Why is my site visible on ChatGPT but not on Perplexity?

Perplexity uses a different selection system from ChatGPT: curated source pools, 3-tier re-ranking and preference for structured content (lists, FAQs, tables). If your content is in long unstructured text blocks, Perplexity filters it out.

How to appear in Gemini and Google AI Overviews?

Gemini relies on Google’s index. Make sure Google-Extended isn’t blocked in robots.txt, optimize your classic SEO, strengthen your E-E-A-T signals and add JSON-LD schemas (FAQPage, Organization).

Do I need to optimize differently for each AI engine?

The fundamentals are the same (structured content, allowed bots, JSON-LD schemas). But each engine has its specifics: Perplexity favors lists and tables, Gemini values E-E-A-T signals, ChatGPT favors clear entities. A multi-engine audit identifies the gaps.

2026-04-0810 minDiagnostic

Why my website is invisible on Perplexity and Gemini (and how to fix it)

Cyril Cretin

Founder RadarLLM.ai

Your site appears in ChatGPT but not in Perplexity. Or conversely, Gemini ignores you while other AIs cite you. Each AI engine has its own source selection mechanisms. Perplexity has over 100 million monthly users processing 780 million queries. Gemini, integrated into Google Workspace, reaches 400 million users. Being invisible on these platforms means losing a massive share of AI traffic.

How Perplexity selects its sources

Perplexity doesn’t work like ChatGPT. Its architecture combines curated source pools with real-time search and a 3-tier re-ranking system. The result: more precise citations, but a stricter selection process.

According to 2025-2026 market data, Perplexity evaluates each potential source on 4 main criteria:

1. Domain credibility

Critical

Perplexity maintains internal authority lists. Platforms like GitHub, Amazon, LinkedIn, and Reddit benefit from a high default trust score. For other domains, age, backlinks and editorial consistency matter.

2. Content freshness

High

Perplexity’s real-time search favors recently updated content. An article older than 6 months loses significant visibility in responses.

3. Semantic relevance

High

The 3-tier re-ranking analyzes the match between the query and your content. Pages that directly answer a question (Q&A format) are prioritized.

4. Structural clarity

Medium

Perplexity extracts specific passages. Pages with lists, tables, FAQs and clear definitions are easier to cite than long text blocks.

How Gemini selects its sources

Gemini is deeply integrated with Google’s index. This is the fundamental difference from other AI engines: your classic SEO ranking has a direct impact on your Gemini visibility. But it’s not the only factor.

1. Strong correlation with Google SEO

Critical

Gemini relies on Google’s index to select its primary sources. Pages that rank well in organic results have a significantly higher chance of being cited by Gemini.

2. The Google-Extended bot trap

Critical

According to market data, 33% of businesses block the Google-Extended bot in their robots.txt without knowing it. This bot is what Gemini uses to access your content. Blocking it means becoming invisible to Gemini while remaining visible on Google Search.

3. AI Overviews: the Gemini gateway

High

Google’s AI Overviews are powered by Gemini. According to 2025-2026 data, 87% of e-commerce queries trigger an AI Overview. Being cited in these panels is the strongest Gemini visibility signal.

4. Enhanced E-E-A-T signals

High

Gemini gives more weight to E-E-A-T signals (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trust) than other LLMs. Pages with an identified author, cited sources and visible legal notices are prioritized.

Key differences between the 3 AI engines

Understanding these differences is essential to optimize your visibility across all platforms simultaneously.

	ChatGPT	Perplexity	Gemini
Source selection	Own index + Bing	Curated pools + real-time search	Google index + grounding
Citation style	In-text mentions	Numbered inline links	Sources at response bottom
Update frequency	Real-time (web search)	Real-time	Google index (days/weeks)
Ideal content format	Structured text, schema	FAQ, lists, tables, definitions	SEO-optimized content, E-E-A-T
Key bot to allow	GPTBot	PerplexityBot	Google-Extended

5 actions to be visible on Perplexity AND Gemini

1. Allow PerplexityBot AND Google-Extended in robots.txt

Critical

Explicitly add "User-agent: PerplexityBot / Allow: /" and "User-agent: Google-Extended / Allow: /" to your robots.txt. Also verify GPTBot and ClaudeBot aren’t blocked. One blocked bot = one entire AI engine lost.

2. Structure content for passage extraction

High

Perplexity extracts specific passages. Gemini relies on Google featured snippets. For both: use questions as H2 headings, direct 30-50 word answers at the start of each section, bullet lists and comparison tables.

3. Implement complete FAQPage JSON-LD schema

High

FAQ schemas are the most citable format across all 3 engines. Add 10 to 30 structured Q&As in JSON-LD. Answers should be factual, direct and 100-200 words long.

4. Add citations and external sources

Medium

Perplexity favors content that itself cites reliable sources. Include links to studies, official data and reference sources in your articles. This also strengthens your E-E-A-T score for Gemini.

5. Update content every 4 weeks

Medium

Perplexity favors freshness via real-time search. Gemini relies on the Google index which values recent updates. An article updated within the last 30 days has a significantly higher chance of being cited.