Since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in 2022, marketers have predicted that it would prove to be a valuable lead generation channel. This prediction proved true as business decision m
akers quickly adopted ChatGPT as a research tool, resulting in the practice of Generative Engine Optimization, i.e., optimizing your online presence so that your business and products are more likely to be recommended by ChatGPT.
In this guide, we’ll discuss optimizing your online presence so that ChatGPT becomes a valuable lead generation channel for your business. First, we’ll discuss how ChatGPT’s recommendation algorithm works, and then we’ll discuss strategies for maximizing your business’s presence in each of ChatGPT’s scoring factors.
Understanding ChatGPT’s Recommendation Algorithm
Traditional search engines like Google value brands that create a variety of authoritative content that satisfies search intent, including blog posts and longer-form content in addition to product pages, comparisons, and lists. ChatGPT, though, tightens the focus on a product or brand’s inclusion in pages with LLM-friendly formats that do some of the work in organizing information in a concise and readable way (“best of” lists, award lists, etc.) whether the brand creates that content themselves or not.
The graphic below, taken from our survey of generative engine recommendation algorithms, provides a simple overview of ChatGPT’s recommendation algorithm:
Authoritative List Mentions
Authoritative lists with titles like “the top _____ companies of 2025” are the perfect format for LLMs like ChatGPT to translate into user recommendations. This is because they provide big names in a given industry and a rank order that the LLM can reference to inform its own when making recommendations.
Being included on multiple authoritative lists is essential because LLMs use their rapid data ingestion capabilities to cross-reference several lists simultaneously, prioritizing them based on their industry authority. As a result, seeking appearances on multiple lists made by companies with high industry authority, or creating your own as part of an SEO strategy that will increase your company’s authority, are great strategies to satisfy this aspect of the algorithm.
Awards, Accreditations, Affiliations
Industry awards are another easy way for ChatGPT to quickly discern the top players in a given market. LLMs are likelier to recommend companies that have won special recognition in their search results since it is an objective “point on the scoreboard” for the brand. Typically, ChatGPT looks at two kinds of awards:
| Popular Awards | Industry Awards |
| “Best of” type awards usually granted by a non-industry association or company for widely used services. These awards generally take priority in consumer queries. | More specialized awards recognized by an in-industry authority for excellence in an industry, which are more common in B2B markets but still present in B2C. |
In addition to explicit awards, ChatGPT will consider accreditations from and affiliations with trustworthy, authoritative organizations in its recommendations.
Online Reviews
Online reviews are the easiest way for LLMs to get an idea of consumer/client perception of a product for service, and the language in them is borrowed heavily by ChatGPT when breaking down its rankings with more specific information on each subject.
The review sites that influence ChatGPT’s recommendations most are:
- G2
- Clutch
- CNet
- Capterra
- TrustPilot
- Better Business Bureau
Note that while the Authoritative List Mentions above include lists such as Clutch and G2, ChatGPT will also consider customer reviews when answering consumer queries, and may even prioritize them for goods or services primarily targeted toward consumers.
Customer Examples & Usage Data
ChatGPT is unique in its ability to consider customer examples and usage data when making recommendations. Broadly, this category refers to any available third-party data on market share, customer base size, or other information that can indicate a product or service is widely utilized among their target market.
Social Sentiment
Social sentiment is a catch-all used to quantify the way a company is discussed online, and it is typically divided into three categories:
| Discussion Forums | Social Media | News Articles & Op-Eds |
| Quora, Substack, and Reddit, etc. | X, Instagram, Facebook, etc. | Any news/media coverage of a brand or product. |
While social sentiment is the lowest-weighted factor in the algorithm, the top recommendations in competitive markets tend to be separated by small margins, and social sentiment can easily make the difference between a #1 spot and a second or third ranking.
ChatGPT Optimization Strategy in 2025
Based on the ChatGPT algorithm outlined above, companies looking to use ChatGPT for lead generation should leverage the following six strategies:
- Get placed in highly-ranked list articles (and make your own)
- Seek inclusion in popular directories and databases
- Post company achievements
- Facilitate positive online reviews
- Stay aware of social sentiment
- Increase Google domain authority
Securing Placement in Highly-Ranked List Articles
In most cases, ChatGPT’s recommendation order near-perfectly mirrors the highest-ranked list pieces for the same keyword. As a result, this is the very first step businesses should take if they want to know how to use ChatGPT for lead generation.
