84 pages
AI Platform Guides
Engine-by-engine guides to ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Claude and more: sources, crawlers, tracking and fixes.
Brave Search AI answers
Brave Search AI Answers Sources: What Is Documented
Brave Search AI answers sources: what is documented, the Anthropic subprocessor link to Claude, and the access checks site owners can still control.
Brave Search AI Checklist: What to Check First
Brave Search AI checklist: what the evidence documents, what it does not, and the general access, rendering and snippet checks to run before judging your visibility.
Brave Search AI Ranking Factors: What Evidence Exists
Brave Search AI ranking factors: what is documented, what is not, and which cross-platform findings on crawler access and indexing still apply to Brave answers.
Brave Search AI Wrong Information: What to Do
Brave Search AI wrong information about your brand? See what is documented, why there is no known correction channel, and how to fix the source pages it shows.
Brave Search Crawler and robots.txt: What Is Known
Brave Search crawler: what is documented, what is not, and how to find and verify Brave traffic in your server logs before you write any robots.txt rules.
Get Cited by Brave Search AI: What You Control
Get cited by Brave Search AI answers: what is documented, what is not, and the access checks that apply to any crawler-based index. As of October 2026.
Track Brave Search AI Answers About Your Brand
Track Brave Search AI answers about your brand with a manual query log. What is documented, what isn't, and how to log answers, citations and wrong facts.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT Citation Sources: Where They Come From
ChatGPT citation sources explained from OpenAI's docs: when search fires, how queries get rewritten, and why retrieved sources outnumber cited ones.
ChatGPT Prompt Tracking: A Reproducible Method
ChatGPT prompt tracking method: log retrieval state, model path and logged-out, memory-off runs so answers about your brand are comparable over time.
ChatGPT Visibility Checklist: Access to Accuracy
ChatGPT visibility checklist: test OpenAI crawler access, firewall reachability, raw HTML and brand facts, then a logged-out prompt test with retrieval noted.
ChatGPT Visibility Factors, Graded by Evidence
ChatGPT visibility factors graded by evidence: what OpenAI documents about OAI-SearchBot and access, and why schema, llms.txt and GPTBot don't earn citations.
Get Cited by ChatGPT: What You Control and What You Don't
Get cited by ChatGPT: the levers you control (OAI-SearchBot, CDN access, server-rendered facts, mentions) and the parts nobody controls. No promises.
How to Correct ChatGPT About My Company: Cutoff vs Search
How to correct ChatGPT about your company: tell a training-data error from a search error, then fix the pages ChatGPT search reads. What works and what can't.
OpenAI Crawler User Agents, robots.txt and Firewalls
OpenAI crawler user agents explained: GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User, how robots.txt applies to each, and how to test for a silent firewall 403.
Claude
Anthropic Crawlers and robots.txt: The Three Claude Agents
Anthropic crawlers and robots.txt: what ClaudeBot, Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User each do, how to block one without the others, and why IP blocks backfire.
Claude Citations: How Claude Search Picks Sources
Claude citations explained: when Claude searches, what results expose (page_age), how cited_text spans work, the Brave Search link, and which crawlers matter.
Claude Visibility Checklist: Access, Rendering, Facts
Claude visibility checklist: set robots.txt per Anthropic agent, test your firewall, diff raw HTML, fix inconsistent facts, and test prompts with search on.
Claude Visibility Factors: What the Evidence Shows
Claude visibility factors graded by evidence: crawler access, JavaScript rendering, page_age freshness, rewriting tactics and prompt injection risk.
Claude Wrong Information About Your Company: What to Do
Claude wrong information about your company? Learn how to tell search-off from search-on answers, what ClaudeBot controls, and which fixes are in your hands.
Get Cited by Claude: What You Control and What You Don't
Get cited by Claude: which Anthropic crawlers to allow, how firewalls and JavaScript block them, and what Claude decides on its own. Checks you can run today.
Track Claude Brand Mentions: What You Can Measure
Track Claude brand mentions with the API web search tool: what it costs, what Claude.ai hides, and why no search means no citation rate to score.
