Getting found when people ask ChatGPT instead of Google

Ranking well on Google no longer guarantees being mentioned by an AI assistant. Studies through 2026 put the overlap between ChatGPT citations and Google's top ten at around 12%. Being quoted needs its own work: clear direct answers, a readable site, and a presence in the places these systems actually read.

Write answers, not build-ups

Put the answer in the first forty to sixty words under each heading, complete enough to stand alone if lifted. An assistant reassembling an answer takes passages that already are answers. A paragraph that spends three sentences setting up context gets skipped.

Be readable in the first place

The same trap applies as with search engines. If your words only appear after a browser has assembled the page, many crawlers will not see them. Check the page source for your own headline before doing anything else, because everything below this depends on passing that test.

Where these systems actually look

• Forums and communities, heavily. Reddit appears in a large share of AI-generated answers about software.
• Review and comparison sites.
• Your own pages, if they answer the question directly and are readable.
• Anywhere original data lives, because a number nobody else has gets cited disproportionately.

What not to bother with

Keyword stuffing, which never worked, and services promising guaranteed AI citations, which cannot deliver. The durable version is unglamorous: answer real questions clearly, be readable, and be present where people genuinely discuss the subject.