One way to get placed on these lists is to pay directory businesses such as Clutch for high placements. However, this can quickly become expensive, especially in industries with higher competition. The second method is to create and publish your own lists and invest in SEO to secure high search rankings. Both approaches help to get your company recommended by ChatGPT as well as improving lead generation in their own right, and they can be combined.
Seek Inclusion in Popular Directories and Databases
There are two tiers of databases that ChatGPT uses in its recommendation algorithm:
| Primary | Authoritative educational sources like the Encyclopedia Britannica and the existing literary canon. |
| Secondary | Less authoritative but still widely accepted sources include Wikipedia, Hoovers, and Bloomberg. |
Getting listed in either of these source categories makes it considerably more likely that ChatGPT will drive leads to your company. Seeking inclusion in them is simple: submit your company’s information to these sources and other online sources when appropriate.
Sharing Company Achievements
Third-party sources aren’t the only ones considered in the ChatGPT algorithm, and directly contacting third parties isn’t the only way to influence how your business is discussed online. ChatGPT also considers your company’s social media in their rankings, and the buzz created by your posts, whether it is posir negative.
Publicizing positive developments regarding your company increases the likelihood that ChatGPT will use that information when making a recommendation and that it will see positive responses from your target market.
Examples of such information include:
- Winning industry awards
- Positive Op-Eds
- Inclusion on industry reviews and lists
- Articles citing YoY or quarterly growth of the company
Post these achievements on all of your core social media profiles, and showcase positive responses by replying to them or even posting when responses to a given post are overwhelmingly positive.
Facilitate Positive Online Reviews
ChatGPT‘s algorithm uses online reviews, so positive online reviews are necessary if a company wants to use ChatGPT for lead generation. On average, we have found that companies with average review scores lower than 70% are significantly less likely to be referred by ChatGPT.
The best and most ethical way to increase the number of positive reviews of your company or product is to remove barriers to leaving them after a purchase. This can be done by creating an easy review system within your own website, linking to popular third-party sites at checkout, and otherwise providing clear and easy opportunities to leave a review.
Monitor Social Sentiment
There are several ways to measure social sentiment, but the most common are software apps called sentiment analysis tools. The most popular options are Talkwalker, Brand24, Critical Mention, and Social Searcher. Companies should leverage these to get an idea of the general buzz around their company and product across all relevant sites.
Finally, we recommend building a quality customer success team, since expert CS staff are trained to identify and manage social sentiment in a more more proactivelyng out to people with questions, concerns, or complaints and helping them find a solution.
Increase Google Domain Authority
Domain authority refers to Google’s calculated authority score for each website. A higher score improves the chances that a website’s pages will appear at the top of search results with all else being equal, and increasing authority score acts as a force multiplier for any of your list pieces. While Google’s own authority score isn’t public, third-party tools such as Ahrefs and Moz offer a fairly accurate estimate. In Ahref’s case, they refer to it as Domain Rating, and some examples of high domain rating websites are given below:
Domain Rating: Common Examples
| Website | Domain Rating |
| google.com | 100 |
| youtube.com | 100 |
| linkedin.com | 98 |
| wikipedia.org | 97 |
| netflix.com | 94 |
| reddit.com | 89 |
| spotify.com | 88 |
| adobe.com | 87 |
| bbc.com | 85 |
| cnn.com | 84 |
| paypal.com | 83 |
| nytimes.com | 82 |
The best way to increase Domain Authority is to consistently publish high-quality, authoritative content. In fact, our research found that websites publishing twice weekly for a minimum of three months experience a modest to moderate bump in online traffic, resulting in a higher Domain Authority score. Content that attracts backlinks from research-focused content from third-party outlets, such as metrics articles, is particularly effective.
How to Use ChatGPT for Lead Generation
Using ChatGPT for lead generation doesn’t require using ChatGPT at all; rather, it requires taking an active role in improving your company’s standing in every aspect of its recommendation algorithm. This complex process requires significant time to research and ascertain where your company stands now, prioritizing different strategies to improve standing as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, and deploying those strategies before you can experience any of the results.
As a result, many companies consider contracting with external agencies who can handle ChatGPT optimization for them. If you’d like to learn more about our expert GEO services, contact us here.
