ChatGPT has quickly become one of the most widely used AI assistants in the world. People use it every day to answer questions, research products, and even choose local businesses. For Irish SMEs, understanding how ChatGPT “sees” your website is becoming just as important as ranking in Google.
How ChatGPT accesses website content
ChatGPT itself does not crawl the entire web in real time. Instead, it uses a mixture of:
- Training data: A snapshot of public web data collected up to a cut-off date. This forms the bulk of what ChatGPT “knows.”
- AI crawlers like GPTBot: These only fetch live content if the feature is enabled in ChatGPT (e.g., browsing turned on) and if your website permits it in
robots.txt. By default, GPTBot does not continuously index the web. - Search integrations: In some versions, ChatGPT pulls fresh data through Microsoft Bing or other partners.
What makes a site more likely to be cited
Like search engines, ChatGPT looks for clear, reliable content. Sites that are easier to parse and trusted by other sources are more likely to appear in AI-generated answers.
- Clean HTML: Core text available directly in the page markup (not injected by heavy page builders).
- Structured data: Schema markup helps AI interpret context, such as FAQs, local business details, or products.
- Authority signals: Sites with quality backlinks and a track record of trustworthy information stand out.
- Topical relevance: Well-written, subject-focused pages are more likely to be summarised or cited.
Limitations to keep in mind
- No guarantees: Even well-optimised sites are not guaranteed to appear in ChatGPT answers.
- Not all crawlers are equal: GPTBot does not currently execute complex client-side JavaScript the way Googlebot does.
- Rapid evolution: The way ChatGPT and other AI tools source and cite data is changing quickly.
What Irish businesses can do
- Keep your key content in the page’s HTML, not just in scripts or popups.
- Use descriptive headings and clear copy that AI (and humans) can understand.
- Add schema markup to FAQs, services, products, and business details.
- Work on backlinks and authority to strengthen trust signals.
- Monitor whether GPTBot is crawling your site via server logs.
Looking forward
AI assistants like ChatGPT are not replacing Google overnight, but they are changing how people discover information. For SMEs, this means treating AI-readiness as part of your broader online strategy. Websites that are clean, reliable, and well-structured will be best positioned to benefit as AI-driven discovery grows.