# GEO outside China: Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot

> Each product has its own gate. Google AI features need an indexed, snippet-eligible page; ChatGPT search needs OAI-SearchBot; Perplexity needs PerplexityBot; Copilot draws on Bing's index and live searches. Open all four gates, then build content and third-party coverage, and measure with the two official reports.

- URL: https://geo.casa/best-practices/global-platforms/
- Guide · Officially documented
- Reviewed: 2026-10-28

This guide is for site owners and marketing teams who want to appear in AI answers outside China: Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT search, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. It shows what each product documents about getting in, then the content and measurement work that applies to all of them. The access checks take a day or two. The content and coverage work is ongoing. Unlike in China, most of the entry rules here are documented by the platforms themselves.

## The short version

1. Make sure Google can index your pages and show them with a snippet.
2. Allow OAI-SearchBot so ChatGPT search can show your site.
3. Allow PerplexityBot so Perplexity can show your site.
4. Get indexed in Bing and keep product data current for Copilot.
5. Write content that answers the sub-questions people actually ask.
6. Earn genuine third-party coverage, because answers lean on it.
7. Measure with Google's and Bing's reports, plus your own prompt sampling.

## 1. Google AI Overviews and AI Mode

Google's AI features build on its normal search index. There is no separate application.

> **Officially documented:**
> To be eligible as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page "must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet". No special schema.org markup or AI text files are required.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)

> **Officially documented:**
> `nosnippet` prevents content from being used as a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode, and `max-snippet` limits how much may be used.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag)

> **Officially documented:**
> The Search generative AI control in Search Console excludes a site from AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Discover.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Console Help: Search generative AI control - Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16908024)

- Check key URLs with URL Inspection ([URL Inspection tool](https://geo.casa/measurement/url-inspection/)).
- Look for stray `nosnippet` or `max-snippet` rules ([Snippet controls for AI Overviews and AI Mode](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/snippet-controls/)).
- Confirm the Search generative AI control isn't set to exclude ([Search generative AI control](https://geo.casa/ai-search/search-generative-ai-control/)).
- Background: [Google AI Overviews](https://geo.casa/ai-search/google-ai-overviews/), [AI search access audit](https://geo.casa/playbooks/ai-search-access-audit/).

## 2. ChatGPT search

ChatGPT search uses its own crawler token to decide which sites it may show.

> **Officially documented:**
> OpenAI: "Sites that are opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though can still appear as navigational links." GPTBot is a separate token for training and does not affect search. Systems take about 24 hours to adjust after a robots.txt update.
>
> Sources: [OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots)

- Allow `OAI-SearchBot` in robots.txt and at the CDN or firewall.
- Decide on `GPTBot` separately. Blocking it keeps you out of training, not out of search.
- Rules per token: [Configure robots.txt for AI crawlers](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/robots-txt-ai-crawlers/).

## 3. Perplexity

> **Officially documented:**
> PerplexityBot surfaces and links websites in Perplexity's search results. Perplexity-User fetches pages when users ask. "Since a user requested the fetch, this fetcher generally ignores robots.txt rules."
>
> Sources: [Perplexity: Perplexity crawlers](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/perplexity-crawlers)

- Allow `PerplexityBot` in robots.txt and at the firewall.
- Content that must stay private needs access control. robots.txt won't stop user-triggered fetches.
- Side-by-side comparison of the three: [Google AI features vs ChatGPT search vs Perplexity](https://geo.casa/ai-search/ai-search-platforms/).

> Every product has its own gate. A page that is open to Google but blocked for OAI-SearchBot is invisible in ChatGPT search, however good it is.

## 4. Microsoft Copilot and Bing

Copilot answers rest on Bing's web data. Microsoft's own GEO guide stresses classic search and accurate product data.

> **Officially documented:**
> Microsoft's GEO guide says Copilot breaks a shopping query down using crawled web data and product feeds. It adds that "traditional SEO remains essential because AI systems perform real-time web searches frequently throughout the shopping journey".
>
> Sources: [Microsoft Advertising: From discovery to influence: A guide to GEO](https://about.ads.microsoft.com/content/dam/sites/msa-about/global/common/content-lib/pdf/from-discovery-to-influence-a-guide-to-geo.pdf)

- Verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools and submit sitemaps ([XML sitemaps](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/xml-sitemaps/)).
- Consider IndexNow for fast updates to Bing ([XML sitemaps vs IndexNow](https://geo.casa/tools-protocols/sitemaps-vs-indexnow/)).
- If you sell products, keep price and stock identical in feeds, on-page markup and the visible page ([Structured data and AI search](https://geo.casa/content-structured-data/structured-data-ai-search/)).

## 5. Content that answers the sub-questions

Google documents that its AI features search several related questions at once. Pages that answer the specific sub-questions have more chances to be pulled in.

> **Officially documented:**
> Google describes query fan-out: its AI features issue several related sub-queries across subtopics to find supporting pages. It warns that creating separate pages for every variation mainly to manipulate rankings or AI responses violates its scaled content abuse policy.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide)

- Cover the real decision questions in one solid page per topic, not one thin page per phrasing ([Query fan-out](https://geo.casa/ai-search/query-fan-out/)).
- Put the answer near the top of each section, and state facts plainly ([For content editors: writing articles AI answers can quote](https://geo.casa/best-practices/content-editor/)).
- Keep the main text in server HTML ([JavaScript rendering and AI crawlers](https://geo.casa/implementation/javascript-rendering-ai-crawlers/)).

