You ask ChatGPT for the best products in your category. Your rivals show up. You don't. It feels random, but it rarely is. There are five usual causes, and each one leaves its own clues. This guide helps you spot the clues, fix the right thing first, and check that the fix worked.
Sources: OpenAI crawler documentation; Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (2023). Checked October 2026. Brand names on this page are made up.
Where to start
Match what you see to one of 5 problems
1. It can't read your site. Your own domain is never cited. ChatGPT's description of you is thin or out of date. OpenAI says sites that block OAI-SearchBot won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers. Firewalls and CDN bot filters can block it too, with 403 errors, even when robots.txt allows it.
2. It doesn't know who you are. You're never named. Asked about you by name, it hedges or mixes you up with another company.
3. It doesn't trust you. You appear rarely and low in lists. It adds hedges like "some users report", or puts you next to complaints.
4. It has old or wrong facts. It gets your price tier, use case, country or product wrong, or uses a name from before a rebrand.
5. You're missing from its sources. You don't appear in recommendations. But asked by name, it describes you correctly. It knows you; the pages it reads for that question just don't include you.
Symptom finder Example numbers
Runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere. Tap every symptom you've seen, then find your likely problem.
Fix them in the right order
Order matters. Fix site access first. It's quick, and nothing else works while ChatGPT can't read you. Then identity, then wrong facts, then trust. Sources come last, because they take the longest.
Site access: allow OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt and in any firewall or CDN bot filter. GPTBot is OpenAI's training bot and is separate, so blocking only GPTBot keeps search access. Put product names, prices and descriptions in the HTML your server sends, not only through JavaScript.
Identity: use one name, one category and one description everywhere. Have a clear About page. Add Organization and Product schema. Keep directory listings consistent. Add a Wikidata entry only if you meet its notability rules.
Facts: state your category, price tier and use case plainly on key pages. Update your most-linked old pages, not just new ones. Put dates on prices and launches. Ask directories to correct wrong entries. On key pages, citations, quotes and statistics help too: the 2023 Princeton-led study found they lifted visibility by up to about 40% in its tests.
Trust: earn reviews on the sites ChatGPT's answers cite. Resolve recurring complaints in public. Get included in independent comparisons.
Sources: collect the links ChatGPT cites. Find pages that name your rivals but not you. Then go after reviews, comparison inclusion and honest forum replies on those pages.
Fix plan builder
Runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere. Pick the problems you found. Times are rough guides, not promises.
Track how often ChatGPT names you
ChatGPT's answers change from one run to the next. So one check proves very little. Pick 6 buying prompts, like "best project tools for small teams". Ask each one in a fresh, logged-out chat, at least 5 times. For each run, note whether you were named, your position in the list, the tone, and the sites it cited.
Then watch your naming rate over weeks, not single answers. If the rate climbs after a fix, keep going. If it stays flat, check the cited sites. They show where to show up next.
Answer tracker Example numbers
Runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere. Your log is saved on this device only.
If I block GPTBot, will ChatGPT stop mentioning me?
Not for search. OpenAI says GPTBot is for training and is separate from OAI-SearchBot. Keep OAI-SearchBot allowed to stay in ChatGPT search answers.
Why does ChatGPT describe us well but never recommend us?
That points to problem 5. It knows who you are, but the pages it reads for buying questions don't name you. Find those pages and work on getting included.
How many times should I test a prompt?
At least 5 times each, in a fresh, logged-out chat. Answers vary from run to run, so a single check can mislead you.
Should I create a Wikidata entry?
Only if your brand meets Wikidata's notability rules. If not, focus on your About page, schema and consistent directory listings.
Sources: OpenAI crawler documentation (OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot); Aggarwal et al., "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization", Princeton-led study, 2023. Checked October 2026. Example brands, prompts and numbers are made up.