How to Get Your Website “Indexed” in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity: A Comprehensive Guide

p>UPDATE: Since writing this post, OpenAI announced that their search capability is now available for subscribers. 

While we have spent the last twenty-plus years optimizing our websites for SEO, AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity are starting to reshape the way we search for and interact with information online. No longer limited to traditional search engines, users are turning to conversational AI models to get precise answers and engage in more interactive forms of content discovery. In addition to conversational AI, Google is developing its own advanced AI product, known as “Gemini,” which aims to be integrated with their search results in the future. All said, this shift presents a unique opportunity for website owners to extend their reach by optimizing their content for these AI-driven platforms.

Getting your website indexed in AI chatbots goes beyond standard SEO practices. It involves a strategic blend of content optimization, data structuring, and leveraging open datasets. In this guide, we'll walk you through the essential steps to make sure your site is not just seen but actively referenced by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, unlocking new avenues of visibility and engagement for your digital presence.

Understanding AI-Powered Indexing

First, it’s important to understand what AI indexing really means and how it works. AI indexing is a process where AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity gather and interpret information from various online sources to provide accurate and relevant responses to user queries. Unlike traditional search engines that rank pages based primarily on keywords and backlinks, AI chatbots rely heavily on natural language understanding and context. They also don’t always follow the rules that we have been told to adhere to—for example, Perplexity may not always consider robots.txt and the restrictions site owners put in place (though, they did refute that point here).

These models are trained to deliver concise answers or engage in conversations based on data they have indexed. This makes getting your website content into their data stream crucial for reaching users who prefer these more conversational approaches to finding information. It also creates an ethical dilemma for site owners who may or may not want their information to be considered.

While we chose these three systems for the purposes of this post, remember that there are many other companies doing the same thing, indexing the world’s data. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is reportedly investing heavily in AI and data crawling. X (formerly known as Twitter) is doing the same with their AI systems, and Facebook (now Meta) is a leader in AI. It pays for you to be ahead of the game and do as much as you can to maximize your data exposure—if that’s what you want to do.

ChatGPT vs. Perplexity vs. Gemini: Key Differences

ChatGPT by OpenAI is built on a static dataset, drawing from a wide range of publicly available and licensed sources like web pages, books, and technical documentation. While this makes ChatGPT highly capable of generating detailed and context-rich responses, it doesn't have the ability to access real-time data on its own. Unless integrated with specific plugins or tools designed for live data retrieval, its knowledge is limited to the last training update. OpenAI is, however, actively exploring ways to enhance ChatGPT with real-time search capabilities, which could allow it to fetch up-to-date information during user interactions in the near future.

Perplexity AI, in contrast, is designed to function with real-time search capabilities. It actively browses the web to pull in the most current information available, making it much more dynamic in responding to queries with up-to-date content. Perplexity operates more like a traditional search engine, delivering answers based on live data and allowing users to get accurate, fresh results in a way that closely mirrors the experience of using Google or other search platforms. Important to note, however, is that Perplexity is using its own index and crawler (PerplexityBot) and not relying on Google or another third party.

Gemini, developed by Google DeepMind, is an upcoming AI model that aims to combine the strengths of advanced conversational AI with Google’s powerful search engine infrastructure. While not publicly available yet, it is expected to perform real-time web searches, leveraging Google's vast ecosystem of data and search capabilities to deliver not only the most recent information but also highly relevant and contextually aware results1. This integration could allow Gemini to provide users with comprehensive answers that draw from the latest data available on the web, positioning it as a potential leader in real-time, AI-driven information retrieval.

But how do we optimize our site for each of these systems? Well, by doing a lot of the same things that we were always told to do, with a couple of tweaks depending on what you are targeting. Let’s look at them one by one.

Best Practices to Get Indexed in ChatGPT

Optimizing Content for AI Training Datasets
AI chatbots prioritize content that is informative, engaging, and written in natural language. Focus on creating high-quality articles, guides, and resources that answer common questions or delve deeply into your niche. The more relevant and human-like your content is, the more likely it will be utilized by AI models in their training datasets.

Ensuring Accessibility to Web Crawlers
To get your website's information included in AI training datasets like those used by OpenAI, ensure your site is accessible to web crawlers such as those used by Common Crawl. Check your robots.txt file to make sure you're not inadvertently blocking these crawlers, even if we are unsure how they handle those directives.

Using Structured Data and Schema Markup
Implementing structured data (like schema markup) on your website helps AI models understand the context and structure of your content. By using standardized formats such as FAQ schema, review schema, or article schema, you make it easier for AI models to parse and index your information accurately.

Staying Updated with OpenAI Developments
Although OpenAI doesn't have a direct submission method for content yet, it's essential to stay updated on their announcements. OpenAI could develop a way for website owners to submit their sites directly in the future, making it even easier to get your content indexed.

Steps to Get Indexed in Perplexity

Focusing on Relevant, Answer-Oriented Content
Perplexity prioritizes content that directly answers specific questions. When creating content, think about common questions in your industry and craft clear, concise responses that address these queries. This format aligns well with Perplexity's goal of delivering precise information quickly.

