Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my store? Causes and fixes

You asked ChatGPT “where can I buy coffee beans in Istanbul?” and the answer lists three stores and a few links, but not yours. The first thought is “AI doesn't see small stores”. Yet in our study, 31% of the sources ChatGPT showed were independent online stores: small shops do get recommended.

Some of the causes are in your hands. This guide goes through them in the order you'd check them: first making sure you really aren't recommended, then technical blocks, then your page content, and finally your store's footprint on other sites. For the bigger picture, see What is GEO?.

Where ChatGPT's recommendations come from

According to OpenAI's help article, ChatGPT can search the web on its own when a question needs current information, rewrites the question into one or more targeted searches and answers with links to relevant sources (OpenAI). The same article says results are ranked on several factors meant to surface relevant, reliable information, and that placement isn't guaranteed.

So “it doesn't recommend me” can mean two different things:

• No search happened. Not every answer is written with a search: in our measurement, ChatGPT ran a web search in 74 of its 180 answers.
• A search happened, but you weren't picked. Either your site couldn't be found (a blocked bot, an uncrawlable page) or it was found and another page answered the question better.

The causes of the second case can be checked. The sections below go through them, quickest check first.

First, make sure: one question misleads

Ask the same question again and ChatGPT may show different sources. In our measurement on 25 October 2026, when a question was asked again, only 19% of the sources ChatGPT showed came back every time. Not showing up once doesn't mean you're never recommended, and showing up once doesn't mean your place is secure.

• Keep your store's name out of the question. Ask “is store X reliable?” and your name will most likely come up; what you want to measure is the question from a shopper who doesn't know you.
• Ask while signed out. OpenAI says that with memory on, ChatGPT may use saved memories when rewriting a search (OpenAI), so a question asked from your own account may not match your customer's.
• Ask each question several times and count. In how many answers did your name or domain appear, and in how many was your site linked as a source? Note the two separately.
• Ask both kinds of question. Different kinds of sites get cited for “where to buy” and “how to choose” questions; check where you stand in both.

Technical cause: the search bot is blocked

This is the quickest and most clear-cut check. OpenAI has three separate bots that visit sites, and each one's setting is independent of the others (OpenAI):

To check, open yoursite.com/robots.txt in your browser and look for these:

• If User-agent: OAI-SearchBot is followed by Disallow: /, you're closed to ChatGPT search.
• If User-agent: * is followed by Disallow: /, you're closed to every bot, Google included.
• If you want to opt out of model training, block only GPTBot and leave OAI-SearchBot alone.

Even with robots.txt open, a firewall or CDN in front of your site can stop the bot. OpenAI asks that your host or CDN allow traffic from the search bot IP addresses it publishes (OpenAI). If your setup has bot protection, ask your provider whether those addresses are allowed. After a fix, it can take around 24 hours for OpenAI's systems to adjust to a robots.txt change (OpenAI).

Content cause: your page doesn't answer the question

If the bot is allowed, the page is next. When ChatGPT turns a question into targeted searches, a page that clearly answers that search is a candidate source. Look for three gaps:

The category page has no copy

If a category page is just a heading and a product grid, there's no sentence on it that answers “which espresso machine should a beginner buy?”. Add a few paragraphs above or below the grid that answer the questions customers ask: which product suits whom, what to look for, the price range, delivery and returns.

Product copy is thin or copied from the supplier

The description your supplier sends is the same in dozens of stores. If ChatGPT ranks results for relevant, reliable information, it has no reason to pick yours out of dozens of copies of the same text. Write in your own words who the product suits, what sets it apart and how it's used; see the product description guide for a structure.

Price, shipping and returns can't be found

Shopping questions can come with conditions: “under ₺1,000”, “delivered tomorrow”, “returnable”. Every category in our study included a question with a price, place or delivery condition like these.

The answers to those conditions should be on your page as text. If the shipping time only appears in a banner image, the return terms only at the bottom of a policy page and the free shipping threshold only in the cart, a system reading your page's text may not find them. Google also recommends having important content available as text for its AI features (Google). Add a short “Shipping and returns” line to product and category pages, and keep the figures current.

Does your store show up on other sites?

ChatGPT's recommendation doesn't always come from the store's own site. In our measurement, 21% of the sources ChatGPT showed were large retail chains, 10% marketplaces, 6% price comparison sites and 7% media, blogs and institutions. If an answer leans on a list or comparison on one of those sites, a store that isn't on that list may not be in the answer either.

• Clean up your marketplace and comparison listings. Product names, prices and your store name should match your site; outdated or wrong details can stay outdated in answers too.
• Write your business details the same way everywhere. Your store's name, address and contact details should match across your site, your Google Business Profile and your marketplace shops.
• Look at your rival's cited page. Which page of the store recommended instead of you was cited: a buying guide, a category page full of copy, a comparison table? Note what your page is missing.

You can't fully control how other sites mention you, but your own pages are entirely up to you. Close the technical and content gaps above first.

Checklist

• robots.txt doesn't block OAI-SearchBot, and there's no Disallow: / under User-agent: *.
• Your firewall or CDN allows OpenAI's search bot IP addresses.
• If you're opting out of training, only GPTBot is blocked.
• Your key category pages have copy answering “which one suits whom, how do I choose?”.
• Product descriptions aren't copies of the supplier's text.
• Price, shipping time, free shipping threshold and return terms are written as text on the page.
• Your store's name, address and contact details match on your site, Business Profile and marketplaces.
• You measured with unbranded questions, signed out, asking each question several times.

Measure, fix, measure again with GEO Studio

Running these checks once isn't enough; after a fix you'll want to see whether it worked. Roigo's GEO Studio shortens that loop:

1. You enter your site address. Topics come from your site's real searches if Search Console is connected, otherwise from your categories or the product types you sell, and each topic gets test questions without your store's name.
2. The questions are asked to ChatGPT more than once and to Gemini too, from Turkey, in Turkish, as a signed-out user. Your store is recognised by your site's domain; a mention of a product brand alone doesn't count as a store recommendation.
3. The report shows how many answers mention you and how many cite you, the stores recommended instead of you and their cited pages, the topics where you're missing and a priority task.
4. You rewrite the priority task's page with Roigo AI in SEO Studio, review the draft, and the text you approve goes to your ideasoft, ikas or Shopify store.
5. Then you measure again with the same questions. In weekly tracking, a change that doesn't exceed the measurement's own volatility is shown as “no clear change”, so you won't mistake a lucky round for a result.

On the Free plan your site is checked with real questions once (per site and brand); the report shows the rates, the key finding, the answer to a sample question and the store recommended most instead of you. The full report and weekly tracking come with paid plans.