AI visibility
Updated November 10, 2026. The tools described here are new and changing fast.
Your customers no longer search only on Google. They ask ChatGPT which plumber to call in Toronto, which agency can rebuild their website or which accounting software to pick. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT has 1.2 billion weekly users. The question is no longer whether your customers use it, but what it tells them when they ask about your market.
On November 10, 2026, OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT, a program that lets businesses claim their profile in ChatGPT. It’s good news, but it’s only one of the ways in. This guide explains how ChatGPT finds a business, and the three concrete steps that give you the best chance of showing up.
There is no single “show up in ChatGPT” button. When someone asks about a product, a service or a local shop, ChatGPT can draw on several sources.
In other words, ChatGPT cross-checks. The more present, consistent and accessible your information is across these sources, the more likely it is to find you and describe you accurately.
The first step is the newest one. With Businesses in ChatGPT, you can claim your profile in ChatGPT’s new Business Hub, prove that you represent the business, then correct its information.
Business Hub also gives you insights: how often ChatGPT mentions your business, how many people click through to your website, and which conversation topics you show up in. For a small business, it’s the first time you can see what ChatGPT does with your business instead of guessing.
An important caveat: the program is in beta. According to OpenAI’s help center, local stores and restaurants can currently claim only an existing U.S. listing. Online businesses with a website are more likely to have access right away. The best way to know is to open Business Hub and search for your business.
The second step is often overlooked, because most businesses only look at Google. Yet Microsoft is one of the search providers ChatGPT works with, and Bing also powers Copilot and the AI-generated answers in Bing.
Taking an hour to add your website to Bing Webmaster Tools lets you submit your sitemap, notify Bing as soon as a page changes with IndexNow, and see how often your pages are cited in Microsoft’s AI answers. It’s free, and it’s one of the few dashboards that already show AI citations.
The third step is technical, but it can block everything. OpenAI says it plainly: a site that opts out of OAI-SearchBot won’t be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though it can still appear as a navigational link.
Many businesses blocked “AI bots” without distinguishing between the ones that train models and the ones that power search. Others are blocked by their host or firewall without knowing it. Take two minutes to check that your robots.txt lets OpenAI’s search crawler in.
What about the llms.txt file, often sold as a shortcut to ChatGPT? It can help AI agents understand your website, but no major search engine has committed to using it to decide whom to cite. Before spending time on it, read what the llms.txt file really does, and what it doesn’t.
These three levers make your business findable. They don’t guarantee it will be recommended. OpenAI is clear about this: claiming your profile doesn’t guarantee more visibility, and advertising doesn’t influence ChatGPT’s independent answers. Sponsored placements exist, but they are labeled and kept separate from answers.
What gets one business cited over another is first and foremost the content found about it: pages that clearly answer the questions customers ask, precise and current facts, an offer described without ambiguity. The three levers open the door; your content does the rest.
If you don’t know where your website stands, start with the diagnosis: here’s how to tell whether ChatGPT can read your website. Then follow this list:
No. OpenAI states that advertising doesn’t influence ChatGPT’s independent answers. Sponsored placements exist, but they are clearly labeled and separate from answers. Claiming your profile doesn’t boost you either: it only lets you manage the information you provide.
OpenAI doesn’t publish a full list of its sources. Its help center says ChatGPT search sometimes partners with other search providers and points to Microsoft’s privacy statement. ChatGPT also uses its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot. Being indexed in Bing and accessible to OAI-SearchBot covers both known paths.
It isn’t required to be mentioned, but it’s almost essential to be presented well. Claiming a profile is initially offered to eligible businesses with a website, and ChatGPT search cites web pages. Without a website, you depend entirely on what others write about you.
OpenAI says a robots.txt change takes about 24 hours to be reflected in its search systems. A claimed profile must be verified, and each change is reviewed by OpenAI before it’s published. For content, think in weeks: pages must be crawled, then judged useful.
Possibly. The program is in beta and eligibility depends on location and business type. For now, local stores and restaurants can claim only an existing U.S. listing. An eligible online business with a website may see an option to add its profile. The only way to know for sure is to open Business Hub in ChatGPT.
Visibility in AI assistants changes every week. If you want to know what ChatGPT already says about your business, and how to improve it, let’s talk.