You've asked ChatGPT about your category. Competitors show up. You don't. You've tried updating your website. Still nothing. It feels like shouting into a void.
Here's the thing: ChatGPT isn't ignoring you on purpose. It genuinely doesn't know you exist. Or it knows you exist but isn't confident enough to recommend you.
Both problems have the same fix.
TL;DR
- LLMs recommend brands they're confident about. Confidence comes from consistent, authoritative presence across the web.
- Your website alone isn't enough. You need mentions in sources ChatGPT trusts.
- Focus on entity consistency first, authority building second, content optimization third.
- Timeline: 60-180 days depending on your starting point and target platform.
Why LLMs Ignore Companies
ChatGPT doesn't browse the web in real-time. It learned about the world during training. If you weren't mentioned enough in its training data, you don't exist in its world.
Even if you were mentioned, ChatGPT needs confidence to recommend you. Confidence comes from:
- • Mentioned in multiple authoritative sources
- • Consistent information everywhere
- • Clear category and positioning
- • Named in industry publications
- • Strong backlink profile
- • Only mentioned on own website
- • Conflicting info across sources
- • Unclear what you actually do
- • No third-party validation
- • New or thin web presence
If ChatGPT isn't confident about you, it won't risk recommending you. It'll stick with brands it knows for sure.
The technical infrastructure also matters. AI systems need clear signals to discover and understand your company. This is where most companies have a gap:
Most companies have an XML sitemap (discovery) but are missing the context layer (llms.txt) and semantic depth layer (LLM Sitemap) that help AI truly understand what you do and cite you accurately.
The Practical Playbook
These are the tactics that actually work. In order of impact.
1Fix Your Entity Consistency
Your company name, description, and key facts should be identical everywhere. Website, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, G2, AngelList, GitHub, everywhere.
ChatGPT cross-references sources. If your website says 'AI-powered analytics platform' and G2 says 'business intelligence tool,' it gets confused. Confusion kills confidence.
2Get Mentioned in Authoritative Sources
This is the real work. ChatGPT trusts publications, industry sites, and established platforms more than your own website. You need to be mentioned there.
PR coverage, guest posts on industry blogs, podcast appearances, quotes in articles. Every mention is a vote of confidence that ChatGPT learns from.
3Create Extractable Content
LLMs love content they can easily parse. Lists, tables, clear definitions, FAQ sections. Structure your key pages so the important facts are obvious.
Instead of burying your pricing in paragraphs, put it in a clear table. Instead of describing features in prose, use structured lists with specific capabilities.
[Company] is a [category] that helps [ICP] achieve [outcome]. Key features: [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3]. Pricing starts at [price] for [tier].4Add Schema Markup
Schema markup is structured data that helps machines understand your content. Organization schema, Product schema, FAQ schema. It's not magic, but it removes ambiguity.
At minimum: Organization schema on your homepage with name, description, URL, logo, and social profiles. Product or Service schema on your main offering pages.
5Build Topical Authority
Don't try to rank for everything. Own your niche first. Create comprehensive content about your specific category. Become the definitive source for your corner of the market.
If you're a SIEM for fintech, create the best content about SIEM for fintech. Comparison pages, buyer's guides, technical deep-dives. Make it impossible for ChatGPT to discuss your niche without knowing about you.
6Add an llms.txt File
This is a new standard. A simple text file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that tells AI crawlers what your company does, who it's for, and what's important.
It's not widely adopted yet, but early movers get indexed first. Takes 30 minutes to create.
# [Company Name]
> [One-line description]
[Company] is a [category] for [ICP]. We help [outcome].
## Key Features
- [Feature 1]
- [Feature 2]
- [Feature 3]
## Links
- [Documentation](/docs)
- [Pricing](/pricing)
- [About](/about)7Create an LLM Sitemap
Go beyond llms.txt with a full LLM Sitemap that provides semantic context for all your content. Pillar pages, clusters, cross-links, and first-person FAQs.
While llms.txt is a summary, an LLM Sitemap is your complete content architecture exposed in a way AI can understand. Especially important for content-heavy sites.
8Update Third-Party Profiles
G2, Capterra, Crunchbase, LinkedIn Company Page, Wikipedia (if eligible), industry directories. These are high-authority sources that ChatGPT definitely knows about.
Make sure every profile is complete, current, and consistent with your website. Add customer reviews on G2 and Capterra. More reviews = more confidence signals.
Check Your Progress
What Most Companies Get Wrong
They optimize content before building authority. Tweaking your website copy doesn't matter if ChatGPT doesn't trust you as a source. Authority first, optimization second.
They expect immediate results. ChatGPT updates its training periodically, not continuously. Changes take 60-180 days to propagate. This is a long game.
They focus only on ChatGPT. Different LLMs have different training data. Perplexity pulls from the live web. Google's AI Overviews use search data. A multi-platform strategy is essential.
They ignore traditional SEO. Strong SEO signals feed into AI visibility. Backlinks, domain authority, topical relevance. These still matter. Maybe more than ever.
Getting mentioned in ChatGPT isn't a hack. It's the result of building a credible, authoritative presence across the web. The tactics above are the building blocks.
Start with entity consistency. It's low effort, high impact, and everything else builds on it.
Then focus on authority. PR, mentions, backlinks. This is what actually moves the needle. The companies showing up in ChatGPT have been doing this for years. You're playing catch-up, but the gap is closeable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yuval Halevi
Helping SaaS companies and developer tools get cited in AI answers since before it was called "GEO." 10+ years in B2B SEO, 50+ cybersecurity and SaaS tools clients.