DeepSeek
DeepSeek Crawler User Agent and robots.txt: What Is Known
DeepSeek crawler user agent: what is documented as of October 2026, what is not, and how to find, verify and control an unknown AI bot in your server logs.
DeepSeek Ranking Factors: What Evidence Exists
DeepSeek ranking factors: what is documented, what isn't, and which cross-platform findings on access, rendering and content tactics still apply to your site.
DeepSeek Sources: What Is Documented About How It Answers
DeepSeek sources and citations: what is documented, what is not, and the four stages that decide whether any AI assistant can find and cite your site.
DeepSeek Visibility Checklist: What Holds, What Is Unknown
DeepSeek visibility checklist: what DeepSeek documents, what it does not, and the general access and accuracy steps worth running, clearly labelled.
DeepSeek Wrong Information About Your Brand: What to Do
DeepSeek wrong information about your brand? Why it happens, what DeepSeek does and does not document, and the fixes that are in your control.
Get Cited by DeepSeek: What You Control
Get cited by DeepSeek: what is documented, what is not, and the access and fact checks that apply to any AI engine. No invented levers, no promised outcomes.
Track DeepSeek Brand Mentions: A Manual Method
Track DeepSeek brand mentions with a manual prompt log: what to record, why retrieval state is unknown, why answers vary run to run, and what you can fix.
Gemini
Gemini Crawler robots.txt: Google-Extended and Firewalls
Gemini crawler robots.txt explained: what Google-Extended blocks, why Googlebot still fetches, and why a firewall rule against Google bots reaches Search.
Gemini Grounding Sources: How Gemini Uses Google Search
Gemini grounding sources explained: how the Gemini API runs its own Google searches, how the Gemini app differs from AI Overviews, and what Google-Extended controls.
Gemini Has Wrong Information About My Company: Fixes
Gemini wrong information about your company? Learn to tell grounded errors from training-data errors, what you can fix, and why Google-Extended matters.
Gemini Optimization Checklist: 5 Steps, Labelled
Gemini optimization checklist: five steps covering Google-Extended, Googlebot access, index checks, fact consistency and grounded tests, each marked documented or hygiene.
Gemini Visibility Factors, Sorted by Evidence
Gemini visibility factors graded by evidence: which access controls Google documents, what topical relevance does, and why schema and style tweaks lack support.
Get Cited by Gemini: What You Can and Can't Influence
How to get cited by Gemini: the three controls Google documents (indexing, Google-Extended, fetchable facts), what you can't control, and what to check first.
Track Gemini Brand Mentions: API vs App Answers
Track Gemini brand mentions the right way: why API answers are a proxy for the Gemini app, how to log grounding per prompt, and what per-query billing costs.
Google AI Mode
Can You Block Google AI Mode? Crawlers and Controls
Block Google AI Mode: why no robots.txt token exists, why Google-Extended doesn't apply, and how snippet rules and the Search Console opt-out work.
Google AI Mode Checklist: 5 Visibility Checks
Google AI Mode checklist: eligibility, snippet controls, the Search Console opt-out, brand facts and query capture, each marked documented or hygiene.
Google AI Mode Ranking Factors: What Holds Up
Google AI Mode ranking factors graded by evidence: what Google documents, which access controls matter, and why schema, llms.txt and E-E-A-T scores don't.
Google AI Mode Sources: Query Fan-Out and Link Selection
Google AI Mode sources explained: what Google documents about query fan-out, eligibility and links, what it does not publish, and which controls you hold.
Google AI Mode Wrong Information: How to Fix Brand Facts
Google AI Mode wrong information about your brand? Trace the linked sources, make your own pages consistent, reach cited third-party sites, and know the limits.
How to Get Cited in Google AI Mode: What You Control
Get cited in Google AI Mode: what Google documents about eligibility, the indexing, snippet and Search Console controls you own, and what Google decides alone.
Track Google AI Mode Answers About Your Brand
Track Google AI Mode answers about your brand: why a Gemini API call is not AI Mode, what Search Console shows, and how SERP capture works query by query.
