Get found on Google and in AI answers

A free guide for people who run a website and have better things to do than learn jargon.

It's written so that anyone can follow it. When a technical word can't be avoided, it links to the glossary, where it's explained in everyday language. And every time we say how Google or an AI service behaves, we link the page that says so. Where we found no published answer, we tell you that too, and show you what we searched.

Three things that get a website found

1. Let them in. Google reads websites with programs called crawlers (Google, Dec 2025), and so do AI companies such as OpenAI (OpenAI). Turn them away and some services say plainly that you won't be shown in their answers: sites that block OpenAI's search crawler "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers", though they "can still appear as navigational links" (OpenAI). → AI crawlers

2. Say clearly what you do. Google's AI answers are built on its normal search: the best practices for SEO "continue to be relevant", because these features are "rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems" (Google, Jul 2026). So we suggest you start where you always would: clear pages about what you do, where, and for whom. Work aimed at AI answers has its own names, such as GEO. → SEO basics, GEO

3. Show who you are. Google asks its reviewers to look for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, which it calls E-E-A-T. Of the four, "trust is most important" (Google, Oct 2026). → E-E-A-T

Start with your question

• How does ChatGPT decide what to say about my business? → How AI answers work
• Why doesn't it mention us at all? → Why AI doesn't mention you
• How long until a new site shows up? → How long it takes
• Should I block AI from reading my site? → AI crawlers
• Do I need an llms.txt file? → llms.txt
• Does special markup (structured data) help? → Structured data and FAQs
• What should I check, in one list? → AI SEO checklist
• How is my site doing right now? → Check your site, with free tests you can run yourself

How this guide keeps itself honest

• Every claim has a source. When we say what Google or an AI does, the link goes to the page that says so, and the date beside it is the date that page gives.
• We say when we found no source. Then you'll read we found no published …, with a link to what we searched and when.
• Our opinions are marked as advice. You'll recognise them by "we suggest".
• Every page shows when we last checked it. Mistakes go into a public list of corrections on the About page.

Questions

Is SEO dead now that AI answers questions? Not according to Google. Asked whether SEO is still relevant for AI search, its own guide answers: "In short, yes!" (Google, Jul 2026).

Do I need special tricks for AI? For Google, no. Its guide lists things you can ignore, among them llms.txt files and "Rewriting content just for AI systems" (Google, Jul 2026). For the other AI services, each page of this guide says what each company publishes.

Who writes this? Daniel Melter, with an AI assistant helping with research and drafts. Every source is checked by opening the page itself. More on the About page.

Is this guide selling something? It's published by Croftweaver, an open-source toolkit for building small-business websites with an AI assistant. The guide stands on its own: everything here works whatever you build your site with. Where a test ends with something to fix, one line says that Croftweaver can help.

Checked on 3 November 2026.