Ensuring Site Accessibility to PerplexityBot
Make sure your website allows access to Perplexity's crawler, PerplexityBot. Check your robots.txt file and ensure that you're not blocking this bot, so your content can be indexed.

Ensuring Fast and Mobile-Optimized Site Performance
AI chatbots consider not only the quality of your content but also how quickly it loads and how mobile-friendly it is. Ensuring your website is optimized for speed and accessibility on all devices will improve your chances of being used as a source by Perplexity.

Building Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are still essential when it comes to establishing content authority. The more reputable sites that link to your content, the higher its perceived value, which can influence how AI chatbots like Perplexity utilize your information.

Steps to Prepare for Gemini

Focusing on Google’s Core Web Vitals and SEO Best Practices
Gemini will likely rely heavily on Google's search engine infrastructure, so it’s logical to start with Google’s Core Web Vitals, which emphasize page load speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Just don't obsess over it! Ensuring your site meets these standards will improve its performance and user experience, making it more appealing to Gemini's AI-driven analysis. Mobile-friendliness and responsive design are also key, as Gemini will cater to users across a variety of devices.

Creating High-Quality, Structured Content
Implementing structured data (schema markup) on your website plays a significant role in how Gemini will understand your content. Using schema markup allows you to clearly define the type of information you provide, such as articles, reviews, FAQs, or product listings. This helps Gemini’s AI parse and present your content accurately in response to user queries, increasing the likelihood that your site will be featured in its answers.

Optimizing for Answer-Oriented Content
Gemini, like other AI chatbots, will prioritize concise, relevant answers that can be delivered in a conversational manner. Focus on creating content that directly addresses common questions in your industry. Developing well-structured FAQs, guides, and how-to articles will make it easier for Gemini to extract and utilize your data in its AI-driven conversations, aligning with the way users naturally phrase their queries.

Leveraging Google’s Knowledge Graph
Integrating your content with Google’s Knowledge Graph can significantly enhance your site’s visibility within Gemini. By optimizing your content around recognized entities (such as people, places, or products) tracked by Google’s Knowledge Graph, you make your information more accessible to AI models. Clearly linking your data to these entities strengthens your content’s relevance and authority, increasing the chances that Gemini will pull your data for its responses.

Building a Strong Backlink Profile
Quality backlinks remain crucial for establishing the authority of your website. The more reputable sites that link back to your content, the higher its credibility in the eyes of Gemini and other AI systems. A strong backlink profile not only boosts your visibility in traditional Google search results but also signals to Gemini that your site is a reliable source of valuable information. This improves your chances of being referenced by the AI in its responses.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

While AI indexing presents significant opportunities to expand your reach, it also comes with challenges that require careful consideration, particularly around data privacy and content management. As mentioned, a key issue to keep in mind is that AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini may not always respect your website’s robots.txt file or other directives that traditionally limit crawlers from indexing specific content. This means that once these AI systems consume your data, it could potentially remain in their datasets indefinitely, even if you later update or remove that content from your site.

Data Privacy becomes a critical concern in this context. It’s essential to be cautious about the type of information you make publicly accessible. Avoid sharing sensitive or proprietary data that you don’t want to be permanently stored in AI training datasets. Make sure that any data you choose to share complies with all relevant privacy regulations, like GDPR or CCPA7, to avoid unintended breaches of user privacy.

Content Relevance is another important aspect to manage. AI-driven systems rely heavily on the context and accuracy of the information they gather, so keeping your content up-to-date is crucial. Regularly refresh your website with the latest information to ensure that the data consumed by AI models remains relevant and aligned with current trends. Outdated or inaccurate content can lead to your site being overlooked or, worse, misrepresented by these AI systems in their responses.

Future of AI Indexing and Website Visibility

AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity are continuously evolving, and their influence on online search is only set to grow14. As these models become more sophisticated, they will rely more on comprehensive and contextually relevant data sources. Staying ahead in this dynamic landscape means continually optimizing your site for both AI and traditional search engines, ensuring that your content remains at the forefront of information retrieval.

Conclusion

The rise of AI-powered chatbots like Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT is revolutionizing how people search for and interact with online information. These tools provide users with highly relevant, conversational responses, fundamentally shifting the way websites need to think about visibility and content optimization. For businesses, getting indexed by these AI models can open up new channels of engagement, increasing your reach to a broader audience that relies on AI-driven systems for quick answers and deeper insights.

However, succeeding in this space requires more than just traditional SEO practices. It’s essential to understand the unique requirements of each AI platform—whether it’s Gemini's anticipated reliance on Google’s robust infrastructure, Perplexity’s focus on real-time data retrieval, or ChatGPT's dependence on a rich dataset compiled from publicly available content. Equally important is the need to be strategic about what information you share online, knowing that once these AI models index your data, it can remain in their training datasets indefinitely.

By carefully crafting your content to align with AI indexing strategies and staying up-to-date with developments in these technologies, you can maximize your website’s visibility in the AI-driven future of search. As these platforms continue to evolve, being proactive and adaptable will ensure that your site remains a valuable resource not only for traditional search engines but also for the next generation of AI-powered chatbots.