Maybe, and nobody can promise it. OpenAI says ChatGPT's search answers won't show a website that blocks its search helper, and Google says it asks for nothing beyond normal search. My own guess is that clear facts that match across the web help too. On 13 October 2026 I asked ChatGPT for a good cafe near Tiong Bahru. It gave a few names, not every cafe in the area.
What does it mean when people ask ChatGPT where to eat?
Some people now type a full question, like "Where can I bring my parents for dim sum on Sunday?", instead of "cafe Tiong Bahru". They read a short answer with a few names, either from ChatGPT or from Google's AI features. Some call getting named there GEO, short for generative engine optimisation. In my words, it means making your business easy for these tools to find and describe correctly.
I ran that cafe question once, on one day. ChatGPT's answers change, so treat it as one data point, not a finding.
How does ChatGPT decide which places to name?
As far as anyone outside the companies can tell, it's closer to a well-travelled friend than a rulebook. Nobody outside OpenAI and Google knows the exact recipe, and it can change. Say you ask a friend who eats everywhere. He goes for places he's heard good things about from different people. He remembers the ones with clear details: opening hours, address, what they sell. He skips the place where one person says closed on Mondays and another says open daily.
ChatGPT can't taste your laksa or meet you. What it can read about you is a big part of what it has to go on. My guess, from what I've read, is that places written about clearly, and the same way everywhere, get named more often. That part comes from marketing blogs, not from Google or OpenAI.
What do Google and OpenAI actually say?
Google has its own AI features, called AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google's page says: "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode." Your page only needs to be one Google can find and show in normal search. Google adds that showing up isn't assured. See Google's page on AI features and your website (accessed 2026-10-13).
ChatGPT has a search feature too, and it uses a helper program to look at websites. It's called OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI says sites that block it "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers", though they can still appear as plain links. A change to the setting takes about a day. See OpenAI's overview of its crawlers (accessed 2026-10-13).
Think of a note on your shop door saying who can come in. If the note says ChatGPT's helper can't come in, ChatGPT's search answers won't show your shop.
What can you check this week?
Five things, all free, and you can do them yourself.
- Make your name, address and phone number the same everywhere: your website, Google, Facebook, Instagram and the delivery apps. "Blk 12" in one place and "Block 12" in another is the kind of mismatch I'd fix.
- Fill in your Google Business Profile, the free listing that shows on Google Maps. Add opening hours (change them for public holidays), photos, your menu and the right category. It's easy to set up once and never look at again.
- Ask happy customers for a Google review. A QR code at the counter or on the receipt is enough. Real reviews only.
- Say plainly on your website what you do and where. "Family-run kopitiam in Bedok, serving breakfast and lunch" beats "a place where flavours come alive". Plain words tell a customer what you do, and a tool reading your page needs the same thing.
- Ask whoever built your website one question: are we blocking OAI-SearchBot? The setting sits in a small text file called robots.txt, which tells visiting programs where they may go. We ran this check on our own site on 15 October 2026. Our robots.txt has no rule against OAI-SearchBot. It lets every visiting program in, except one folder, /api/, which the site's forms send their data to. That shows the door is open, not that ChatGPT has visited. If you aren't sure who holds your site's logins, start with our checklist on owning your website.
What should you ignore?
Anyone who promises to put you at the top of ChatGPT. No one can promise that, and the checks above are plain and cost nothing to try.
Who is this not for?
If you want a promised mention in ChatGPT, don't hire us for it. We can't sell that, and nobody honestly can. If you don't have a website yet, do check 2 first, since it doesn't need one. We're web builders, not an AI search lab, and one test on one day proves little.
If you'd like us to look at your site, the details are on the Contact page.
