LLM SEO: getting recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot
LLM SEO (sometimes LLMO, or LLM optimization) is generative engine optimization aimed at the assistants outside Google: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Claude and Gemini. They answer by reading the web live, pulling from a small set of sources and cross-checking facts, then naming two or three businesses. At CleanFreak, the online store whose AI referrals we track, ChatGPT sends more visitors than any other assistant, and those visitors buy at more than twice the rate of Google search visitors.
The work is practical: be present on the sites each assistant reads, say the same thing about your business everywhere, and give the models specifics they can quote.
Know what each assistant reads
ChatGPT leans on Bing's index and a set of directories and review sites; Perplexity cites widely and recently; Copilot is Bing with a conversation layer. We check which sources each one draws on for your customers' questions and build presence where it counts, starting with Bing Webmaster Tools, which most businesses have never set up.
Make the facts agree
Assistants decide who to recommend by cross-checking: your site, your Google Business Profile, Bing Places, directories, review sites and social profiles. One wrong category or an old address and you drop out of the answer. We audit every place your business appears and bring it into line.
Earn the mentions, then measure the orders
Unlinked mentions on credible sites carry real weight with the models. We run a steady program of local press, partner and supplier pages, directories and reviews, and we tag the referrals in your analytics so you can see the sessions, inquiries and orders that came from each assistant.
What LLM SEO includes
- Source audit per assistant for your customers' questions
- Bing Webmaster Tools and Bing Places setup
- Entity cleanup across profiles, directories and review sites
- Quotable specifics added to your key pages
- A mentions program on the sites AI tools read
- llms.txt and structured data that match the page
- AI referral tracking tied to inquiries and orders
Frequently Asked Questions About LLM SEO
How do I rank in ChatGPT?
There's nothing to buy or submit. When ChatGPT searches the web, it names businesses from pages it can find and read, so make sure your site doesn't block OpenAI's search crawler (OAI-SearchBot), say the same thing about your business on every directory and review site in your industry, and publish pages that answer the question plainly with specifics it can quote. The free AI search audit shows where you stand today.
Does ChatGPT actually send customers?
Yes. CleanFreak, an online store we run search for, saw orders from AI assistants grow from 8 in the first half of 2025 to 122 in the six months to September 2026, about 15 times as many, and those visitors buy at more than twice the rate of Google search visitors.
Is llms.txt worth adding?
It costs nothing and some crawlers read it, so we add one. It isn't what moves results; the content, the consistency and the mentions are.
Can you block AI crawlers instead?
You can, and for some publishers that makes sense. For a business that wants to be recommended, blocking the crawler removes you from the answer.