“We want to be first on ChatGPT” is one of the questions we’ve been asked most often lately , and we’re not surprised at all.
After all, we are an SEO agency and we are used to the most diverse requests (from the most reasonable to the slightly more… um… well, you get the idea!)
Since December 2022, artificial intelligence has entered our lives with a vengeance, changing the way we search for and use information. Therefore, it’s reasonable to expect a top ranking in this modern and powerful tool. However, it’s crucial to understand that ChatGPT doesn’t operate like a traditional search engine . While Google constantly updates its index with new web pages, ChatGPT uses a “static” database based on data collected up to a certain historical period. To be fair, search on the search engine has only recently been implemented, but it’s unclear when and how it will be implemented.
What does this mean? That there’s no guaranteed way to appear among the AI’s responses , since its behavior isn’t entirely predictable (or at least only partially). Visibility depends on the quality of the content and its presence within the timeframe covered by the model.
To help you understand better, look at this image.
This is a question we posed today ( March 3, 2025 ) to OpenAI’s generative artificial intelligence. The answer, while very accurate, contains some slight inaccuracies : why is Bard still called that, even though its official name has long since been replaced with “Gemini”? But above all, why are Microsoft’s Copilot and Perplexity, currently among ChatGPT’s main competitors, missing?
No, it’s not a matter of “unfair competition,” the information the AI is drawing on simply dates back to June 2024 (we asked the chat itself). So, the information is accurate, but not entirely up to date.
Having said this, let’s delve deeper into the topic in the next paragraphs.
The empirical data at our disposal
To date, we know that the content used by ChatGPT tends to be the most authoritative and detailed . In short… we’re not deviating much from the cornerstones of traditional SEO . Artificial intelligence draws on sources deemed reliable and well-structured, favoring clear, in-depth, and professionally written texts . After all, if ranking first on Google requires authoritative, comprehensive, and relevant information to the search intent, why shouldn’t the same be true for artificial intelligence? This is even more true when the OpenAI database itself is based on information available on the web , free of charge (aka: Google and all its competitors). It’s worth noting, as already mentioned, that temporal relevance plays a fundamental role: the data ChatGPT relies on is fixed at a specific date, so content created later will not be taken into consideration until the model is updated .
Positioning factors
Regardless, here are some factors that appear to influence the presence of content in ChatGPT responses:
- Authority : Sources must be recognized and reliable. Who is providing the information you’re looking for? What is their expertise? Why is their information more relevant than that provided by someone else? According to our data, sites with higher domain authority rank better on AI, as well as on Google and similar search engines. — To learn more, we recommend understanding EEAT metrics in depth . —
- Clarity and completeness : Well-structured and in-depth texts are more likely to be used. Of course, as has been preached in the SEO industry for years, ” Content is King ,” but this has already been discussed extensively, so we won’t dwell on it. We’ve noticed that unique and complete information also ranks better on AI. Indeed, standing out from the crowd also means offering the public information that’s different from what the masses offer
- Text structure : A logical organization facilitates reading and integration into AI responses. Therefore, optimizing text for a search engine crawler, and especially for capturing the search intent of a generative AI, can improve our ranking on the AI.
- Publication date : Statistically older content is only included in the model if it was already available at the time of data collection. According to our analysis today, for example, not all information is displayed up-to-date. When asked “Who is the US president?”, ChatGPT provides the correct information even though its database is updated to June 2024. It is not yet clear in what context OpenAI’s artificial intelligence browses (searches the web) and in what context it relies on information already collected in a database.
Despite these observations, it is important to remember that there is no ranking algorithm similar to Google’s: the inclusion of a text in ChatGPT responses depends on factors that are not yet fully understood .
The best strategy to be first on chatgpt
Let’s be clear: there’s no positioning strategy on Chat GPT if the actual site hasn’t been positioned on Google first . Therefore, the first piece of advice we give is to invest in an SEO strategy .
What to do next? Very simple: continue to focus on comprehensive and relevant content , intercepting search intent and the words used on generative artificial intelligence. While it’s true that we search for information in a certain way on Google, it’s not true that we do the same on ChatGPT : we could, for example, use more colloquial and less “aseptic” language, or simply ask the question differently . Structuring your site’s content with this factor in mind can give us, in addition to the points in the previous paragraph, a huge competitive advantage in one of the main future trends in SEO.
So, it’s time to roll up our sleeves , now more than ever.
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