In short
- Per OpenAI's October 2026 documentation, any public website can appear in ChatGPT search; sites opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in search answers, though they can still appear as navigational links.
- A December 2024 Vercel and MERJ study found OAI-SearchBot does not render JavaScript, so put core copy in the initial HTML.
- In FoundByChat's October 2026 study of 218 answers, ChatGPT cited 10.3% of retrieved web results and averaged 2.2 different URLs per answer.
- Our October 2026 local tests found plumbers on cited pages had 3.3 times the odds of being named, and dentists had 2.1 times the odds.
If your public site is missing, check its search access and content.
1. OAI-SearchBot is blocked in robots.txt or by your firewall
Sites opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as navigational links. OpenAI's October 2026 documentation states that OAI-SearchBot surfaces websites in ChatGPT search, and opted-out sites are excluded from search answers (though they can appear as navigational links). If a blocked URL is learned from a third-party search provider, it may still show as a bare link and title unless a crawler-readable noindex tag is present.
Bot settings are independent, so you can block AI training while allowing search. If you allow both OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot, OpenAI may use a single crawl for both.
| Bot name | User agent string | Role in ChatGPT | Published IP list |
|---|---|---|---|
| OAI-SearchBot | OAI-SearchBot/1.4; +https://openai.com/searchbot | Surfaces sites in ChatGPT search results | openai.com/searchbot.json |
| GPTBot | GPTBot/1.4; +https://openai.com/gptbot | Crawls content for training foundation models | openai.com/gptbot.json |
| ChatGPT-User | ChatGPT-User/1.0; +https://openai.com/bot | Handles user actions in ChatGPT and Custom GPTs | openai.com/chatgpt-user.json |
| OAI-AdsBot | OAI-AdsBot/1.0 | Checks safety of pages submitted as ChatGPT ads | openai.com/adsbot.json |
How to check and fix it
Run our free GEO audit (no account needed, 5 audits a day) to test page response, bot protection, and robots.txt rules for OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, and ChatGPT-User. Allow OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt and whitelist the IPs at openai.com/searchbot.json. Per OpenAI, after a robots.txt change it can take about 24 hours for ChatGPT search to adjust.
2. Your page content only renders with JavaScript
If your page relies on client-side JavaScript to render its text, the Vercel and MERJ study found that OAI-SearchBot does not run that JavaScript. In December 2024, Vercel and MERJ analyzed AI crawler traffic and found that no major AI crawlers render JavaScript, naming OpenAI (OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, GPTBot), Anthropic (ClaudeBot), Meta, ByteDance, and Perplexity. They download .js files without running them (11.50% of ChatGPT's requests and 23.84% of Claude's went to .js files).
While Google's Gemini uses Googlebot (which renders JavaScript) and Applebot renders via a browser, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity publish no statement on JavaScript execution.
How to check and fix it
Run the free GEO audit to check your HTML text without JavaScript. Move core pages to server-side rendering (SSR) or static HTML so headings, copy, meta descriptions, and JSON-LD arrive in the initial response.
3. You have no page that answers the exact question and ranks early
In FoundByChat's study, lower search positions had lower citation rates. In FoundByChat's October 2026 study of 218 ChatGPT answers with web search, position 1 of ChatGPT's first search was cited 55.5% of the time (95% confidence interval 49.1 to 61.9%). Citation rates dropped quickly for lower positions:
- Position 1: 55.5% cited
- Position 2: 34.9% cited
- Position 3: 27.5% cited
- Positions 4 and 5: 14.4% cited
- Positions 6 to 10: 8.1% cited
- Positions 11 to 15: 2.4% cited
- Position 16 and lower: 0.4% cited
Read more in our guides on how ChatGPT search works and ChatGPT citations.
How to check and fix it
Check your "Found" status and usual search position in FoundByChat. Build a dedicated page for each customer question with a matching title and H1.
