How to show up in AI search

Short answer

AI assistants answer from search indexes (ChatGPT and Copilot run on Bing) and their own crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot). To be visible: let the crawlers in, get into Bing fast with IndexNow, and give LLMs clean structure with llms.txt and schema.

Where each assistant gets its answers

Assistant	How it finds content
ChatGPT Search	Built on Bing's index + OpenAI's own crawler (OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot).
Microsoft Copilot	Built directly on Bing's index.
Perplexity	Uses Bing/Google signals plus its own PerplexityBot.
Claude	Uses live web search and its ClaudeBot crawler.
Google AI Overviews	Uses Google's index; training gated by Google-Extended.

Five steps to get visible

Let the AI crawlers in

If your robots.txt blocks GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, or OAI-SearchBot, those assistants can't see you. Check which AI crawlers you allow.

Check AI crawler access

Notify Bing with IndexNow

Bing's index powers ChatGPT Search and Copilot. Push fresh URLs through IndexNow so they reach those assistants fast.

Learn IndexNow

Ship an llms.txt

An llms.txt gives LLMs a clean, curated map of your best content to cite. Validate its structure and links.

Validate llms.txt

Score your discoverability

Get a 0–100 read on how findable you are across Google and AI search — robots, llms.txt, structured data, sitemap, and more.

Get your score

Measure your AI citations

Check whether ChatGPT and Perplexity would cite your domain today, and which off-site brand signals you're missing.

Check your citations

Frequently asked questions

How do AI assistants like ChatGPT find content?

Two ways. Some lean on an existing search index — ChatGPT Search and Copilot are built on Bing's index — and most also run their own crawlers (GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) plus live web search. To be visible you need to be in the underlying index and allow the relevant crawlers.

How do I get my website indexed by ChatGPT?

ChatGPT Search draws on Bing, so getting into Bing quickly — via IndexNow — is the most direct path. Also make sure your robots.txt allows GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot, since OpenAI uses them to fetch and cite pages.

What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?

GEO is optimizing so AI assistants surface and cite your content, rather than (or in addition to) ranking in classic search. In practice it overlaps heavily with good SEO: be crawlable, be indexed, use clear structure and structured data, and provide an llms.txt.

Does llms.txt actually help?

llms.txt is an emerging convention, not a guaranteed ranking factor. It gives LLMs a clean, curated list of your key pages, which can help them cite the right URLs. It's low-cost to add and complements — doesn't replace — being properly crawlable and indexed.

Is AI search visibility different from Google SEO?

It overlaps but isn't identical. Google SEO targets Google's index and ranking. AI visibility also depends on Bing (for ChatGPT/Copilot), AI-specific crawler permissions, and signals like llms.txt and structured data. The fundamentals — crawlable, indexed, well-structured — serve both.

How do I track AI bot traffic on my site?

robots.txt only grants permission — it doesn't tell you who actually shows up. To see real AI bot traffic you need visit-level evidence: grep your server access logs for the AI user-agent tokens (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and the rest), or drop in a lightweight tracking pixel that records each AI crawler hit — IndexerNow's crawler tracking does this with a 1 KB pixel and per-bot history. Our free user-agent lookup identifies any bot you find in your logs.

What are AI brand citations?

An AI brand citation is when an AI answer names your brand or links your site as a source — the AI-search equivalent of ranking. Citations (linked) drive referral traffic; plain brand mentions build the recall that earns future citations. You can measure both for your own domain with our free AI citation checker.

Get into Bing & AI search faster

IndexerNow pushes your URLs through Bing's IndexNow — the index behind ChatGPT and Copilot — and Google's Indexing API in one click. Free daily quota, then $9.99 packs.

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