Is it possible to rank on ChatGPT?

For a few months now, one question keeps coming back in conversations between digital marketing professionals: "how do I get my brand cited in ChatGPT's answers?". Between promises of miraculous new expertise and dubious methods sold at a high price, it is time to demystify how LLMs actually work and to understand what is possible, and what is illusion.

The myth of "ranking on ChatGPT"

Contrary to what some would have you believe, there is no such thing as "ranking on ChatGPT" in the sense we use in traditional SEO. LLMs (Large Language Models) do not work like Google. They hold no search index you could "optimise" with specific techniques.

The reality is both simpler and more complex: LLMs lean on the traditional search engines to reach current content.

How do LLMs actually reach your content?

The mechanism is this:

For fundamental knowledge, LLMs use what was absorbed during their training phase. That means content on major platforms such as Reddit, Wikipedia, or other large content communities. It is their "native" knowledge base.

For current content and specific queries, LLMs run searches in real time:

• ChatGPT and Copilot query Bing
• Perplexity and Gemini lean on Google

When a user asks a question needing recent or highly specialised information, the LLM does not draw on some mysterious "AI database". It launches one or several searches (sometimes grouping similar queries), retrieves the results as extracts and URLs, then synthesises that information.

The role of the bots: much noise about nothing

There is major confusion around LLM bots, which some tend to equate with building a search index. That is a fundamental error.

The bots are basic, specialised tools that simply extract documents and check whether they have changed since previous visits. There is no indexing system comparable to Google's. The bots simply retrieve the pages the search results point to so the LLM can analyse and synthesise them.

The illusion of deep research

Take a concrete example: if you ask ChatGPT "what is the best CRM for SaaS companies with more than 1000 employees?", here is what actually happens:

1. The LLM formulates between 1 and 5 searches on Bing
2. It retrieves the extracts and URLs of the best results
3. The bots extract the full content of those pages
4. The LLM synthesises that information into a fluent answer

The result gives the impression that the AI ran exhaustive, deep research. In reality it only rewrites and compiles the most common patterns found in the retrieved documents. That is what many SEO specialists observe in their tests: the LLM recites word for word what the search engines handed it.

The false solutions doing the rounds

Faced with this new picture, plenty of self-proclaimed GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) "experts" offer supposedly revolutionary solutions:

The myth of the magic schema

Some claim Schema.org is an unavoidable data source for LLMs, or worse, that "schema equals trust". That is completely absurd. LLMs handle unstructured data perfectly well. Plenty of content ranks excellently without any particular schema markup.

Writing "specially for AI"

Others claim you have to write in a specific way to "please the LLMs". Once again, field tests show the opposite: quality content, clearly structured and bringing real added value, works. Full stop.

So what do you actually do?

If you cannot "rank" your site on ChatGPT in the traditional sense, you can maximise your chances of being cited in its answers. How? By applying the fundamentals of a modern search strategy:

1. Strengthen your traditional SEO

Since LLMs lean on Google and Bing, your priority is still to rank well on those engines. Content invisible in the classic results has no chance of being synthesised by an LLM.

2. Build your expertise and your authority (E-E-A-T)

The E-E-A-T framework (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) has never been more central. LLMs favour recognised, reliable sources when building their answers. Work on your legitimacy through:

• Content that demonstrates your professional expertise
• Mentions on authoritative sites
• A coherent presence in your sector
• Partnerships and digital PR

3. Create content aimed at the user

LLMs look for clear, structured, complete answers to users' questions. Concentrate on:

• Content that answers real needs
• A clear structure with explicit subheadings
• Direct answers to the questions your audience asks most
• A depth of analysis that goes beyond the superficial

4. Diversify your presence

Being present only on your own website is no longer enough. Invest in:

• A content strategy on the major platforms (LinkedIn, Reddit where relevant, specialist forums)
• Contributions on recognised third-party sites
• Media partnerships and expert columns
• An active presence on social media

GEO and SEO: two faces of one strategy

As the sharpest specialists point out, thinking GEO and SEO are separate subjects is a major misjudgement. They are two views of one overall visibility strategy.

In both cases the stake is identical: demonstrating your brand's added value, building your legitimacy, and being present where the reference information in your field sits.

The difference?

• In traditional SEO, you get a list of sources with direct traffic
• In GEO, you get mentions inside a synthesis, with little or no traffic

But in both cases you capture attention, you put your brand in front of a need. It is a logic of influence more than a logic of direct audience.

The adaptation required

The arrival of AI-boosted search engines is only one more stone in the fragmentation of audiences we have known for years. As with Facebook, LinkedIn or TikTok, you have to understand how these new tools work in order to benefit from them.

But be careful: that does not mean revolutionising what you do. The recommendations aimed specifically at generative engines are very often points a modern, integrated SEO roadmap would have raised anyway.

The real difference lies in the role of the search tool: it no longer acts only as an intermediary pointing to sources, but as a decision assistant able to recommend and to act. So what sets you apart has to be even clearer, more legible and validated by third-party sources.

Conclusion: no miracle, only groundwork

"Ranking" on ChatGPT is therefore not possible in the strict sense. Maximising your chances of being cited in its answers absolutely is. The method? No magic secret, no revolutionary technique: quality content, legitimacy built over time, a coherent presence on the web, and an excellent SEO base.

Those who promise you miracle solutions are selling you air. Those who tell you everything has changed and it all has to be reinvented are wrong too. The truth sits between the two: the fundamentals stay the same, but they have to be applied with a fine understanding of the new mechanics of information distribution.

SEO is not dead. It is evolving, once again. And as always, those who adapt intelligently, keeping their feet on the ground and favouring the creation of real value, will be the ones who come out ahead.

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