## 6. Third-party coverage

Answers often cite pages about you, not just your own site. How much depends on the assistant and category.

> **Officially documented:**
> Google says its generative AI features can show what's said about products and services across the web, including blogs, videos and forums. It adds that seeking inauthentic mentions "isn't as helpful as it might seem".
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide)

> **Observed in practice:**
> In DATA17's August 2026 sample of one AI assistant (72 prompts, 297 citations), 80.5% of cited sources were third-party sites. The most cited were structured category list pages, such as best-tools roundups.
>
> Sources: DATA17 AI Research Lab · 解数智能: 你的公司还在 AI 的答案里吗：企业 GEO 行动指南 · 2026 (unpublished report, not publicly available; readers can't check it)

This wiki's re-test with consumer ChatGPT in another category found vendors' own sites made up most citations, though list pages still led among third-party ones ([Claim: seeding brand mentions across the web boosts AI visibility](https://geo.casa/ai-search/inauthentic-mentions/)).

- Get listed accurately on the category comparison and review sites in your field.
- Earn coverage from trade press and real customers. Approach: [PR and brand teams: how press, encyclopedias, Q&A sites and reviews shape AI answers](https://geo.casa/best-practices/pr-earned-media/).
- Keep Wikipedia-style and directory facts about you correct ([When AI gets your brand wrong: find it, fix it, prevent it](https://geo.casa/best-practices/wrong-ai-answers/)).

## 7. Measure with official reports and sampling

Google and Bing each give site owners a report. Neither shows rankings inside AI answers.

> **Officially documented:**
> Search Console's Generative AI performance report "shows data about how your site performs in generative AI features on Google Search". It counts impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country, date and device.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Console Help: Generative AI performance report (Search) - Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139)

> **Officially documented:**
> Bing's AI Performance report counts citations in Copilot and Bing AI answers. Microsoft: "It simply shows which content was cited." Trend changes can't be traced to a specific cause.
>
> Sources: [Microsoft Bing: AI Performance report (Bing Webmaster Tools help)](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/ai-performance-9f8e7d6c)

> **Officially documented:**
> Google: "No third-party tool has access to our internal ranking or AI systems."
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide)

ChatGPT and Perplexity offer no such report in the sources we track. Sample prompts there yourself ([Measuring AI visibility by sampling prompts](https://geo.casa/measurement/ai-visibility-measurement/)).

> Use the two official reports for what they show, which is impressions and citations. Treat any tool that claims to see inside the ranking as selling a guess.

## What not to do

- **Don't block GPTBot thinking it removes you from ChatGPT search.** Search uses OAI-SearchBot (step 2).
- **Don't add `nosnippet` sitewide.** It removes pages as direct input for AI Overviews (step 1).
- **Don't spin up a page per fan-out phrasing.** Google calls that scaled content abuse (step 5).
- **Don't manufacture mentions.** Google treats it as spam.

> **Officially documented:**
> Google's definition of spam includes "attempting to manipulate generative AI responses in Google Search."
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)

See [Claim: seeding brand mentions across the web boosts AI visibility](https://geo.casa/ai-search/inauthentic-mentions/) and [Google spam policies](https://geo.casa/content-structured-data/spam-policies/).

## How you'll know it's working

- Google: rising impressions in the Generative AI report for the pages you worked on ([Generative AI performance report: AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search Console](https://geo.casa/measurement/search-console-ai-features/)).
- Bing: citations and grounding queries in AI Performance ([Bing AI Performance report](https://geo.casa/measurement/bing-ai-performance/)).
- ChatGPT and Perplexity: a fixed prompt set, run repeatedly, tracking mentions and cited URLs ([Measuring AI visibility by sampling prompts](https://geo.casa/measurement/ai-visibility-measurement/)).
- Verified crawler visits from each search bot in your logs ([Verify AI crawler traffic in server logs](https://geo.casa/implementation/verify-ai-crawlers/)). Reporting: [For marketing leads: measuring GEO and reporting it upward](https://geo.casa/best-practices/measure-report/).

## Evidence at a glance

| Recommendation | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Indexed and snippet-eligible for Google AI features | Official |
| Allow OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot | Official |
| Bing indexing and accurate product data for Copilot | Official |
| Cover sub-questions without page-per-variation | Official |
| Genuine third-party coverage | Official (Google) and observed |
| Measure with Search Console and Bing reports | Official |
| Prompt sampling for ChatGPT and Perplexity | Observed practice |

## Sources

- [Google Search Central: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)
- [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag)
- [Google Search Console Help: Search generative AI control - Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16908024)
- [Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide)
- [OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots)
- [Perplexity: Perplexity crawlers](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/perplexity-crawlers)
- [Microsoft Advertising: From discovery to influence: A guide to GEO](https://about.ads.microsoft.com/content/dam/sites/msa-about/global/common/content-lib/pdf/from-discovery-to-influence-a-guide-to-geo.pdf)
- DATA17 AI Research Lab · 解数智能: 你的公司还在 AI 的答案里吗：企业 GEO 行动指南 · 2026 (unpublished report, not publicly available; readers can't check it)
- [Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)
- [Google Search Console Help: Generative AI performance report (Search) - Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139)
- [Microsoft Bing: AI Performance report (Bing Webmaster Tools help)](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/ai-performance-9f8e7d6c)