Improve AI visibility by making your pages eligible to be discovered, extracted, and trusted by modern search experiences, especially Google AI Overviews/AI Mode and ChatGPT search. For Google, there are no special AI optimizations beyond standard SEO: your page must be indexed and snippet-eligible, and then quality and usefulness determine whether it gets selected.
Try CustomGPT with the 7-day free trial to test visibility fixes.
TL;DR
Make your key pages indexable and snippet-eligible, put the best direct answer near the top, improve internal linking and text clarity, use structured data only when it matches visible content, and configure crawler/snippet controls so you don’t accidentally block discovery or reuse. Measure progress in Search Console (Web) and iterate weekly.
Run an indexability audit on your top 10 revenue pages today.
What “AI Visibility” Means
“Visibility” Usually Means One of These
- Being discoverable (crawlers can fetch your content)
- Being eligible (your page can be indexed/shown with a snippet)
- Being selected/cited (the system chooses your page as a supporting link or reference)
Visibility ≠ Training
You can often allow discovery without allowing model training:
- OpenAI documents separate controls for OAI-SearchBot (search) and GPTBot (training), and each setting is independent.
- Google documents Google-Extended as a robots.txt token used to control Gemini training/grounding usage, and states it does not affect Google Search inclusion or ranking.
The Non-Negotiable Eligibility Rules
To be eligible to appear as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, Google states a page must be:
- Indexed, and
- Eligible to be shown with a snippet in Google Search
…and Google states there are no additional technical requirements beyond that.
Also: even if you meet requirements, indexing/serving isn’t guaranteed.
How to Improve AI Visibility
1) Confirm Your “Money Pages” Are Indexable and Fetchable
Check:
- Accidental noindex
- robots.txt blocks (and whether your CDN/WAF blocks crawlers)
- Pages hidden behind logins or paywalls (for discovery, the crawler must be able to fetch content)
Why this matters: Google explicitly frames AI feature inclusion around standard Search technical eligibility.
Standards note: robots.txt behavior is standardized in the Robots Exclusion Protocol.
2) Make the Best Answer Obvious in the First Screen
Add a short “answer-first” paragraph near the top:
- 40–70 words
- Includes definitions, constraints, and the next step
Then expand with steps, examples, and edge cases.
Google explicitly calls out making important content available in textual form as a best practice.
3) Turn Your Page Into Extractable Chunks
Rewrite vague headings into descriptive structure:
- Use clear H2/H3s
- Keep paragraphs short
- Convert procedures into numbered steps
- Add “Common Mistakes” and “Edge Cases” sections
This improves extraction reliability for both humans and automated systems.
4) Build Internal Links Like You’re Designing a Map
Create a hub page per topic and link:
- Hub → supporting pages
- Supporting pages → hub (contextual “Also See”)
Google explicitly recommends making content easily findable through internal links.
5) Use Structured Data Only When It Matches Visible Content
If you add schema:
- Ensure it reflects what users can actually see
- Keep it consistent across templates
Google explicitly calls out: structured data should match the visible text.
6) Control Snippets and AI “Direct Input” Without De-Indexing
If you need to limit what can be reused in snippets/AI answers, use snippet controls surgically instead of blanket blocking.
Google’s robots meta tag specification states:
- nosnippet applies to AI Overviews and AI Mode and prevents use as direct input
- max-snippet applies to AI Overviews and AI Mode and limits how much may be used as direct input
For Bing, Microsoft documents data-nosnippet as controlling what appears in Bing Search snippets and AI-generated answers while keeping content indexed.
7) Set Your AI Crawler Policy
- ChatGPT search discovery: allow OAI-SearchBot
- Opt out of OpenAI training: disallow GPTBot
OpenAI explicitly describes these as independent controls.
If you want to manage Google’s Gemini training/grounding usage separately, use Google-Extended (without affecting Search inclusion/ranking).
Measure Results in 4–8 Weeks
Google: Measure AI Feature Traffic Correctly
Google states sites appearing in AI features are included in overall Search traffic in Search Console, and reported in the Performance report under the “Web” search type.
Practical Weekly Loop
- Pick 10 priority pages (revenue + high-intent)
- Verify indexability/snippet eligibility (no accidental noindex/nosnippet)
- Add/repair answer-first blocks + internal links
- Re-check Search Console performance trendlines weekly
- Expand into supporting pages based on new queries and gaps
Common Mistakes That Quietly Kill AI Visibility
- Accidentally suppressing snippets sitewide (nosnippet, overly strict max-snippet)
- Blocking crawlers at the CDN/WAF layer while robots.txt looks fine
- Answer buried under UI tabs, accordions, or client-rendered JS with weak text fallback
- Schema that doesn’t match visible page content (ignored at best; trust hit at worst)
How to Operationalize This With CustomGPT
This won’t “force” platforms to cite you. It helps you find what users ask, locate content gaps, and verify retrieval with citations on your own property.
Create an Agent From Your Website
Use CustomGPT’s website ingestion flow: New Agent → Website → enter a URL or sitemap.
Enable Citations So Answers Stay Source-Backed
Turn on citation behavior so outputs point to the exact source pages.
Embed the Agent Where Intent Is Highest
Deploy the agent on relevant pages (docs, pricing, product, help center) so you capture real questions.
Use Analytics to Find “Missing Content” Topics
Monitor prompts and “Latest Missing Content” to decide what to publish next.
Quick Pilot Option (If You Need a Short Trial Run)
CustomGPT’s pricing page documents a Free Trial period (use it to validate the workflow on a small page set first).
Conclusion
Improving AI search visibility comes down to crawlability, indexability, snippet eligibility, and answer-first structure.
Next Step: CustomGPT.ai helps test retrieval and keep source-cited answers from your site; the 7-day trial is a simple way to validate the workflow.
FAQ
Can I Show Up in ChatGPT Search Without Allowing OpenAI Training?
Yes. OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot (used for ChatGPT search) separately from GPTBot (used for training), and states the settings are independent. Allow OAI-SearchBot for discovery, and disallow GPTBot if you want to indicate your content shouldn’t be used for training.
Do I Need Special Schema to Appear in Google AI Overviews or AI Mode?
No. Google states there are no additional requirements or special optimizations to appear in AI Overviews/AI Mode beyond normal SEO and technical eligibility. Use structured data only where it’s accurate and matches visible content.
How Do I Know If AI Overviews or AI Mode Are Driving Clicks to My Site?
Google states AI features traffic is included in Search Console’s overall Search traffic and appears in the Performance report, under the “Web” search type. Track your priority pages weekly and look for correlated lifts after you improve indexability, answer blocks, and internal linking.
How Can CustomGPT Help Me Find Which Pages to Create Next?
CustomGPT’s analytics view shows Latest Prompts and Latest Missing Content, which you can translate into new FAQs or supporting pages around your hub topics. The goal is to publish answer-first sections that are easier to extract and internally linked back to the main hub.
Is There a Low-Risk Way to Test This Before Updating My Whole Site?
Yes: run a small pilot on 5–10 high-intent pages. Build a website-based agent, enable citations, embed it on one key page, and use the “missing content” list to prioritize edits. CustomGPT documents a Free Trial period so you can validate the workflow before scaling.