ChatGPT SEO: How ChatGPT Finds and Cites Your Website

ChatGPT Search combines Bing's index with OpenAI's own crawlers. That dual-source setup means you face a dual-indexing challenge: your site must satisfy both systems to get cited in answers.

This guide covers the technical details (crawlers, robots.txt, and indexing), so you can get your content discovered and cited in ChatGPT.

ChatGPT's Three Crawlers: What Each One Does

OpenAI runs three distinct crawlers. Each has a different purpose, and your robots.txt rules affect them separately.

OAI-SearchBot

Indexes content for ChatGPT Search. User-agent: OAI-SearchBot/1.0 (+https://openai.com/searchbot). You must allow this bot if you want search visibility.

ChatGPT-User

Real-time page fetcher for active queries. Visits pages when users share URLs or when ChatGPT needs to fetch a specific page on demand.

GPTBot

Collects training data for future models. You can block GPTBot independently without affecting search. Many publishers block it to avoid contributing to training while keeping OAI-SearchBot active.

The Dual-Indexing Requirement

Your site needs both Bing index presence and OAI-SearchBot access. Missing either breaks the chain. Bing is the foundation. ChatGPT Search uses Bing as its primary backend.

If Bing hasn't indexed your page, ChatGPT won't see it. If OAI-SearchBot is blocked, ChatGPT can't use your content even when Bing has it. Use ShowUpInAI using IndexNow to keep your Bing index fresh so changes flow through quickly.

How ChatGPT Decides What to Cite

ChatGPT adds inline citations with clickable links. It automatically appends utm_source=chatgpt.com so you can track referral traffic.

ChatGPT favors direct answers, authoritative sources, recent content, and clear structure. Pages with well-defined headings, concise paragraphs, and explicit answers to common questions tend to get cited more often.

Robots.txt Setup for ChatGPT

Use this configuration to allow search indexing while optionally blocking training data collection. Changes typically take about 24 hours to process.

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /

User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

Remove the GPTBot block if you want to allow training data collection. Keep OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User allowed for search visibility.

ChatGPT SEO vs Traditional SEO

No PageRank. Citations are based on relevance and authority signals, not Google's link graph.

Bing is the gateway. Optimize for Bing indexing, not Google. Different crawlers, different index.

Content structure matters more. Clear headings and direct answers beat backlink-heavy pages for citations.

Freshness is critical. Stale content in Bing means stale content in ChatGPT. Keep your index updated.

Track via utm_source=chatgpt.com. Filter your analytics to see exactly how much traffic comes from ChatGPT citations.

For a broader view of AI search optimization, see our guide to generative engine optimization. For another AI search engine, check Perplexity AI SEO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing?

Bing. ChatGPT Search is built on Bing's search index.

Can I see how much traffic comes from ChatGPT?

Yes. Check utm_source=chatgpt.com in your analytics.

Will blocking GPTBot affect my ChatGPT Search visibility?

No. GPTBot handles training data. OAI-SearchBot handles search. Blocking one does not affect the other.

How quickly does ChatGPT reflect content changes?

It depends on Bing indexing speed. ShowUpInAI uses IndexNow to push updates to Bing in minutes, which then flows through to ChatGPT Search.

Get Discovered by ChatGPT Faster

ShowUpInAI uses IndexNow to keep your Bing index current. That freshness is the foundation for ChatGPT Search. Add your domain and start pushing updates in minutes.

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