How Do I Get My Business Found on ChatGPT and AI Search? A Fix List for Scottsdale Businesses
Magic in the Madness | October 21, 2026
To get your business found on ChatGPT and AI search, start with the fixes that let these tools read and trust what you publish: open your website to the right crawlers, keep your Google Business Profile current, use the same business details everywhere, and build pages that answer customer questions directly. Here is the fix list we use for businesses in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and the East Valley, in the order we usually tackle it.
Not sure where you stand yet? Run the prompts in our earlier post, What Does ChatGPT Say About Your Business?, then come back here to fix what you find. For the bigger strategy picture, see How Can I Improve My Business's Visibility in AI Driven Search Results? This post is the hands on version.
Fix 1: Can AI Crawlers Actually Reach Your Website?
If a crawler cannot reach your site, nothing else on this list matters. Each company publishes its own rules, so here is what they say.
ChatGPT: OAI-SearchBot
OpenAI's crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in ChatGPT's search features. Sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as navigational links. OpenAI recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot in your robots.txt file and allowing requests from its published IP ranges. It also notes it can take about 24 hours after a robots.txt update for its systems to adjust.
GPTBot is a separate OpenAI crawler used for training. The two settings are independent, so you can allow OAI-SearchBot for search and still block GPTBot if you prefer.
Perplexity: PerplexityBot
Perplexity's crawler documentation says PerplexityBot is designed to surface and link websites in Perplexity search results and is not used to crawl content for AI foundation models. Perplexity recommends allowing PerplexityBot in robots.txt and permitting requests from its published IP ranges, and says changes may take up to 24 hours to take effect.
Google: Googlebot and Google-Extended
Google's guide to AI features and your website says AI Overviews and AI Mode use the same SEO fundamentals as the rest of Google Search, starting with allowing crawling in robots.txt and by any CDN or hosting infrastructure.
Google-Extended is the one that confuses people. Google's crawler documentation says it controls whether your content may be used for training Gemini models and for grounding in Gemini Apps, and that it does not affect inclusion in Google Search. So blocking Google-Extended does not take you out of AI Overviews or AI Mode. For Google Search, including its AI features, Googlebot access is what matters.
Hosting, CDN, and Security Settings
This is the sneaky one. A robots.txt file can say "welcome" while a firewall, bot protection setting, or CDN rule quietly blocks the same crawler. That is why OpenAI and Perplexity both point to their published IP ranges, and why Google mentions CDN and hosting infrastructure by name. If a developer set up security on your site years ago, ask what it blocks.
What to do: Open yoursite.com/robots.txt. Make sure Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot, and PerplexityBot are not blocked unless you chose that on purpose, then confirm your hosting and security tools are not blocking them either.
Fix 2: Is Your Google Business Profile Up to Date?
Google's own list of recommendations for AI features includes checking that your Business Profile information is up to date. For a local business, this is one of the most important listings you have.
Review your business name, primary and secondary categories, phone number, website link, hours (including holiday hours), service areas, and services. Add real photos of your work, your team, and your location if customers visit you. Asking happy customers for reviews and responding to the reviews you get is standard local SEO practice, and it gives anyone reading your profile, human or machine, more current information about you.
Fix 3: Do Your Business Details Match Everywhere?
Keeping your name, address, phone number, and website identical across your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, the Chamber directory, and industry listings is standard local SEO practice. When an old phone number or past address lives on in a forgotten directory, you are giving every search tool two versions of the truth.
What to do: Search your business name plus your old phone number or old address. Every listing that shows up with outdated details goes on your fix list. Mentions of your business on trusted local sites, like a Chamber member page or a local news story, are worth earning too, as long as the details are correct.
Fix 4: Do Your Pages Answer Questions First?
AI tools quote clear answers. If a customer asks, "Do you install monument signs in Mesa?" and your page buries the answer in paragraph six, a tool has to work much harder to find it, if it finds it at all.
Here is what answer first looks like in practice:
- One page per main service. Name the service, who it is for, and the areas you serve in the first two sentences.
