Short answer
Not officially: OpenAI's public documentation does not say that ChatGPT uses Google Search. It documents its own crawler for ChatGPT search (OAI-SearchBot) and says the feature also relies on third-party search providers and partner content. Reports differ on whether Google results are among them, and the setup can change, so aim to be findable everywhere.
What does OpenAI say about where ChatGPT search gets its results?
Three things are documented, and nothing beyond them should be stated as fact:
- OpenAI runs its own web crawlers and tells site owners how to control them: OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search, GPTBot for model training and ChatGPT-User for visits triggered by a person's request.
- OpenAI's help material says ChatGPT search also relies on third-party search providers and on content from partners.
- OpenAI has not published a list of those providers, or explained how it blends their results with its own index.
What is reported but not confirmed?
Sources differ, so be careful. Microsoft Bing is widely reported as a major source: ChatGPT's earlier browsing feature was openly built on Bing, and OpenAI and Microsoft have a long partnership. Some analysts and press reports also say that Google results appear in ChatGPT's pipeline, often through third-party tools that fetch them. OpenAI has not confirmed that and we cannot verify it, so treat it as a claim and not a fact.
Overlap between what ChatGPT cites and what ranks in Google proves little on its own. Good pages tend to rank well in every search system, so you would see overlap either way.
Why does it matter for your website?
It matters less than people think. You cannot control which index ChatGPT queries on a given day, but you can control whether your pages are easy to find in all of them. A page that is indexed by Google, indexed by Bing and open to OpenAI's own crawler has several routes into an answer. A page that depends on a single route is exposed if that route changes.
What should you do, whichever search engine it is?
- Confirm that Google has indexed your key pages, using the URL Inspection tool in Search Console. See how to get indexed on Google.
- Add your site to Bing Webmaster Tools, which is free, and check that your pages are indexed there too.
- Allow OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt and in any bot protection or firewall. Allowing or blocking GPTBot, which relates to training, is a separate decision. See allowing or blocking AI crawlers.
- Put your text in the page itself, because some AI crawlers do not run scripts.
- Keep your business name, address and services consistent everywhere, so whichever source is used says the same thing.
- Check again every few months. The way ChatGPT searches can change.
How do the main AI assistants compare on crawlers?
| Assistant | Crawlers it documents | What they are for |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (OpenAI) | OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, ChatGPT-User | Search index, model training, fetching a page when a person asks |
| Claude (Anthropic) | Claude-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, Claude-User | Search, model training, fetching a page when a person asks |
| Perplexity | PerplexityBot, Perplexity-User | Building its search index, fetching a page when a person asks |
| Google (AI Overviews and AI Mode) | Googlebot | Google's normal Search index, which its AI features use |
These names come from each company's documentation as of late 2026, so check the vendor's page before you edit robots.txt. The “AI assistants can find you” check in Arcline tests whether the crawlers of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Google and Bing can read your pages. See Features.
Is there a trick to ChatGPT SEO?
No trick is known. What is documented is access (let the right crawler in) and what research suggests helps: clear, specific, sourced pages that rank well in ordinary search and are mentioned elsewhere. Nothing in that list is unique to ChatGPT, which is why it keeps working if the search provider changes. The step-by-step version is in how to get cited by ChatGPT.