ChatGPT search can use the web and show cited sources. Google says its AI search features rely on the same core search foundations. Neither service guarantees that it will mention your business.

• A vendor promising guaranteed AI placement.
• Important information visible only after a click or inside an image.
• Pages spun up for hundreds of tiny query variations.
• Business facts that disagree across the website and profiles.

• Write the exact owner or customer question at the top.
• Answer it plainly and add first-hand detail.
• Cite external facts and link the appropriate service or action.
• Keep public names, hours, locations, and offerings current.

Each AI search tool reads the web with a crawler. That is a program that reads your pages, like a new hire reading the menu. If your site turns it away, even a great page may not be cited.

• ChatGPT. OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot, its search crawler, will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers. It also says to check that your host or CDN allows traffic from OpenAI’s published addresses. A CDN is the service that delivers your site’s files.
• Training is separate. OpenAI says you can block GPTBot, its training crawler, and still allow OAI-SearchBot for search.
• Google. AI Overviews and AI Mode only link to pages that can already show in regular Google Search with a snippet, the short preview text under a result. Google also says your host and CDN should allow crawling, not just your robots.txt file.
• Bing and Copilot. Microsoft says Copilot relies on the same crawling and indexing as regular Bing search. Its guidelines list blocking Bingbot in robots.txt as something to avoid.

A quick check: type your web address plus /robots.txt into a browser. OpenAI uses that public file to let site owners manage its crawlers. If OAI-SearchBot, Googlebot, Bingbot, or a lone * (which means every crawler) sits near a Disallow line, ask your web person what it blocks.

Google says there are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. You don’t need new machine-readable files or AI text files. You don’t need special hidden labels either: code that tells search engines facts like your hours without visitors seeing it. If your site already has those labels, Google says they should match the visible text on the page. Start with what Google looks for on a business website.

Some tricks can hurt. Bing warns that content designed to manipulate the language models behind Copilot may lead to reduced visibility or removal. So skip hidden notes written for chatbots.

Some vendors sell “AEO” or “GEO,” which Google describes as optimizing for AI experiences. Google suggests two questions for them. Does their advice match Google’s official guidance on AI features? Do they cite Google’s own documentation?

Do this monthly, and after any change to hours or services. Ask what a customer would ask: your name plus “hours,” “walk-ins,” or your neighborhood.

• In ChatGPT, type / and choose Search, then ask. Open Sources to see which pages it used. OpenAI says saved memories and your location can shape the search, so also try it signed out.
• In Google, note whether an AI Overview appears and which links sit beside it. Google says AI Overviews often don’t show at all. A missing one is not a problem on its own.
• Write down each wrong fact and the page it came from. Fix your website first. Then your Business Profile, which Google’s AI guide lists among the basics. Then outside listings you can edit.
• Restaurants: OpenAI says ChatGPT may show reservation times from OpenTable, Resy, or Yelp, depending on the restaurant. Keep those listings as current as your site.

OpenAI says its search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect. You don’t control the answer, or every source it reads. You do control your website and the listings you can edit, so keep those right.

For Google, use Search Console, Google’s report on your search traffic. Google says clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode are counted in its Performance report under “Web,” mixed in with regular search. It does not list them as a separate number.

We improve the pages and public details you control. Search and AI services decide what to show, so we do not promise a ranking or mention.

Get a plain-English second opinion

Product features and rules can change. Use the linked source as the current word.

• Google Search: AI features and your website — Google says AI search uses the same core search foundations; no magic markup is required.
• Google Search: Helpful, reliable, people-first content — Official content-quality guidance.
• OpenAI Help Center: Searching the web with ChatGPT — How ChatGPT search cites sources, restaurant availability, and how sites become eligible. Checked October 19, 2026.
• OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI Crawlers — What OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot do and how robots.txt controls each. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Bing Webmaster Guidelines — How Bing and Copilot crawl, index, and cite content, and what to avoid. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO? — Questions to ask anyone selling SEO, AEO, or GEO services. Checked October 19, 2026.