note who gets named and cited. Results vary by person, location and time, so look for patterns over months, not one answer. Bing Webmaster Tools also shows citations in Copilot and Bing's AI answers.
