How to rank in ChatGPT.
When someone asks ChatGPT “the best UK life insurance broker?”, the AI gives them a paragraph — not a list of websites. Whoever ChatGPT names in that paragraph wins. This guide is exactly how to be that brand.
Why ranking in ChatGPT is the new SEO.
ChatGPT processes more than 1 billion queries a week. A growing share of those queries are commercial — "best CRM for solicitors UK", "cheapest life insurance broker", "top dentist in Manchester". When someone asks one of those questions, ChatGPT doesn't return ten links. It returns an answer with a recommendation. That recommendation goes to one brand — or a tight shortlist of three or four.
If you're not in that shortlist, you don't exist for that query. The user reads the recommendation and acts on it. They don't go and Google the alternatives. The blue links don't get a chance.
How ChatGPT picks what to quote.
Three signals dominate. Understanding them is the entire game.
- 01
Training data.
ChatGPT was trained on huge volumes of public web text. If your brand was mentioned in news articles, blog posts, Wikipedia, or any high-quality source before the model's cutoff, it knows you exist. The model has internalised what other people have said about you.
- 02
The Reddit partnership.
OpenAI signed a deal with Reddit in May 2024 giving ChatGPT real-time access to Reddit content. This is the most under-discussed shift in SEO since 2010. Reddit threads where your brand is recommended now feed ChatGPT directly.
- 03
Live web browsing.
On Plus, Pro and Enterprise plans, ChatGPT can browse the web in real time when it needs current information. The sources it picks first are the same ones traditional Google trusts: high-authority news sites, established publications, structured pages with clear schema.
The brand that wins the recommendation is the one with all three working at once: present in training data, recommended on Reddit, and authoritatively covered on the open web.
The Reddit signal — deep dive.
Reddit is the single biggest off-site lever you have for ChatGPT specifically. Here's why.
Reddit is full of buying-intent threads. When someone is choosing a broker, an agency, a SaaS tool, a dentist — they often go to Reddit first because they want real, unfiltered opinions from real users. ChatGPT now reads those threads and treats them as ground truth.
If a thread says "I tried [Brand X] and it was great", that's a signal. If thirty threads say it across ten different subreddits, ChatGPT now has a strong association between your brand and the niche — and will recommend you when asked.
The catch: Reddit aggressively bans obvious self-promotion. You cannot just spam your brand into threads. Every Redditor sees through it instantly, the post gets removed, and the account gets banned. You need aged accounts with real karma history, posting helpful comments in relevant threads — and only mentioning your brand when it's the genuinely correct answer to the question being asked.
The four levers that get you into ChatGPT answers.
This is the same framework we use across every client — because these are the four things that actually move ChatGPT citations:
- 01
PR backlinks from real news editorial.
National news mentions (BBC, Daily Mail, Forbes, The Times) train ChatGPT to associate your brand with the niche. These publications dominate the training data and the live browsing index.
- 02
Genuine Reddit discussion.
Aged accounts placing your brand in real threads where buyers ask questions. Drip-fed across the month for authenticity. Never spam, never copy-paste, never obvious shilling.
- 03
AI-quotable content on your own site.
ChatGPT lifts passages, not pages. Content broken into clear, self-contained answers (with proper headings, plain definitions, clean facts) is far easier to quote than a wall of marketing copy.
- 04
Topical depth across a cluster.
One page on a topic ranks. Twenty interlinked pages on a topic own the topic. ChatGPT rewards sites that demonstrate genuine expertise across the subject, not just a single landing page.
How to test your current standing in ChatGPT.
Before doing any work, audit where you stand today. This takes ten minutes.
- 1
List the questions your buyers ask.
Five to ten queries. Plain English, not keyword-style. "Best life insurance broker in the UK for over-60s", not "life insurance UK 60+". People ask ChatGPT in full sentences.
- 2
Ask each one in ChatGPT.
Use a fresh chat for each query so previous context doesn't leak. Note the brands ChatGPT names. Note where you appear — or where you don't.
- 3
Find the gap.
If you're never named, you have no presence. If you're named third or fourth, you have weak presence. If you're named first, ChatGPT already trusts you — you're protecting a lead, not building one.
- 4
Audit the brands ChatGPT does name.
Look at the brands it picks first. Where do they show up off-site? Which news sites cover them? Which subreddits mention them? Which long-form pages do they have? Reverse-engineer their footprint.
The mistakes that keep brands out of ChatGPT.
- Treating ChatGPT like Google. Stuffing keywords into pages does not get you cited. ChatGPT reads context, not density.
- Ignoring Reddit. The single biggest miss. Most brands have zero Reddit footprint and don't realise how much it matters.
- Cheap "AI SEO" content tools. Mass-produced AI-written articles add nothing. ChatGPT trained on quality text and weighs it heavily; thin auto-content ranks for nothing.
- Spammy Reddit shilling. Posting "check out my brand!" gets you banned in hours. Reddit is the highest-leverage channel only if you respect it.
- Skipping PR. Without national news editorial, you don't have the authority signal ChatGPT uses to break ties between similar brands.
What actually works — the short version.
Run the four levers in parallel. PR Backlinks for the news authority signal. Reddit SEO for the live-thread signal. AI-Optimised Content for your own site's quotability. Website Development if your site is too slow or too messy for AI to parse.
Each works on its own. Together they compound — PR raises your authority, which makes content rank, which gives Reddit something legitimate to link back to, which teaches ChatGPT to associate you with the niche. That's the formula behind every result we publish.
Frequently asked questions.
Does ChatGPT actually recommend specific brands?
Yes — constantly. Ask ChatGPT “the best CRM for UK estate agents” or “cheapest life insurance broker for over-50s in the UK” and it will name 3–5 specific companies. The brand it names first wins the customer; everyone else gets nothing. This happens millions of times a day across every niche.
How does ChatGPT decide which brand to recommend?
Three signals dominate. First, training data — if your brand was mentioned in high-quality public text before the model's cutoff, it knows you. Second, Reddit — ChatGPT has a public partnership with Reddit that gives it real-time access to threads. Third, web search — ChatGPT can browse the web in real time on most paid tiers, weighting authoritative sources first.
How long does it take to start appearing in ChatGPT answers?
It depends on where you start. A brand with strong existing news editorial and an active Reddit footprint can show up in answers in weeks. A brand with no off-site presence has to build that footprint first — which is the work, not a waiting game. The first appearance comes when the engine has enough independent signals to risk recommending you.
Can I just write blog posts and rank in ChatGPT?
No. Your own site is one signal. ChatGPT weighs off-site signals more heavily — what other people say about you, especially on high-authority news sites and Reddit. A brand with thin off-site presence won't rank no matter how good its blog is.
Is ranking in ChatGPT the same as ranking in Google?
No. Google ranks the blue links beneath the answer box. ChatGPT generates the answer itself, then maybe cites a source. The signals overlap (authority, content quality) but the strategy diverges — especially around Reddit and news editorial, which weight far higher in ChatGPT than in Google.