How to get your brand recommended by ChatGPT

How ChatGPT decides what to recommend

When someone asks ChatGPT a buying question, it answers from a mix of its training data and live web search. For commercial queries such as "best project management software for agencies", ChatGPT search usually runs one or more web searches, reads a handful of pages, and summarises the brands those pages agree on. Your job is to be one of the brands those pages agree on.

This means most of the work happens off your own website. It also means the work is concrete: you can see which pages ChatGPT reads for your category and act on them.

Step 1: Find out where you stand

Write a list of 10 to 50 prompts that match how real buyers ask. Mix three types:

• Category prompts: "What is the best {category}?", "Top {category} for small businesses".
• Use-case prompts: "Recommend a {category} for startups", "{category} with the best free plan".
• Brand prompts: "{your brand} alternatives", "{your brand} vs {competitor}".

Ask ChatGPT each prompt and record whether you are mentioned, your position in the list, which competitors are named, and which sources are linked. Category prompts matter most: brand prompts nearly always mention you because your name is in the question. A free AI visibility check automates this across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.

Step 2: Unblock OpenAI's crawlers

OpenAI uses three user agents. OAI-SearchBot indexes pages for ChatGPT search, ChatGPT-User fetches pages when a user's conversation needs them, and GPTBot collects training data. If your robots.txt or CDN bot protection blocks them, ChatGPT cannot read your pages directly. Allow at least OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User, and make sure important text is in the HTML rather than loaded only by JavaScript.

Step 3: Work the sources ChatGPT cites

Group the cited URLs from Step 1 by domain. You will usually see a pattern: a few listicle publishers, one or two review platforms, Reddit or other forums, and sometimes a competitor's own comparison page. For each one:

1. Listicles and "best of" articles: contact the author with accurate, current information and a reason your product deserves inclusion. Many update these pages regularly.
2. Review platforms (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and niche directories): claim your profile, fill every field, choose the right categories, and ask happy customers for reviews.
3. Forums and communities: take part genuinely where your buyers ask questions. Do not spam; AI engines and moderators both notice.
4. Competitor comparison pages: publish your own honest comparison so there is a balanced source to retrieve.

Step 4: Make your own site easy to quote

ChatGPT tends to repeat short, plain statements. Help it:

• Open your homepage with one sentence that says what you are and who you are for, using your category's common name ("Acme is invoicing software for freelancers").
• Publish a pricing page with real numbers, a features page with concrete limits, and an FAQ that answers buyer questions directly.
• Create "{brand} vs {competitor}" and "{competitor} alternatives" pages that are fair and specific. AI engines retrieve these for comparison prompts.
• Add structured data: Organization, SoftwareApplication or Product with offers, and FAQPage.
• Keep names, descriptions and pricing consistent across your site, profiles and press. Conflicting facts reduce confidence.

Step 5: Earn independent mentions

Models weigh consensus. A brand mentioned in many independent places is a safer recommendation than one that only praises itself. Useful sources of independent mentions include guest articles on industry sites, podcasts with published transcripts, original research or data that others cite, integration partner directories, and customer case studies published by the customer.

Step 6: Measure every week

ChatGPT's answers change between runs and as its search index refreshes. One check is a snapshot. Re-run the same prompt set weekly and track your visibility score, your average position and your share of voice against competitors. Expect changes to show up over weeks, not days, and attribute them by watching which cited sources start to include you.

Common mistakes

• Only testing branded prompts, which inflates your score.
• Blocking AI crawlers by accident through a security plugin or CDN setting.
• Publishing vague marketing copy with no concrete facts to quote.
• Trying to game answers with hidden text or fake reviews. It rarely works and can damage trust with both users and platforms.