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How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?
You can't buy a spot in ChatGPT's answers. Here's how ChatGPT finds businesses, what blocks it, and a 30-day plan to become easy to recommend.
You can't submit, buy or claim a spot in ChatGPT's recommendations. ChatGPT names businesses it can find and verify on the web. That means your site has to be crawlable by OpenAI's search crawler (OAI-SearchBot) and indexed by search engines, and independent sites like reviews, directories and local press have to describe you the same way. Do those things consistently and your odds go up, but no one can guarantee placement.
Asking AI for a recommendation has gone mainstream. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers, 45% said they'd used AI tools for local business recommendations in the past year, up from 6% the year before (BrightLocal). Here's what actually helps, based on what OpenAI and Google publish.
Can you pay or sign up to be recommended by ChatGPT?
No. There's no form to submit and no paid placement in the answer itself. OpenAI's ChatGPT search help page says plainly: "Placement is not guaranteed" (OpenAI).
ChatGPT does show ads to some users. OpenAI says ads may appear for Free and Go plan users, are labeled as sponsored, appear below the response, and "do not influence ChatGPT's answers" (OpenAI: Ads in ChatGPT). An ad is a separate box, not a recommendation.
How does ChatGPT decide which businesses to recommend?
ChatGPT knows about your business in three ways. You control them to very different degrees.
1
Training data
What the model learned before it was released. It's slow to change and you can't edit it directly.
Your control: low
2
Live search
ChatGPT searches the web at answer time using OAI-SearchBot and search partners, then cites what it finds.
Your control: high, starting with crawl access
3
Third-party corroboration
Reviews, directories, local press and community sites that confirm who you are, where you work and whether people like you.
Your control: medium, earned over time
For local questions, location matters too. OpenAI says ChatGPT may use an approximate location based on your IP address, or a precise device location if the user turns it on, to answer questions about nearby businesses (OpenAI). Being clear about your service area helps you show up for the right towns.
Is your website blocking ChatGPT without you knowing?
This is a common problem, and one of the easiest to fix. OpenAI runs separate crawlers for separate jobs (OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers):
| Crawler | What it does | If you block it |
|---|---|---|
| OAI-SearchBot | Surfaces websites in ChatGPT's search features | Your site won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though it can still appear as a navigational link |
| GPTBot | Crawls content that may be used to train OpenAI's models | Signals your content shouldn't be used for training. It doesn't remove you from search. |
| ChatGPT-User | Visits a page when a user asks ChatGPT to | OpenAI says it isn't used to decide what appears in search, and robots.txt may not apply |
OpenAI says each setting is independent, so you can opt out of training and still appear in search. Changes take about 24 hours to affect search results. A robots.txt that allows search and blocks training looks like this:
# Let ChatGPT search find and cite you
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
# Optional: opt out of AI model training
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /
Sitemap: https://yourbusiness.com/sitemap.xmlCheck your firewall and CDN too. OpenAI recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot's published IP ranges so your host or CDN doesn't block it. If your site is on Cloudflare, open Security settings and review the AI bot policies. Cloudflare now groups AI crawlers into Search, Agent and Training categories (Cloudflare). Builders vary as well: Squarespace's "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers" checkbox lists GPTBot but not OAI-SearchBot (Squarespace).
Our free website check tests your robots.txt for these crawlers in about ten seconds.
Why do Bing and other search indexes matter for ChatGPT?
ChatGPT search runs its own crawler and, in OpenAI's words, "sometimes partners with other search providers." Its help page links Microsoft's privacy statement among them (OpenAI). Being properly indexed by the major search engines makes you findable for any tool that leans on them.
Bing Webmaster Tools is free, and you can import your verified sites and sitemaps from Google Search Console in a few clicks. Imported sites are verified automatically (Bing Webmaster Blog).
What should your website say so AI can understand your business?
AI tools can only repeat what they can read. Make one page, usually your homepage or About page, answer these plainly in text, not inside images:
- What you do, in the words customers use ("water heater repair," not "thermal solutions").
- Who you serve and where: name the towns, region or "nationwide."
- Prices or price ranges if you can share them. "Starting at" is better than nothing.
- Proof: years in business, licenses, notable work and reviews.
- Short answers to real questions, one or two sentences each. That's the format AI tools quote most easily.
Add Organization or LocalBusiness structured data that matches the visible text. Google lists "making sure your structured data matches the visible text on the page" among its best practices for AI features (Google Search Central).
What does Google need for AI Overviews and AI Mode?