4. Your facts are buried below menus, cookie banners, and intros
ChatGPT's search keeps a snippet of about 200 characters, and the GEO audit checks for menu or cookie text leaking into it. Check whether menu or cookie text leaks into the snippet, and put key facts in the opening sentence.
How to check and fix it
Run your URL through the free GEO audit. It fetches your page with the OAI-SearchBot user agent, rebuilds the title and ~200-character snippet, checks if menu or cookie text leaks in, evaluates your opening sentence and front-loaded facts, and returns a score out of 100 with a letter grade. Put a direct opening sentence with key facts right after the H1.
5. Your business is not listed on the third-party pages ChatGPT cites
In FoundByChat's October 2026 local tests, businesses listed on cited pages were more likely to be named: plumbers had 3.3 times the odds and dentists had 2.1 times the odds, while the 1.6 times lift for agencies was not statistically significant.
Not every retrieved site gets cited. In our 218-answer study, Reddit made up 28% of retrieved web results, but only 2 of the 2,462 citations. Read our guide on how to get recommended by ChatGPT.
How to check and fix it
Run target customer questions in ChatGPT with web search on, inspect the cited URLs, and get listed on those directories and comparison pages.
6. You are judging from a single manual check
A single manual check does not establish a trend in whether your business shows up. In FoundByChat's October 2026 repeated runs, two runs of the same question overlapped by 74 to 83%, and 28 to 38% of what ChatGPT returned changed day to day. One check is noise; a trend over many checks is signal.
How to check and fix it
Add your website and customer questions to FoundByChat, free to start with Google or an email link (no password or credit card). FoundByChat asks ChatGPT those questions with web search on every 2 hours as a user in the United States (English) or the Netherlands (Dutch), records whether your pages were "Found" or "Cited" and their usual position, lists your "Pages in ChatGPT's index" with the stored title and snippet, and emails you on "New in the index", "Snippet changed", or "No search results" (three checks in a row). OpenAI notes that ChatGPT referrals carry utm_source=chatgpt.com. See how to track ChatGPT traffic in GA4.
FOUNDBYCHAT
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Questions
Does blocking GPTBot stop my business from showing up in ChatGPT search?
No. According to OpenAI's October 2026 documentation, GPTBot crawls content for training foundation models, whereas OAI-SearchBot surfaces websites in ChatGPT's search features. The bot settings are independent, so disallowing GPTBot opts out of training while still allowing OAI-SearchBot to include your pages in search answers.
Does ChatGPT-User control whether my site is indexed in ChatGPT search?
No. OpenAI's October 2026 documentation states that ChatGPT-User handles user actions in ChatGPT and Custom GPTs, does not crawl the web automatically, and is not used to decide whether content appears in Search. As Search Engine Journal reported in August 2026, OpenAI notes that because ChatGPT-User actions are initiated by a user, robots.txt rules may not apply.
How long does it take for a robots.txt change to take effect in ChatGPT?
According to OpenAI's October 2026 documentation, after you update robots.txt it can take about 24 hours for ChatGPT search to adjust. OpenAI's publisher FAQ says a crawler-readable noindex tag prevents a URL blocked in robots.txt but learned from a third-party search provider from showing as a bare link and page title.
Do I need to allow another bot if I run ChatGPT ads?
Yes. According to OpenAI's October 19, 2026 advertiser guidance, OAI-AdsBot (OAI-AdsBot/1.0) checks the safety of pages submitted as ChatGPT ads and is not used to train models. Advertisers must allow OAI-AdsBot, and OpenAI recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot.
What search engines does FoundByChat check?
FoundByChat checks ChatGPT search only.
Sources
- OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI Crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, ChatGPT-User)
- OpenAI Help Center: Publishers and Developers FAQ
- OpenAI Help Center: Advertiser Guidance for Allowing OpenAI Web Crawlers
- Search Engine Journal: OpenAI Says Robots.txt May Not Apply To ChatGPT's Fetch Bot
- Vercel and MERJ: The Rise of the AI Crawler