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What is LLM SEO?

By Ben Tabas, Intrica Research · Updated

Answer

LLM SEO is the work of getting a brand named and cited when people ask large language model tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude for answers or recommendations. Ahrefs' study of 75,000 brands, published May 26, 2025, found branded web mentions correlated 0.664 with AI Overview mentions, the strongest factor it measured. It covers the same ground as GEO and AEO.

How LLM tools find what to say

A model answers from what it learned in training, and many tools also search the web live. OpenAI's crawler page, checked Oct. 28, 2026, separates the two. GPTBot collects content that may train OpenAI's models. OAI-SearchBot surfaces websites in ChatGPT search results. ChatGPT-User fetches a page when a user's question calls for it.

Perplexity's crawler page, checked Oct. 28, 2026, says PerplexityBot surfaces and links websites in its search results, and Perplexity-User fetches pages to answer a user's question.

Google's AI features guide, last updated Dec. 10, 2025, says AI Overviews and AI Mode may issue multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources to build one response.

What moves LLM visibility

  • Mentions on other sites. In Ahrefs' May 26, 2025 study, branded web mentions (0.664), branded anchors (0.527) and branded search volume (0.392) were the top correlations with AI Overview mentions. The number of backlinks scored 0.218.
  • Crawler access. A site that blocks OAI-SearchBot or PerplexityBot cuts itself out of those tools' search results.
  • Pages that answer one question, with the answer first and each figure sourced and dated.
  • Plain pages over special files. Google's guide says AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special schema markup and no AI text files.

How to measure it

One check proves little. SparkToro reported on Jan. 28, 2026, after 2,961 runs of 12 prompts, a less than 1 in 100 chance that ChatGPT or Google's AI gives the same list of brands in any two responses.

Count how often each engine names you across many runs of the same buyer questions, and track that share over time.

What we found for one AI company

No AI engine named Async on 13 of 14 category questions (ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, Oct. 16, 2026, 3 runs per question).

See the data →

Check whether ChatGPT and other AI models know who your company is and describe it correctly.

Run the free Entity CheckBook a call

Sources

  1. An Analysis of AI Overview Brand Visibility Factors (75K Brands Studied) · Ahrefs, May 26, 2025Supports: Correlations of branded mentions, anchors, search volume and backlinks with AI Overview brand mentions.
  2. Overview of OpenAI Crawlers · OpenAI, Oct. 28, 2026Supports: Checked Oct. 28, 2026: what GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User each do.
  3. Perplexity Crawlers · Perplexity, Oct. 28, 2026Supports: Checked Oct. 28, 2026: what PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User each do.
  4. AI features and your website · Google Search Central, Dec. 10, 2025Supports: Query fan-out in AI Overviews and AI Mode; no special schema or AI text files needed.
  5. NEW Research: AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands or products · SparkToro, Jan. 28, 2026Supports: Less than 1 in 100 chance of the same brand list in two responses, across 2,961 runs.

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