AI SEARCH FOR LOCAL BUSINESS.
Customers now ask Google's AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity which business to call. There's no secret trick to get named. Here is what Google and the AI companies actually publish about how their search features find websites, and the checklist that follows from it.
WHAT CHANGED RECENTLY
- Google published an AI optimization guide — Google says there is no separate checklist for AI surfaces.
- Search Console now reports AI Overviews and AI Mode — Impressions and clicks from AI surfaces appear in Performance.
This guide covers what stays true. The blog tracks the changes as they land.
WHAT GOOGLE SAYS
To show as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet.1 Google says there are no additional requirements and no special optimizations needed, and that you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup.1
Instead, Google points to the usual basics: let it crawl your pages, link between them, give visitors a good page experience, keep important content in text, make sure structured data matches the page, and keep your Business Profile information up to date.1
If you want to limit what is shown, Google lists controls such as nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet and noindex.1 Most local businesses want the opposite: to be shown.
CRAWLERS TO KNOW
| Crawler | What its owner says it does | If you block it |
|---|---|---|
| Googlebot | Google's main crawler; its rules affect Google Search and all Search features [2] | You lose Google Search, including AI features |
| Google-Extended | Controls whether crawled content may be used to train future Gemini models [2] | Google says it doesn't affect inclusion or ranking in Google Search [2] |
| OAI-SearchBot | Surfaces websites in ChatGPT's search features [3] | Not shown in ChatGPT search answers, though can still appear as navigational links [3] |
| GPTBot | Crawls content that may be used to train OpenAI's models [3] | Opts out of that training crawl |
| PerplexityBot | Surfaces and links websites in Perplexity search results; Perplexity says it isn't used for foundation model training [4] | Perplexity encourages allowing it for visibility in its results [4] |
OpenAI says ChatGPT search can take about 24 hours to adjust after a robots.txt change.3 User-triggered fetchers such as ChatGPT-User and Perplexity-User work differently; Perplexity says Perplexity-User generally ignores robots.txt.34
EXAMPLE ROBOTS.TXT
Many small business sites allow every crawler by default, which already covers search. This example is only for sites that want to name each one. Opting out of training is a business choice; it isn't needed to be found.
# Allow Google Search and AI search crawlers
User-agent: Googlebot
Allow: /
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
# Optional: opt out of Gemini model training only
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /
Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xmlCheck your live file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt. A single stray Disallow: / under User-agent: * blocks everything.
THE LOCAL CHECKLIST
- Get indexed. Confirm your main pages are in Google with Search Console. Our local SEO checklist shows how.
- Keep your Business Profile current. Google names this in its AI features guidance.1 Start with our Business Profile setup guide, and only if your business is eligible.5
- Say it plainly in text. One clear page per service, with the towns you serve, prices if you publish them, and answers to real customer questions.
- Match everywhere. Same name, phone and hours on your site, schema markup and listings.
- Earn real reviews. Ask every customer, reply to reviews, and never buy them. Here is how.
- Keep the site fast. See website speed and Core Web Vitals.
FAQ
Do I need an llms.txt or other AI file?
Not for Google. Google says you don't need new machine-readable or AI text files to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.1
Is "AI SEO" different from normal SEO?
Google's own guidance for its AI features is its normal SEO guidance.1 Other AI search tools publish their own crawler rules, so make sure your robots.txt doesn't block them by accident.
Can someone guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. Walk away from anyone who promises that. See how to choose a local SEO agency.
Should I block AI training crawlers?
It's your call. Blocking Google-Extended or GPTBot is separate from the search crawlers above, based on each company's docs.23
SOURCES
- Google Search Central, AI features and your website.
- Google Search Central, Google's common crawlers.
- OpenAI, Overview of OpenAI crawlers.
- Perplexity, Perplexity crawlers.
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google.
KEEP READING
BOOK A STRATEGY CALL
Want to know whether your site is blocking AI search by accident? We will check your robots.txt, indexing and Business Profile on a 15-minute call.