How to rank in ChatGPT
ChatGPT answers many questions from live web results. To show up, your pages have to be in the indexes ChatGPT searches, open to OpenAI's crawlers, and written so a single passage answers the prompt.
By the AIO Automatic team · Last updated
How does ChatGPT choose which websites to cite?
When ChatGPT searches the web, it rewrites the prompt into search queries, pulls results from its search partners and OpenAI's own crawler, then cites the pages whose passages answer best. Bing's index is a major input, so pages Bing has not indexed rarely get cited, however good they are.
OpenAI runs separate crawlers for separate jobs. OAI-SearchBot gathers pages for ChatGPT search results. ChatGPT-User fetches a page when a user or a custom GPT asks for it. GPTBot collects training data. Blocking OAI-SearchBot keeps you out of search answers; blocking GPTBot only affects training.
Which technical steps get a site into ChatGPT search?
Allow OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User in robots.txt, verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your XML sitemap there, and ping new or changed URLs with IndexNow. Then confirm your key content appears in the raw HTML, because OpenAI's crawlers do not run JavaScript to render pages.
- robots.txt: explicit Allow groups for OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User and GPTBot.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: verify, submit the sitemap, and use URL Inspection on priority pages.
- IndexNow: notify Bing the moment a page is published or updated.
- Raw HTML check: fetch the page with a GPTBot user agent and confirm headings, answers and tables are present.
| User agent | Purpose | If you block it |
|---|---|---|
| OAI-SearchBot | Builds the index behind ChatGPT search results | Your pages stop appearing as ChatGPT search citations |
| ChatGPT-User | Fetches pages on demand for users and GPTs | ChatGPT cannot open your page when asked to |
| GPTBot | Collects content for model training | Future models learn less about you; search citations unaffected |
What content does ChatGPT prefer to cite?
ChatGPT cites passages that answer the query directly and add something specific: a definition, a number, a comparison table or a clear step list. Put a 40–60 word answer under each question heading, keep facts consistent with what other sites say about you, and include original data competitors do not have.
Listicles and "best of" roundups are cited heavily for recommendation prompts, so being included on the lists ChatGPT already cites is often faster than outranking them. Read how to get AI to recommend your brand for the corroboration side.
How do you track ChatGPT visibility?
Run the same buyer prompts in ChatGPT repeatedly and record how often your brand is mentioned and which URLs are cited. One run is noise because answers vary. Track mention rate and citation rate per prompt over time, and note which competitor pages win so you know where to build or get listed.
We run this across ChatGPT and the other major engines every week for clients. See share of voice.
Frequently asked questions
Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing?
Bing has been a core search partner for ChatGPT, alongside OpenAI's own crawler. Being indexed in Bing is the most reliable prerequisite. Google rankings help indirectly through authority and mentions.
Should I block GPTBot?
Blocking GPTBot only affects training, not ChatGPT search citations. If you want AI to know your brand long term, allow it. Keep OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User allowed either way.
Does llms.txt help with ChatGPT?
It gives crawlers a clean summary of your site and key pages. It is cheap to add and helps consistency, but it does not replace indexing in Bing and strong pages. See llms.txt.