Google AI Overviews
AI Overview Sources: How Google Picks Supporting Links
AI Overview sources explained: Google's documented eligibility rule, query fan-out, what Ahrefs found about top 10 rankings, and the controls that remove you.
AI Overview Wrong Information: How to Get It Fixed
AI Overview wrong information about your business? Trace the error to its supporting links, fix the source pages, and use Google's documented snippet controls.
AI Overviews Checklist: What Google Documents
AI Overviews checklist built from Google's documentation: indexing, snippet controls, Googlebot access, the Search Console AI control and the 2MB fetch limit.
AI Overviews Ranking Factors: What the Evidence Supports
AI Overviews ranking factors graded by evidence: index eligibility, organic rank, schema, E-E-A-T, llms.txt and freshness, with what Google documents.
AI Overviews robots.txt: Googlebot Is the Only Control
AI Overviews robots.txt rules explained: there is no separate token. See what Googlebot, Google-Extended, snippet controls and Search Console control.
How to Get Cited in AI Overviews: Your Control vs Google's
How to get cited in AI Overviews: the eligibility rules Google documents, the snippet and opt-out controls you own, and what Google alone decides.
Track AI Overviews for Your Brand Queries
Track AI Overviews for brand queries: what SERP capture records, what Search Console's AI report shows (impressions only), and why no official API exists.
Grok
Can You Get Cited by Grok? What You Control
Get cited by Grok: what xAI documents, what it does not, and the access and accuracy checks that still apply when no Grok-specific lever is published.
Grok Crawler User Agent and robots.txt: What Is Known
Grok crawler user agent: why no xAI crawler documentation is in our evidence base, and how to identify and handle unknown AI bots in your server logs.
Grok Ranking Factors: What Evidence Exists (Mostly None)
Grok ranking factors: no Grok-specific factor has published evidence as of October 2026. See what xAI documents, what it doesn't, and what you can still check.
Grok Sources: How Grok Chooses Them and What's Documented
Grok sources explained: what is and isn't documented about how Grok searches and cites the web, the four stages of AI answers, and what you can check today.
Grok Visibility Checklist: Access and Accuracy Steps
Grok visibility checklist: what xAI documents, what it does not, and the general access and accuracy checks you can run today. Labelled as not Grok-specific.
Grok Wrong Information About Your Brand: What to Do
Grok wrong information about your brand? See what xAI documents, what it doesn't, and the fixes you control: consistent fetchable facts and third-party sources.
Track Grok Brand Mentions: A Manual Prompt Log Method
Track Grok brand mentions with a manual prompt log: what to record, how to score accuracy, and what xAI's retrieval behavior leaves undocumented.
Meta AI
Get Cited by Meta AI: What You Control and What You Don't
How to get cited by Meta AI: allow Meta-WebIndexer, keep your firewall open to it, and serve key facts in HTML. Plus what Meta decides that nobody can see.
Meta AI Ranking Factors: Graded by Evidence Strength
Meta AI ranking factors graded by evidence: Meta-WebIndexer permission is the one lever Meta states. See what's documented, what's unmeasured, what to check.
Meta AI Sources: How Meta AI Picks What to Cite
Meta AI sources explained: what Meta documents about Meta-WebIndexer and citations, what it leaves undocumented, and the access checks you control as of October 2026.
Meta AI Visibility Checklist: Crawler, Firewall, Facts
Meta AI visibility checklist: allow Meta-WebIndexer, test your firewall as each Meta crawler, fix inconsistent facts, and keep a dated manual prompt log.
Meta AI Wrong Information: How to Fix Brand Facts
Meta AI wrong information about your brand? Learn which Meta crawlers matter, how to fix your own pages and cited sources, and what Meta does not document.
Meta Crawler User Agents: ExternalAgent, WebIndexer, Fetcher
Meta crawler user agents explained: what Meta-ExternalAgent, Meta-WebIndexer and Meta-ExternalFetcher do, how robots.txt applies, and how to block training.
Track Meta AI Brand Mentions: A Manual Method
Track Meta AI brand mentions with a manual logging method. Learn what Meta documents about its crawlers, what it doesn't, and which fixes you control.
