How ChatGPT finds and recommends businesses
Updated: · Orbtown
ChatGPT has two ways of knowing about you: what it learned in training, and what it finds when it searches the web during a conversation. You can influence them very differently.
Training data versus live search
Training data is fixed at a cutoff date. You cannot edit it, and it changes only when a new model ships. Live search is different: when a question needs current information, ChatGPT searches the web and can cite pages. Recommendations of local or current services rely heavily on this route, and that is where your work pays off.
Three OpenAI crawlers, three jobs
- OAI-SearchBot surfaces websites in ChatGPT's search features. If you block it, your pages will not appear in search answers, though they can still appear as navigational links. Changes to robots.txt take about 24 hours.
- GPTBot collects content that may be used to train models. Blocking it does not remove you from search.
- ChatGPT-User visits a page when a user asks for it. It does not decide whether you appear in search, and robots.txt may not apply to it.
So you can refuse training and still be findable. See the exact robots.txt setup.
What makes it name you
OpenAI does not publish a ranking formula, so treat any precise claim with caution. Practitioners consistently report the same pattern: an assistant is more confident about a business when several independent sources agree on its name, location, services and reputation. A company described only on its own website gives it little to go on.
What to do
- State your services and location in plain text.
- Get listed in relevant directories and review sites with identical details. Where to start.
- Ask ChatGPT your customers' questions every month and log the answers.
Common questions
Why does ChatGPT not know my company?
It may be missing from its training data and from the pages its search finds. Check that OAI-SearchBot is allowed, then build mentions on other websites.
Will blocking GPTBot hurt me in ChatGPT search?
According to OpenAI, GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot are controlled separately, so you can block training and allow search.