ChatGPT for AI SEO, AEO and GEO: what businesses should do

Last reviewed 21 September 2026. We update this guide when OpenAI changes its models or the way ChatGPT searches the web.

ChatGPT affects SEO in two ways. Your customers use it to find answers and compare suppliers. Your team can use it to research, plan and check content. This guide covers both, and it keeps the model-specific details in one dated section so the advice stays useful after the next launch.

The answer in brief

• To appear in ChatGPT search answers, a public page must be open to OAI-SearchBot. Blocking GPTBot controls training use. It does not remove you from search.
• OpenAI does not sell places in its answers and does not publish ranking factors. Clear answers, checkable evidence and information your competitors lack give a page its best chance.
• ChatGPT adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to the links it sends people through, so much of that traffic shows up in Google Analytics.
• A new flagship model changes your tools more than your visibility. The model answering a customer depends on their plan, selected settings and available features.

Which OpenAI model is current, and does it matter for SEO?

As of 21 September 2026, OpenAI’s newest model is GPT-6 Astra. OpenAI introduced it on 3 September 2026 and its API documentation calls it “our most capable model, built for the hardest end-to-end work”.

Source: OpenAI’s model availability guidance and API model page. Plans and rollouts change often, so check both before you rely on them.

The table shows why a model launch rarely changes your search visibility overnight. A person on the free plan who asks for a commercial solicitor in Manchester does not get an Astra answer. They get an answer from the default model, drawn from web results when ChatGPT decides to search.

Astra matters more as a working tool. Our GPT-6 Astra guide covers its capabilities, the AGI debate and what it costs to run.

What do SEO, AEO and GEO actually mean?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) makes pages easy to find, crawl and understand in search engines. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) makes information easy to lift out as a direct answer. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) aims to get content used and cited in AI-written responses.

GEO comes from a research paper first published in November 2023 and presented at KDD 2024. Google takes a firmer line. Its guide to generative AI search says that “optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO.”

We agree with Google on the substance. AEO and GEO are useful names for extra checks. Can an answer stand on its own? Does a claim show its source? They are not separate disciplines with their own secret rules.

How does ChatGPT find and cite websites?

OpenAI’s help centre explains the basic process:

• ChatGPT may search the web automatically when a question needs current information. Users can also start a search from the tools menu.
• It rewrites the question into one or more targeted queries and sends them to search providers. OpenAI names Microsoft and Shopify among its partners, alongside services such as OpenTable, Resy and Yelp. Google is not on that published list; this does not establish every source used for every answer.
• Answers that use search can include citations. A Sources button lists the cited pages and related links.
• Web search works on every ChatGPT plan, and people who are not signed in can use it too.

OpenAI also runs its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, for ChatGPT search. It does not say how much weight each source carries. Because Microsoft is a named partner, we check that key pages are indexed in Bing Webmaster Tools. Treat that as a sensible precaution, not a proven lever.

How do you make sure ChatGPT can reach your site?

OpenAI uses several user agents. Each one has a different job, and OpenAI’s crawler documentation explains how robots.txt applies to each.

Search access and training access are separate decisions. Many businesses want to appear in answers but prefer not to supply training data. That combination looks like this:

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /

User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

OpenAI says robots.txt changes take about 24 hours to apply. To stop a page appearing even as a link, use a noindex meta tag. Let OAI-SearchBot crawl the page so it can read that tag.

Robots.txt is only part of the picture. A CDN or firewall can block or challenge a crawler that robots.txt allows. Check real server responses, and verify crawler requests against the IP lists OpenAI publishes. Our article on Google rankings and AI search visibility walks through that audit across Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity.

What makes ChatGPT cite one page over another?

Nobody outside OpenAI can give you a complete answer. OpenAI’s publisher guidance says “any public website can appear in ChatGPT search” and focuses on crawler access. It does not list ranking factors.

The research gives some direction. In the GEO study, adding quotations, statistics and cited sources made content more visible in generated answers. Keyword stuffing performed worse than making no change. That study used its own test set and engines in 2023, so read it as a pointer rather than a description of ChatGPT today.

