How to get cited by AI answers
Last updated: September 2026 · The actionable checklist
The checklist
1.Publish an llms.txt
A markdown summary at your site root that maps your key pages for LLMs. 20 minutes of work, no downside. Format guide here: /learn/llms-txt-guide.
2.Allow AI crawlers in robots.txt
Explicit Allow: / sections for GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot, and CCBot (Common Crawl). Blocking them makes you invisible inside AI answers by construction.
3.Add JSON-LD structured data
Organization, Product/SoftwareApplication, FAQPage, Article — precise facts (names, prices, dates) in a format models parse reliably and can attribute.
4.Write quotable content
Short, factual, self-contained statements. Put the answer in the first 40-60 words, then elaborate. Models lift verbatim passages; give them clean ones to lift.
5.Build FAQ pages
Question-and-answer pages with FAQPage schema directly match how people prompt AI assistants — and how AI answers are structured.
6.Earn mentions where models already look
Citations compound: being named on sites that AI answers already trust (docs, directories, press, community discussions) increases the odds you get named again.
7.Keep facts current
A stale llms.txt or outdated pricing page is worse than none — models quote outdated facts with full confidence. Update on every pricing or positioning change.
8.Measure, don't guess
Run prompts through the engines repeatedly and track mention/citation rates over time. One manual spot-check proves nothing; trends prove everything.
What not to do
- Don't block AI crawlers "to be safe" and expect visibility. Blocking GPTBot/ClaudeBot/PerplexityBot is a legitimate content-protection choice, but it opts you out of AI answers by definition. Pick a side deliberately.
- Don't stuff keywords for LLMs. There is no keyword-stuffing equivalent that survives; models quote clean factual passages, not stuffed ones.
- Don't trust a single spot-check. Ask ChatGPT once, get mentioned, declare victory — then never appear again. Measure repeatedly.
Frequently asked questions
How long until I see results?
For live-search answers (Perplexity, ChatGPT with browsing): days to weeks after crawlers fetch your pages. For training-data answers: months, until the next training run. Technical readiness pays off in the first case immediately.
Do I need to pay an "AEO agency"?
The checklist above is the bulk of what agencies sell. What agencies add is labor (content, outreach) and measurement. Start with the free technical fixes, measure, then decide if you need help.
Start with the technical half — free
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