How to get cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity
AI answer engines pull from a small set of sources. Here is how to structure content so models can find, extract, and credit your page.
ChatGPT search, Perplexity, and Copilot answer questions by retrieving a handful of pages and summarizing them. Getting cited is less about keyword density and more about being the cleanest, most extractable source on the topic.
Step one: be retrievable
If a model cannot access your page, nothing else matters. Confirm your content is server-rendered or properly pre-rendered, returns a 200, and is not blocked for AI crawlers in robots.txt.
Step two: be extractable
Models lift self-contained chunks. Write so any single section can stand alone as an answer.
- Lead each section with a one-sentence answer, then explain.
- Use descriptive H2 and H3 headings that mirror real questions.
- Prefer short paragraphs, lists, and tables over walls of text.
- Define key terms explicitly with phrases like "X is".
Step three: be credible
Answer engines favor sources that look trustworthy. Add author information, cite your own sources, and keep an obvious contact and about page. Organization schema helps models tie the content to a real entity.
The FAQ pattern
A well-structured FAQ section is one of the highest-leverage formats for AI visibility. It pairs a literal question with a concise answer, exactly the shape models want, and it qualifies for FAQ schema.
- Collect the real questions people ask about your topic.
- Answer each in two to four sentences, no preamble.
- Mark up the section with FAQPage schema.
Write the answer first. Everything else is supporting evidence.
The AI Visibility Scanner scores your page on exactly these dimensions and shows what to fix first.