How to get into ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews: 9 concrete steps
To get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews: (1) answer the question in the first 80-120 words, (2) use clear headings and lists, (3) add an FAQ section, (4) implement schema.org/structured data, (5) back claims with numbers and sources, (6) keep your company details consistent (entity), (7) ensure speed and clean tech, (8) build authority with in-depth content, and (9) publish an llms.txt. No trick — just a stack of clarity that AI models reward.
1-3 · Write for the answer
AI answer engines chunk your page and look for the part that best answers the question.
- 1. Answer-first. Give the direct answer in the opening paragraph, nuance after.
- 2. Scannable structure. One idea per heading, short paragraphs, lists where you can.
- 3. FAQ section. Literal questions with concise answers are gold for AI — and often earn FAQ rich results.
4-6 · Make it machine-readable and trustworthy
- 4. Structured data. Mark up articles (Article/BlogPosting), FAQs (FAQPage) and your company (Organization). See schema for AI.
- 5. Back it with sources. Numbers, dates and references give a model grounds to trust and quote you.
- 6. One consistent entity. Same company name, address and description everywhere (site, schema, socials). That's how AI recognises you as one source.
7-9 · Tech, authority and llms.txt
- 7. Speed & tech. Fast, crawlable pages; no content hidden behind scripts. Don't block AI crawlers in robots.
- 8. Authority. In-depth, opinionated content about your field — thin pages rarely get cited.
- 9. llms.txt. A concise guide at
/llms.txtpointing AI to your best pages. See llms.txt explained.
What not to do
- Keyword stuffing. Models see through it; it hurts readability and trust.
- Blocking AI crawlers. If you want to be cited, allow GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot.
- Everything in a PDF or image. Put your core answers as plain text on the page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I allow AI crawlers in robots.txt?
Yes, if you want to be cited. Crawlers like GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot need to read your content. Block only what's truly private (like /admin).
Does an FAQ really help?
A lot. An FAQ provides ready-made question-answer pairs AI can adopt directly, plus FAQPage schema that makes the structure explicit.
Does this work for local searches too?
Yes. Write in your audience's language and keep your business details (NAP) consistent; that helps both local SEO and AI answers.
Do I need an expensive tool for this?
Not to start. Most of the gain is in writing style, structure and schema. Tools help later with measuring and scaling.
Ready to start?
Read our approach to SEO & AEO, or book a short intro call — we'll take a no-obligation look and give you an honest estimate of scope, cost and timeline.