How the assistants read, and how to be read.
Every guide opens with the answer, carries the date it was written, and ends with the questions people ask. Every figure comes from our own logs or a named study, with its date. All of them are also in llms-full.txt, for the assistants.
7 min
What is answer engine optimisation, and how is it different from SEO?
SEO wins a position on a results page; answer engine optimisation wins a mention inside the answer, where there is often no link to click at all.
SEO wins a position on a results page. Answer engine optimisation (AEO or GEO) wins a mention inside an AI answer, often with no link. What changes, what to measure, and what it costs to be left out.
7 min
Why does ChatGPT not mention my business?
ChatGPT leaves a business out because it cannot read the site, because the site does not answer the question asked, or because nobody else on the web mentions it.
ChatGPT leaves a business out for one of three reasons: it cannot read the site, no page answers the question, or nobody else mentions it. How to tell which.
7 min
Do AI assistants read JavaScript websites?
An AI assistant reads the HTML your server sends and nothing more: if your words only appear after JavaScript runs, to the assistant your page is blank.
AI assistants read the HTML your server sends and do not run its JavaScript. How to see your page as they do, what a blank page costs, and how to find out whether yours is one.
6 min
How do I know if ChatGPT has read my website?
Your analytics tool cannot see ChatGPT reading your website; the only record is a single line in the server access log, written at the moment a person asked a question.
Search your server access log for ChatGPT-User, OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot. One fetch is one line, naming the page, the status and the crawler that asked for it.
7 min
How long does it take to get cited by an AI assistant?
Both of our new sites were fetched by an AI assistant to answer a real question inside a fortnight of going live (server logs, September and October 2026).
Our two new sites were first cited inside a fortnight; an established firm was sent visitors every month. The order of events and what to expect each month.
7 min
Which AI crawlers should I allow in robots.txt?
A robots.txt that blocks GPTBot but allows OAI-SearchBot keeps you eligible for ChatGPT's search results today and out of the model's memory tomorrow.
Nineteen crawlers decide whether an assistant can read and quote you. What job each one does, what blocking the wrong one costs, and why a switch in front of your server can overrule the file.
7 min
What is llms.txt and does it help?
llms.txt is a free, harmless map of which page answers which question; publish one, but do not expect it to get you cited on its own.
llms.txt is a Markdown map of which pages answer which questions. Tests show it does not move citations on its own. We publish one anyway; here is why.