Less than most people think. Google says that to appear as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, and that "you don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features." Its best practices are SEO fundamentals: allow crawling (including at your CDN), use internal links, offer a good page experience, keep important content in text, and keep your Business Profile up to date (Google Search Central).
That's also why we treat llms.txt as optional. It's a small extra for tools that read it, not a ranking factor.
Which outside sites help AI trust your business?
OpenAI doesn't publish a list of trusted sources, so look at what the AI actually cites when you ask about your category. In practice, the sources that independently describe a business are:
- Review platforms: Google, Yelp and your industry's review sites. Steady, genuine reviews matter (see why Google reviews matter).
- Maps and business listings: Google Business Profile, Bing Places and Apple Business Connect, which is free (Apple).
- Industry directories relevant to your trade, such as Clutch for agencies.
- Local press, chambers of commerce and community organizations.
- Community forums where real customers discuss providers.
The name, address or service area, phone or email, and services should match everywhere. Mismatches make it harder for any system to be sure it has the right business.
What should you do in your first 30 days?
Here's a realistic plan for a US small business. Time estimates are our own, for someone doing it themselves.
| Task | Where | Time | Done? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allow OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt and check your CDN or firewall | Your site, Cloudflare or host | 15 min | ☐ |
| Verify Bing Webmaster Tools (import from Search Console) and submit your sitemap | bing.com/webmasters | 15 min | ☐ |
| Claim or update your Bing Places listing | Bing Places for Business | 20 min | ☐ |
| Claim your free Apple Business Connect place card | businessconnect.apple.com | 20 min | ☐ |
| Google Business Profile, only if you meet customers in person (online-only businesses aren't eligible) | Google Business Profile | 30 min + verification | ☐ |
| Write or tighten one clear "what we do, who we serve, prices, service area" page | Your site | 2 hours | ☐ |
| Add Organization or LocalBusiness structured data that matches that page | Your site | 1 hour | ☐ |
| Get 3 real reviews on one review platform | Google or your main review site | Ongoing | ☐ |
| Get listed on 2 relevant directories for your industry | Directories your customers use | 1 hour | ☐ |
| Run a baseline test of what ChatGPT and Gemini say today | Free AI visibility test | 30 min | ☐ |
Google Business Profile eligibility: Google says a business "must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours" and lists online-only businesses as ineligible (Google Business Profile Help).
How long does it take to show up?
Technical fixes are fast: OpenAI says robots.txt changes take about 24 hours to affect ChatGPT search. Everything that makes you a strong recommendation is slower. Reviews, listings, mentions and useful content build over months, not days. A brand-new business should expect a gradual climb and measure the trend, not one answer on one day.
How do you check whether it's working?
Ask the same questions every month and record the results. Our step-by-step free AI visibility test gives you a copyable prompt set, a scoring sheet and a table that turns your results into fixes. For the technical basics, run the free website check.
Want it done for you? The $595 Website & AI Visibility Audit includes a dated AI visibility baseline, a competitor comparison and a ranked fix list. Learn more about our AI search optimization. No one can guarantee what an AI assistant says, and we never promise it.
FAQ
Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?
No. You can't buy or claim a spot in ChatGPT's answers. OpenAI says ads in ChatGPT are labeled as sponsored, shown separately from the response, and don't influence ChatGPT's answers. Placement in search results is not guaranteed.
Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing?
ChatGPT search runs its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, and OpenAI says it sometimes partners with other search providers. Its help page links Microsoft's privacy statement among them. The safe move is to be well indexed by both Google and Bing and to let OAI-SearchBot crawl your site.
Should I block GPTBot? Will that hurt my visibility?
GPTBot collects content that may be used to train OpenAI's models. OAI-SearchBot is what surfaces sites in ChatGPT search. OpenAI says each setting is independent, so you can block GPTBot and still appear in ChatGPT search as long as OAI-SearchBot is allowed.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
No. Google says you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup to appear in its AI features. An llms.txt file is optional and harmless. Crawl access, clear content, consistent business details and reviews matter far more.
How long until ChatGPT mentions my business?
OpenAI says robots.txt changes take about 24 hours to affect ChatGPT search. Earning the reviews, listings and mentions that make you a strong recommendation usually takes months, not days, and no one can guarantee when or whether you'll be named.
Why does ChatGPT recommend my competitor and not me?
Usually because the competitor is easier to find and verify: more reviews, more consistent listings, clearer service pages, or mentions on sites the AI cites. Run the same questions, note which sources it cites for the competitor, and close those gaps first.