How to Get Your Company Recommended by ChatGPT: Seven Practical Steps

ChatGPT recommends companies that credible sources describe clearly and consistently. You cannot pay for a place in its answers, and there is no form to submit. To be recommended, test what it says today, describe your business the same way everywhere, earn third-party coverage, publish clear answers to buyers' questions, and make your site readable by its crawler.

How does ChatGPT decide which companies to recommend?

ChatGPT draws on what it learned in training and, increasingly, on live web search. For a question about suppliers, it reads sources such as review sites, directories, articles and company pages, then summarises a shortlist. Companies that many credible sources describe clearly and consistently are the easiest for it to name.

The answer is a summary of evidence. If several independent sources say a company is a good fit for mid-sized accounting firms in Australia, ChatGPT can say so with confidence. If the only source is the company's own website, it has much less to go on.

Research supports this. According to a 2025 University of Toronto study of AI search engines, they show "a systematic and overwhelming bias towards earned media", meaning third-party, authoritative sources, compared with Google's more balanced mix. Your own site still matters. Mostly, though, it corroborates what others say.

The audience is worth the effort. According to TechCrunch, ChatGPT reached 900 million weekly active users in February 2026.

Can you pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?

No, not within the answer. ChatGPT began testing ads in February 2026 for some US users on free tiers, shown below the answer and labelled as sponsored. OpenAI's stated policy is that ads do not influence the answers. A company can buy an ad beside the answer, but not a recommendation in it.

OpenAI describes this as "answer independence" in its January 2026 post on advertising. Paid ChatGPT plans carry no ads at all. Policies can change, so revisit this periodically, but today the organic recommendation is earned, not bought.

That is good news for specialists. The guide to AI answers as leads explains why a recommendation with no auction behind it is unusually valuable.

What makes a company easy to recommend?

A company is easy to recommend when it is easy to describe accurately. That means a clear statement of what you do and who you suit, used consistently everywhere; evidence from independent sources; and content that answers buyers' questions directly, with honest trade-offs about who you are not for.

Here are seven steps, in order.

1. Test what ChatGPT says today

List twenty questions your buyers actually ask, from problem questions to shortlist questions. Run them in ChatGPT, and in other assistants, and record which companies are named and which sources are cited. That shows where you stand and which sources matter in your category.

2. Write one description and use it everywhere

Agree a single company name and a one-sentence description of what you do and who it suits. Use it on your site, LinkedIn, directories, partner pages and press boilerplate. Inconsistent descriptions make it harder for an AI to say anything confident.

3. Get onto the sources ChatGPT cites

Your test in step one shows which review sites, directories and publications appear in answers for your category. Claim and complete your profiles there, and ask satisfied customers for honest reviews.

4. Earn coverage from others

Articles, podcasts, partner pages, case studies on customers' sites and industry lists are independent evidence. One accurate mention on a respected site can outweigh many pages of your own.

5. Answer buyers' questions on your own site

Publish clear explainers and honest comparisons that answer what buyers ask, each section opening with a direct, sourced answer. The guide to generative engine optimisation covers how to write passages AI can quote.

6. Say who you are not for

Content that names its limits reads as trustworthy. A comparison that declares you the best at everything gives an AI nothing it can use honestly.

7. Let the crawler in

OpenAI's documentation says its OAI-SearchBot crawler "is used to surface websites in search results in ChatGPT's search features". It recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot in your robots.txt file. Also make sure key content appears in the page itself, not only after scripts run.

Which third-party sources matter most?

The sources that matter are the ones AI assistants already cite for your category, which you find by testing. For B2B companies they commonly include review platforms, industry directories, trade publications, partner and integration pages, and community discussions. Prioritise those over generic link-building.

Quality beats volume. A detailed, accurate listing on a respected directory in your industry is worth more than dozens of thin mentions. The same applies to reviews: a smaller number of specific, credible reviews describing real use is more useful than many vague ones.

Finally, keep facts consistent across all of them. If one directory lists an old product name or the wrong location, correct it. An AI that finds conflicting descriptions is less likely to describe you confidently.

What should your own website do?

Your website should state clearly what you do, who you suit and who you do not, back claims with evidence, answer common buyer questions directly, and be easy for crawlers to read. It does not need special AI files. Google, for instance, says no new machine-readable files or markup are needed for its AI features.

Google's guidance for AI Overviews and AI Mode says there are "no additional requirements" and that "the best practices for SEO remain relevant". The same broad principle applies to ChatGPT: clear, crawlable, well-sourced pages beat special tricks. The guide to what llms.txt does explains where that file fits.

How do you test and track ChatGPT recommendations?

Re-run the same set of buyer questions every month across ChatGPT and other assistants, record which companies are named and which sources are cited, and track your share over time. Answers vary with wording, so test several phrasings. Pair it with a "how did you hear about us?" question on enquiry forms.

The guide to measuring AI visibility sets out a simple scoring sheet.

Skein runs this measurement monthly for clients alongside pipeline and search results; the outcomes page lists everything tracked. That suits a B2B company whose buyers research before contacting sales. A business that wins mainly through referrals may see less from the effort.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get ChatGPT to recommend my business?

Make your business easy to describe accurately. Use one clear description everywhere, get listed and reviewed on the sources ChatGPT cites for your category, earn coverage from independent sites, publish clear answers to buyers' questions, and allow OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot crawler. Then test the questions your buyers ask each month.

Can I pay ChatGPT to recommend my company?

No. ChatGPT began testing labelled ads in February 2026, shown separately below answers for some US users on free tiers, and OpenAI says ads do not influence the answers themselves. A recommendation inside the answer depends on the evidence available about your company, not on payment.

Why does ChatGPT recommend my competitors and not me?

Usually because more credible sources describe your competitors clearly. A 2025 University of Toronto study found AI search engines strongly favour third-party sources over brand-owned content. Check which sources ChatGPT cites for your category, then get accurately listed, reviewed and mentioned there.

Does ChatGPT use my website?

It can. ChatGPT search uses OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot crawler to surface websites, and OpenAI recommends allowing it in robots.txt. Your site works best as clear corroboration of what independent sources say, with key content readable in the page rather than only after scripts load.

How long does it take to get recommended by ChatGPT?

Expect months. New reviews, listings, articles and improved pages need to be published and picked up before they influence answers. Test the same buyer questions monthly to see whether your company starts appearing, which sources the answers cite, and how that changes over time.

Related reading