Microsoft Copilot
Copilot Brand Tracking: AI Performance and Grounding Queries
Copilot brand tracking explained: what Bing's AI Performance report shows, why grounding queries matter, what Citation Share is not, and why prompt samples see less.
Copilot Crawler: Bingbot, robots.txt and Your Firewall
Copilot crawler explained: bingbot feeds the Bing index Copilot grounds on. Check robots.txt, data-nosnippet and your firewall so Microsoft can reach you.
Copilot Ranking Factors, Graded by Evidence
Copilot ranking factors graded by evidence: Bing index presence, IndexNow, freshness, schema and E-E-A-T, with what Microsoft documents and what it doesn't.
Copilot Sources: How Copilot Grounds Answers in Bing
Copilot sources come from the Bing index. See what Microsoft documents about grounding, what Otterly's test showed, and which controls you actually hold.
Copilot Wrong Information: How to Fix Brand Facts
Copilot wrong information about your brand? Fix the source pages, get the current version into Bing, and use IndexNow and data-nosnippet for what they really do.
Get Cited by Copilot: What Is in Your Hands
Get cited by Copilot: what Microsoft documents, the Bing index and bingbot checks you control, and why mass-publishing thin pages backfires on Google.
Microsoft Copilot Visibility Checklist: 5 Checks
Copilot visibility checklist: verify Bing Webmaster Tools, check Bing index status, read the AI Performance report, audit data-nosnippet, and test bingbot.
Mistral Le Chat
Get Cited by Le Chat: What You Control (Oct 2026)
How to get cited by Le Chat: what Mistral documents, what it doesn't, and the access checks (robots.txt, rendering, firewall) that apply to any AI crawler.
Le Chat Ranking Factors: What Evidence Exists
Le Chat ranking factors: what Mistral documents, what it doesn't, and which cross-platform findings on crawler access and rendering still apply to you.
Le Chat Sources: How Mistral Le Chat Finds Sources
Le Chat sources explained: what Mistral documents about web search and citations, what it does not, and the four stages that decide whether you get cited.
Le Chat Visibility Checklist: What Mistral Documents
Le Chat visibility checklist: what is confirmed about Mistral's assistant, which general access and accuracy checks apply, and which popular tactics to skip.
Le Chat Wrong Information About Your Brand: Next Steps
Le Chat wrong information about your brand? See what Mistral documents, why no correction channel is on record, and the page fixes that are in your control.
Mistral Crawler User Agent and robots.txt: What Is Known
Mistral crawler user agent: what is documented, what is not, and how to find, verify and control Mistral traffic in your logs and robots.txt as of October 2026.
Track Le Chat Brand Mentions: A Manual Method
Track Le Chat brand mentions with a manual prompt log. See what Mistral documents, what it doesn't, and which access checks to run before you trust the answers.
Perplexity
Correct a Perplexity Answer: Fix the Sources It Cites
Correct a Perplexity answer by fixing the pages it cites: your own, third-party ones, and any manipulated content. What Perplexity documents and what it doesn't.
How to Get Cited by Perplexity: Control vs Chance
How to get cited by Perplexity: the four levers you control (crawler access, firewall, raw HTML, specific facts) and the source selection you cannot control.
Perplexity Audit Checklist: Access, Accuracy, Tracking
Perplexity audit checklist: check PerplexityBot access, firewall blocks, rendering, cited-source accuracy and a grounded tracking setup, plus the gaps.
Perplexity Citations Explained: Index, Results, IDs
Perplexity citations explained: how PerplexityBot builds the index, what the API's search_results return, and how integer citation IDs map to whole sources.
Perplexity Crawler User Agents: robots.txt and WAFs
Perplexity crawler user agents explained: what PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User do, how robots.txt applies, and why a WAF can still return a 403.
Perplexity Prompt Tracking With the Agent API
Perplexity prompt tracking after Sonar: why web search is opt-in on the Agent API, what ungrounded answers look like, and why no API call equals the app.
Perplexity Ranking Factors: What the Evidence Says
Perplexity ranking factors graded by evidence: crawler access is strong, brand prominence is association only, and GEO rewriting tactics test null to negative.