If ChatGPT Can’t Find You, Do You Even Exist?

In 2025, if you’re not showing up in large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity, your site may as well not exist at all.

The Rise of AI-Powered Search

Let’s be honest. Google still dominates. But more and more users are skipping the blue links and going straight to tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

• What’s the best CMS for managing government websites?
• How do I optimize my intranet for employee engagement?
• What are some open source tools with strong security controls?

These aren’t just keywords anymore, they’re prompts. And they don’t lead to your homepage. They lead to generated summaries or AI-written responses based on web content.

If your site isn’t structured clearly, written for clarity, or providing value in a machine-readable way, you’re not just missing traffic. You’re missing relevance.

Has Your Site Been Used to Train AI?

If your site is publicly crawlable and rich in content, the answer is probably yes. Many AI models have been trained on large portions of the public web. But being part of past training data doesn’t guarantee visibility today.

Tools like Perplexity crawl the web in real time. And new models are prioritizing up-to-date, well-structured content. If your site isn’t optimized for that, it’s not just old, it’s invisible.

Start by Making Your Site LLM-Friendly

1. Use Clear, Semantic HTML

Don’t wrap everything in divs. Use proper headings and content tags so that machines can understand the structure. This also helps screen readers and accessibility.

2. Add Schema Markup Where It Makes Sense

If your site answers questions, provides how-to content, or includes articles, use structured data like QAPage or Article. This isn’t just an SEO trick. It helps AI tools interpret your content with precision.

3. Write for Understanding, Not Just Ranking

It’s tempting to write for algorithms, but clarity wins. Explain concepts completely. Use natural phrasing. Avoid vague marketing speak and broken metaphors.

4. Anticipate Real Questions

Look at the actual queries people are typing into AI tools. Then build content that answers those questions directly. This is especially helpful when building support content or FAQ pages. Combining AI tools with a structured CMS workflow can make this easier to scale.

5. Include Text Descriptions for Images

Alt text isn’t just for accessibility. It gives AI a better understanding of visual elements. Describe what the image communicates, not just what it is.

Want to Know What AI Sees?

Here’s a quick way to test:

• Ask ChatGPT to describe your company or summarize your site.
• Paste a page URL into Perplexity and ask for a summary.
• Use Bing Copilot and request key takeaways from your homepage.

If the results are vague, outdated, or inaccurate, it’s a sign your content needs work. A good place to start is revisiting how your website presents key messages and answers real user questions. This is especially important as AI-generated responses become part of your brand’s perceived voice.

Why Concrete CMS Helps With This

Sites built with Concrete CMS already have advantages. You’re working in a system designed around blocks and structured content, which is easier for AI to interpret. The built-in SEO tools give you control over metadata, sitemaps, and Open Graph tags. And because Concrete is open source, it’s highly customizable for the type of output AI prefers.

Some teams are already using AI in their publishing process to move faster and stay consistent. Here’s how some are combining Concrete with AI to outpace WordPress-based workflows.