Answers / How AI Search Works

Can I Pay to Be Recommended by ChatGPT or Google's AI?

Not the recommendation itself. Google shows ads above, below and within AI Overviews, and OpenAI is testing clearly labeled ads in ChatGPT, but both say the ads are separate from the answer. OpenAI says advertisers have no ability to "shape, rank, or alter" ChatGPT's responses.

Google: ads near and inside AI Overviews

• Ads can show above, below and within AI Overviews.
• Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are eligible automatically.
• You can't target the AI Overview placement directly, and you can't opt out of it.
• Google is also testing ads in AI Mode in the US.

Those are ads, labeled as ads. Buying one doesn't change what the AI answer says about local businesses.

ChatGPT: ads are separate from answers

OpenAI's help center says ads "do not influence ChatGPT's answers," run "on separate systems from our chat model," and that advertisers "have no ability to shape, rank, or alter ChatGPT's responses." Ads are clearly labeled and separate from the organic answer.

What "guaranteed AI placement" offers really are

If someone promises your business will be the one ChatGPT or Google recommends, ask how. Neither company sells that. Usually the offer is one of these:

• Ordinary SEO and listing work, rebranded.
• Fake reviews or paid mentions, which the FTC's 2024 rule targets.
• A screenshot from one search that won't hold up tomorrow.

What actually earns the recommendation

Accurate profiles, consistent listings, real reviews and website pages that answer the question. That's work you can verify month to month, not a placement you can buy.

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