Short answerTo be named by ChatGPT, let OpenAI's search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, read your site. To appear in Google's AI answers, your pages must be indexed and eligible for a snippet, and Google says no special markup or AI text file is needed. Beyond that, clear pages that answer a question first, the same business facts everywhere and a test of what the assistants say are what you can do. No one can promise a mention.
A visitor to Dubai asks an AI assistant: “Where can I get a good Lebanese lunch near Dubai Marina that takes bookings?” The assistant writes one short answer and names three places. Whether your restaurant is one of them depends on what the assistant can find and read.
What OpenAI says about its crawlers
OpenAI documents three separate bots, and each is controlled on its own in your robots.txt file.
- OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in ChatGPT's search features. OpenAI says sites that opt out will not appear in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still show up as links. OpenAI recommends allowing it.
- GPTBot crawls content that may be used to train OpenAI's models. Disallowing it signals that your content should not be used for training. It does not decide whether you appear in search.
- ChatGPT-User visits a page when a user's action in ChatGPT needs it. OpenAI says robots.txt rules may not apply because the visit is user-initiated.
So the first check is simple: open your robots.txt file and make sure OAI-SearchBot is not blocked, and check that your host or firewall does not block it either. OpenAI says changes can take about 24 hours to take effect.
What Google says about its AI answers
Google's documentation for AI Overviews and AI Mode is short. A page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet, and it must meet the normal technical requirements. Google says there are no additional requirements and no special optimizations necessary, no new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup, and no special schema. Structured data should match the visible text on the page. Following best practices does not guarantee that Google will crawl, index or show a page.
What you can do
Since the platforms ask for no special trick, the work is the same as good SEO with a few additions. Nobody outside these companies knows exactly how an assistant chooses its sources, so treat the following as sensible practice and not as a formula.
- Let the crawlers in. Allow Googlebot and OAI-SearchBot, and check your host and firewall.
- Answer first. Open each page with a short, direct answer to the question it is about, then give the detail.
- Write the questions customers ask. Prices, opening hours, areas you serve, how to book and what insurance you take, in plain words.
- Keep the facts identical everywhere. Name, address, phone number, opening hours and prices on your website, your Google profile and your listings.
- Show who you are. Named people, company details, dates and sources, so a reader can tell the page is trustworthy.
- Use structured data that matches the page. See structured data for a local business.
About llms.txt
Some sites add a plain-text summary file called llms.txt. Google's documentation says no AI text file is needed. It costs almost nothing to add, so we include one on this site, but we do not count on it.
Test what the assistants say about you
Write down ten questions a customer might ask, for example “best dentist in Jumeirah for children” or “restaurants with a view near Burj Khalifa that take bookings”. Ask each one in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, in English and in Arabic if your customers use it. Record whether you are named, what is said about you and which sources are shown. Repeat after your changes, and again a month later. Answers vary from one question and one day to the next, so look for patterns.
This week
- Open your robots.txt and check that OAI-SearchBot and Googlebot are allowed.
- Make sure your name, address, phone number and hours are identical on your website and Google profile.
- Add a short “Short answer” paragraph to the top of your main service pages.
- Run your ten test questions and save the answers.
This is the work we do in a GEO project, with a written before and after test.
Questions
How do I get my business mentioned by ChatGPT?
Allow OpenAI's search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, in your robots.txt, make your pages clear and answer-first, keep your business facts consistent across the web, and test what ChatGPT says. OpenAI does not promise that any site will be named.
Should I block GPTBot?
GPTBot is used for training OpenAI's models. OpenAI says each bot is controlled separately, so you can disallow GPTBot and still allow OAI-SearchBot so that your site can appear in ChatGPT search.
Do I need an llms.txt file for AI search?
Google says no AI text file or special markup is needed to appear in its AI answers. A file is cheap to add, but it is a small part of the work.
How do I appear in Google's AI Overviews?
Google says your page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet. There are no extra requirements and no special optimization, and indexing and serving are not guaranteed.
Can anyone guarantee my business will be named by AI assistants?
No. The assistants decide for each question and the answers change. You can improve how easy your business is to find, read and quote, and measure the result.