- Put the answer first. Open each section with a one or two sentence answer, then explain.
- Use the questions customers ask as headings. The ones you hear on the phone every week are the right ones.
- Add a real FAQ. Short, direct, honest answers, including "it depends" when that is the truth.
- Keep important content in text. Google specifically recommends making important content available in textual form, so do not hide your service list inside an image.
A homepage that says "Welcome! We are passionate about excellence" tells nobody anything. "We design and install commercial signs for businesses in Scottsdale and Phoenix" tells people and machines exactly who you are.
Fix 5: What Schema Do You Actually Need?
Here is the honest answer. Google says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that you do not need new machine readable files, AI text files, or special schema.org markup.
Schema is still useful for describing your business and content in standard search, and Google's one firm rule for AI features is that your structured data should match the visible text on the page. Basic LocalBusiness or Organization markup with your real name, phone, and address, plus FAQ markup that matches your FAQ word for word, is plenty. Anyone selling a secret "AI schema" is selling something Google says you do not need.
Want a second set of eyes on all of this? Our free Website Visibility Audit gives you a full report on your website, almost like a report card, so you can see what is helping you get found and what is holding you back.
What Should You Fix First?
If you only have an afternoon, work in this order:
- Crawler access. Check robots.txt and security settings. If crawlers are blocked, nothing else on this list can help.
- Google Business Profile. Correct hours, categories, phone, and services.
- Business details everywhere. Clean up old phone numbers and addresses.
- Service pages. Make each main service clear, specific, and local.
- FAQs and answer first content. Add the questions customers really ask.
- Schema that matches the page. Accurate, basic, and honest.
- Track leads. Watch calls and form fills, not just traffic. Our post on why a website gets traffic but no leads covers what to look at next.
Do These Fixes Lead to Real Results?
Visibility work should lead to leads, not just pretty reports. For Phoenix Sign Studio, website form submissions increased from 13 to 83, a 538.5 percent increase, from December 2024 to May 2026. In Mesa, Power Road Farmers Market gained 1,307 additional customers during five consecutive months of positive growth through an AI supported social media strategy. You can read both stories on our Real Results page.
Every business is different, and no agency can guarantee placement in AI generated answers. What we can do is make your business easier to find, easier to understand, easier to trust, and easier to contact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pay ChatGPT or Google to recommend my business in AI answers?
Not in the organic answer. Google and ChatGPT both offer ads. Google says ads can appear above, below, or within AI Overviews, and OpenAI uses OAI-AdsBot to review landing pages submitted as ChatGPT ads. Those ads are separate from the organic answers, and inclusion in organic AI answers is never guaranteed.
Will blocking GPTBot keep my business out of ChatGPT search?
No. OpenAI says OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot are independent. OAI-SearchBot is the one used for ChatGPT search, and GPTBot is used for training, so you can block GPTBot and still allow OAI-SearchBot.
Does blocking Google-Extended remove me from AI Overviews?
No. Google says Google-Extended does not affect inclusion in Google Search. AI Overviews and AI Mode are part of Google Search, so Googlebot access is what counts there.
Do I need special schema to show up in Google AI Overviews?
No. Google says you do not need new machine readable files, AI text files, or special schema.org markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. If you use structured data, it should match the visible text on the page.
How long does it take to get found on ChatGPT and AI search?
It depends on your market, your competition, and where you are starting from. OpenAI and Perplexity both say crawler setting changes can take about 24 hours to take effect. Building helpful content that gets cited usually takes consistent work over time.
Ready to Get Your Business Found on ChatGPT and AI Search?
You do not have to work through this list alone. Our free Website Visibility Audit gives you a full report on your website, almost like a report card, so you know exactly what to fix first. If you already know AI visibility is the gap, see how our AI Optimization services work.
Request your free Website Visibility Audit or book a strategy call. You can also reach us at 480-389-6456 or info@givemepixiedust.com.
Let's make your business easier to find, easier to trust, and easier to contact.