Key Takeaways
- Treat ChatGPT as using more than one source. OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes works with partner search providers and also runs its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, so being in one index is not the whole job.
- Get into Bing on purpose. Microsoft Copilot fetches from the Bing search service, and Bing is one of the partner routes for ChatGPT, so submit your sitemap in Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Keep Google covered separately. Google AI Overviews and AI Mode only link pages that are indexed in Google Search and eligible to show with a snippet.
- Let the assistants' own crawlers in. OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Claude-SearchBot each read pages for their own search. Blocking one quietly removes you from that assistant's answers.
- Write pages worth quoting once they are found. Being in the index makes you findable. Plain, specific sentences about what you do and for whom are what get repeated.
You set up Google Search Console years ago and your site shows up on Google. Then someone tells you ChatGPT gets its results from Bing, and you have never once looked at Bing.
Does ChatGPT use Bing? Partly. OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes works with partner search providers, and its help page points to Microsoft's privacy statement for how they handle queries. ChatGPT also reads the web with its own crawler.
Below is where each of the main assistants says its search results come from, why that decides whether you can be named at all, and the short list of things to check so you are findable in every one of them.
Does ChatGPT use Bing?
ChatGPT uses Bing as one of its sources, not as its only one. When ChatGPT searches the web, OpenAI says it "sometimes partners with other search providers" and rewrites your question into one or more targeted searches that it sends them.
OpenAI's help page on searching the web with ChatGPT does not list those providers by name in its text. It does link to the Microsoft privacy statement for anyone who wants to know how search providers process queries, which is as close to "yes, Bing" as the page gets.
The other half is OpenAI's own crawler. OpenAI's crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot "is used to surface websites in search results in ChatGPT's search features," and that sites that block it "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers." So the honest answer is Bing plus OpenAI's own reading of the web.
Where each assistant gets its search results
Each assistant gets its search results from a different mix: Copilot from Bing, Google's AI features from Google Search, and ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude partly from crawlers their makers run themselves. The table sums up what each company says in its own documentation.
| Assistant | Where its web results come from | What its maker says | What to check on your site |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Partner search providers, plus OpenAI's own crawler | Search "sometimes partners with other search providers"; OAI-SearchBot surfaces sites in ChatGPT search | Indexed in Bing, and OAI-SearchBot not blocked |
| Microsoft Copilot | The Bing search service | Copilot sends a generated search query to Bing and uses the results in its answer | Sitemap submitted and pages kept in Bing Webmaster Tools |
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Google Search | A page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet; no extra requirements | Pages indexed in Google Search Console |
| Perplexity | Its own crawler, among other sources it does not list | PerplexityBot is "designed to surface and link websites in search results" | PerplexityBot not blocked |
| Claude | Anthropic's own search crawler, among other sources it does not list | Claude-SearchBot reads the web to improve search result quality | Claude-SearchBot not blocked |
Microsoft is the most explicit. Its page on web search in Microsoft Copilot says Copilot "generates a search query that it sends to the Bing search service," and that the query "consists of a few words informed by the user's prompt" rather than the whole prompt.
Perplexity and Anthropic describe their crawlers but not every source behind their answers. Perplexity's crawler page names PerplexityBot, and Anthropic's help center names Claude-SearchBot. Where a company does not say more, this post does not guess.
Where five assistants get their web results
Microsoft's Bing
Search queries sent to the Bing search service
- Microsoft Copilot Microsoft says so directly
- ChatGPT Through partner search providers
Check Bing Webmaster Tools
Google's index
Pages indexed and shown in Google Search
- AI Overviews and AI Mode Google says so directly
Check Google Search Console
Their own crawlers
Each company fetches pages for its own search
- ChatGPT OAI-SearchBot
- Perplexity PerplexityBot
- Claude Claude-SearchBot
Check Allow the crawler in robots.txt
ChatGPT is the only one of the five that sits in two pools: Bing through partner search providers, and OpenAI's own crawler.