In practice, we work on five things:

1. Put the answer next to the question. A buyer who asks about turnaround times should find the turnaround in the first lines under that heading, with any conditions beside it.
2. Show the evidence and its date. Link to the source of a statistic. Say when you last checked a price.
3. Say something others cannot. Real price ranges, your own test results, a worked example or a named expert’s view add information that competitors lack.
4. Keep your business facts consistent. Your services, locations and contact details should match across your website, Google Business Profile and major directories. Any system that compares sources then finds one story.
5. Write for people, not for a model. Google says there is no need to break content into tiny pieces or create AI text files. OpenAI’s publisher guidance does not ask for them either.

Can your products appear in ChatGPT shopping results?

Yes, and they are organic results. OpenAI says product results “are selected independently by ChatGPT and are not ads”. ChatGPT draws on structured metadata, such as price and product description, from first-party and third-party providers.

Shopify merchants can connect through Shopify Catalog. Other retailers can apply to send OpenAI a direct product feed through its developer documentation. Whichever route you use, keep prices, stock and descriptions consistent between the feed and the product page.

Do ChatGPT ads affect your organic visibility?

No, according to OpenAI. Its help centre says “Ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers” and that ads run on separate systems. Ads can appear below a response and carry a sponsored label. They may appear for eligible Free and Go users; OpenAI also describes ads in logged-out experiences. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts see no ads.

On 31 August 2026, OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads was available in more than 40 countries. It also began to open its self-serve Ads Manager across Europe, India, the Middle East and North Africa. Check eligibility for your own market and account before you plan a budget.

Treat ChatGPT ads as a paid channel, like PPC. They can put an offer in front of a buyer. They cannot buy you a citation.

How can ChatGPT help with day-to-day SEO work?

ChatGPT is most useful on tasks where your team can check the result quickly. The table lists the tasks we test first.

For longer jobs with several steps, OpenAI positions ChatGPT Work as “an agent designed for longer, multi-step work and finished deliverables”. Plus users get Astra there, but OpenAI warns that Astra can use your allowance faster than GPT-5.6 Sol. Save it for work where the extra capability shows.

Check data handling before you paste client material. OpenAI says it does not train on data from ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu or its API by default. Consumer plans such as Plus are not on that list, so review the data controls on those accounts first.

How do you measure visibility in ChatGPT?

Measure four things separately: mentions, citations, visits and enquiries. A brand can be mentioned without a link, and a link does not always bring a visit.

• Visits. OpenAI says ChatGPT adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to referral URLs. In Google Analytics 4, filter sessions by that source and track which landing pages it reaches. Some visits will arrive without the tag, for example when someone copies a link, so treat the figure as a minimum.
• Mentions and citations. Build a fixed list of 20 to 50 questions your buyers ask. Run them each month, signed in and signed out. Record whether you are mentioned, cited or linked. Answers vary between runs, so judge trends across repeated checks, not a single screenshot.
• Crawling. Look for OAI-SearchBot in your server logs. If you see no visits over a long period, check crawler access, page discovery and log coverage. An absence of logged visits alone does not prove blocking.
• Enquiries. Connect ChatGPT sessions to form fills, calls and sales where your consent setup allows it. That is the number that pays for the work.

What should you check when OpenAI releases a new model?

New models arrive every few months. Run the same five checks each time rather than rewriting your strategy.

1. Find out which plans and experiences get the model, and whether it becomes the default in Chat.
2. Check whether search, citations or shopping changed, or only the model behind them.
3. Read OpenAI’s crawler documentation for new or changed user agents.
4. Re-run your question list and compare it with the previous month.
5. Test the new model on one real SEO task. Compare the cost per approved piece of work, including review time, with your current process.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Blocking OAI-SearchBot by accident. A blanket rule against “AI bots” can remove you from ChatGPT search when you only meant to block training.
• Treating llms.txt as a switch. Google says it does not use the file for Search, and OpenAI’s publisher guidance does not mention it.
• Rewriting every page as FAQs. Use questions where buyers actually ask them. Keep the rest of the page written for the person reading it.
• Reacting to one answer. A missing citation in a single test proves little. Look at repeated checks and actual visits.
• Assuming ad spend buys citations. OpenAI keeps ads and answers on separate systems.

Want a clearer view of your AI search visibility?

AIWIZ checks the whole chain. Can AI crawlers reach your pages? Do those pages answer buyers’ questions? Do the visits turn into enquiries? Explore our SEO and AEO services, or talk to our team about an audit.