I set deepconnects.com up so ChatGPT and Claude can find and cite it. The setup involves three things: structured data, a file that tells AI systems what the site covers, and clean internal links. But here is what matters more: keeping the information current. Most sites set up once and never update. That is why they stay invisible.
When your customers ask ChatGPT or Claude about your business, do they mention you? Most sites I work on are invisible to AI answer engines. That is not because the technology is hard. It is because most sites were never set up to be readable by AI, and even fewer stay accurate enough to be worth citing. I set deepconnects.com up so that AI assistants can find and recommend it. I automate the same work for clients. What I learned: the setup is straightforward. The discipline is not.
What Changed in Search
Search is no longer only Google. Customers now ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and other AI answer engines instead of typing a question into Google. Those systems read websites they can access and cite the ones that help answer the question.
This sounds like it would be good news for your website. It is, if your website is actually readable to these systems. Most are not. Either the site blocks AI crawlers by default, or the information is poorly structured, or both.
When I set up deepconnects.com, I explicitly allowed ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity to crawl it. I did not block them the way most sites do. I also added structured data that tells these systems what I do. The result: my site gets cited in AI answers. I have seen it happen.
Three Things Your Site Needs
If you want AI assistants to find and cite your site, three pieces matter:
- Schema markup: Structured data that tells Google and AI systems what type of business you are: a clinic, a dental practice, a law firm, whatever. Schema is not new, but it matters more now because AI uses it to understand your site quickly.
- An llms.txt file: A plain text file you put at the root of your domain that tells AI systems what your site covers. Claude and other systems are designed to read it.
- Clean internal linking: Links from one page to another on your site that help both Google and AI understand relationships between ideas. I automated internal linking on BabyJunctions so it runs on a monthly schedule, so new pages get linked properly without anyone having to remember.
Here Is Where Most Sites Actually Fail
I set up dozens of sites with schema markup and llms.txt files. But the ones that get cited in AI answers are the ones that stay consistent. That is the part I underestimated.
Years ago, I learned something surprising by running an automated Instagram account and an AI music channel on YouTube. I thought the standout posts would drive everything. In practice, posting reliably mattered far more than any single brilliant post. An account that shows up on schedule builds an audience. One that posts one great thing and then goes quiet has to start all over again.
The same is true for being found by AI. You can set up your site perfectly, but if the information drifts out of sync with reality, or your service pages go out of date, AI systems learn not to trust you. They stop citing you.
I see this happen with schema markup especially. A practice adds structured data about their hours, their services, and their clinic. Then hours change, a service gets added or removed, and nobody updates the schema. The next time an AI system reads the site, the information is wrong. It learns that this site is not reliable.
The setup is the easy part. The discipline is keeping it consistent. That is why I automate the routine for clients: monthly SEO passes, internal linking updates, information review. The discipline becomes a schedule, not something that depends on anyone remembering.
Testing Whether Your Site Is Visible
Open ChatGPT and ask it a question about your business. 'What does [your company] do?' or '[your city] [your service type].' Does it mention you? Does it describe you accurately?
If it does not mention you, one of two things is true. Either you are blocking AI crawlers from reading your site (most sites are, accidentally), or your site structure is unclear enough that AI systems do not understand what you do.
You can check your robots.txt file to see if you are blocking crawlers. You can look at whether you have schema markup for your type of business. But the simplest test is the question itself. If ChatGPT does not mention you, it cannot read you or does not understand you. Either way, something is wrong.
How I Set This Up for Clients
I set sites up so AI can read them. Then I keep them consistent. The first step is setup. The ongoing part is consistency.
For clients, I manage the routine: monthly reviews of information accuracy, regular internal linking updates, checks that schema markup stays in sync with what the site actually says. I automate the parts that repeat, so the discipline is built in. That way the site never goes quiet, and AI systems learn to trust it.
The decisions about what to say and what matters stay human. But the parts that repeat do not need to be.