The figure groups the five by source rather than by brand. Read it as a checklist: one thing to check per pool, Bing Webmaster Tools, Google Search Console, and your robots.txt file for the three crawlers.
Why the search source decides who gets named
The search source decides who gets named because an assistant that searches can only recommend businesses its searches return. If your pages are missing from the index it reads, you are not weighed and found wanting. You are simply not in the room.
That is why a business can do well on Google and be absent from Copilot. The two read different indexes, and Bing keeps its own record of which of your pages it fetched and kept. The plumbing that gets a page into Bing is covered in how to show up in Microsoft Copilot.
It also matters which ChatGPT your buyer is using. An answer written with web search reads today's pages; an answer written without it leans on what the model learned in training. The difference is set out in ChatGPT search vs ChatGPT without browsing.
How to be findable in every source
To be findable in every source, cover each pool once: get into Bing, stay in Google, and let the assistants' own crawlers read your site. None of this costs money, and most of it is a one-time setup.
- Bing. Add your site to Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your sitemap, and check a week later which pages were kept.
- Google. Confirm your main pages are indexed in Google Search Console. Google says that is the requirement for AI Overviews, with nothing extra on top.
- The crawlers. Open yoursite.com/robots.txt and make sure it does not block OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot or Claude-SearchBot. Some website builders and security tools block unfamiliar bots by default.
- New pages. When you publish or change a page, tell Bing straight away. The quickest way is described in what IndexNow is.
Google's page on AI features and your website is blunt about the Google side: to be a supporting link, a page must be "indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet," and "There are no additional technical requirements." There is no special AI setting to switch on.
What the search source does not explain
The search source explains whether you can be found, not whether you get recommended. Once your page is in the results, the assistant still has to decide your page answers the question better than the others it read.
It also does not explain answers written without a search. When an assistant answers from what it learned in training, no index is involved that day, and changing your pages shows up only after the model is next updated.
The damaging admission: submitting to Bing will not, on its own, get you named by ChatGPT. It removes one reason you might be missing. If your pages do not say clearly what you do, for whom and where, being in every index just means every assistant reads a page that does not answer the buyer's question.
To see which buyer questions name you today, start with the free check. It asks ChatGPT 25 real buyer questions from your niche at $0 and emails a plain-English readout: your score, who got named in your place, and the one fix to start with. It runs as soon as you ask for it, and the report lands within the hour between 7am and 5pm Central, or by 10am the next morning outside those hours.
Questions we hear the most
Does ChatGPT use Bing?
Partly. OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes partners with other search providers and points readers to Microsoft's privacy statement for how those providers handle queries. ChatGPT also runs its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, which OpenAI says is used to surface websites in ChatGPT search.
Does Microsoft Copilot use Bing?
Yes. Microsoft says that when web search is on, Copilot generates a short search query from your prompt and sends it to the Bing search service, then uses what comes back to write the answer.
Where do Google AI Overviews get their sources?
From Google Search. Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet to appear as a supporting link, and that there are no additional technical requirements.
Does Perplexity use Google or Bing?
Perplexity documents its own crawler, PerplexityBot, which it says is designed to surface and link websites in its search results. It does not publish a full list of what else feeds its answers, so allow PerplexityBot and stay indexed in Bing and Google too.
If my business shows up on Bing, will ChatGPT find it?
It makes it more likely, not certain. Bing is one route ChatGPT can search through, but ChatGPT also uses its own crawler and rewrites each question into its own searches, so your pages have to match what a buyer actually asks.
Should I submit my website to Bing Webmaster Tools?
Yes, if you want to be found by Microsoft Copilot and to give ChatGPT one more route to your pages. It is free, it shows whether Bing kept your pages, and it takes about as long as setting up Google Search Console.
What does the AnswerHalo free check include?
The free check asks ChatGPT 25 real buyer questions from your niche at $0 and emails your score, who got named in your place, and the one fix to start with. It runs as soon as you ask for it.
What does AnswerHalo cost after the free check?
The full audit is $500 once and runs 125 checks across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, landing by this time tomorrow. Ongoing watching is $399 a month, or $300 a month added with the audit.
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