AI SEO in the United States: How to Get Recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI
To get recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI search in the United States, first let both read your site, then make each page answer one buyer question with a clear service, price range and place. Allow OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot, keep Google indexing on, claim your Google Business Profile, add Spanish pages if your buyers use Spanish, and check state privacy and review rules before you publish.
- Google sent 85.19% of US search referrals in September 2026, and Bing 9.89%, so Google SEO still feeds Google's AI answers.
- Pew found 34% of US adults had ever used ChatGPT by March 2025, and 58% of adults under 30.
- Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special markup. A page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet.
- US rules are a patchwork: sector laws, state privacy laws such as California's, and FTC review rules that apply everywhere.
- Chalk Labs has no published US-market results. Its only regional proof is Meru Trophy in Bengaluru, India.
How do Americans find businesses with search and AI?
Google sends most US search referrals, and a growing minority also ask AI assistants. Statcounter recorded Google at 85.19% of US search referrals in September 2026, with Bing at 9.89%, Yahoo at 2.64% and DuckDuckGo at 1.75% 1. These are referral clicks, not searches, and they leave out AI assistants 1.
Pew Research surveyed 5,123 US adults between 24 February and 2 March 2025. It found 34% had ever used ChatGPT, roughly double the 2023 share 2. Use fell with age: 58% of adults under 30, 41% of those aged 30 to 49, 25% of those aged 50 to 64 and 10% of those 65 and over 2.
Read that as a reach guide, not a lead forecast. Pew measured whether people had ever used ChatGPT, not how often, and not whether they asked it to name a local provider. We found no public, independent US figure for that last behaviour.
Market snapshot: the United States
| Google share of search referrals (September 2026) | 85.19%; Bing 9.89%; Yahoo 2.64%; DuckDuckGo 1.75%1 |
| US adults who had ever used ChatGPT (early 2025) | 34%; 58% of adults under 302 |
| Google AI Overviews | Available in the US, with English and Spanish on the language list3 |
| Spanish speakers at home (2024) | About 44.87 million, 13.9% of residents6 |
| California privacy law threshold | Over $25 million revenue, or data on 100,000+ residents or households9 |
| Yelp reviews (end of 2024) | About 308 million13 |
| Federal privacy law | Sector-specific, plus a growing number of state consumer privacy laws8 |
| Chalk Labs US-market results | None published. Its regional proof is Meru Trophy in Bengaluru, India14 |
Pew Research found 34% of US adults had ever used ChatGPT by March 2025, up from about half that in 2023 2. We found no public data on how many ask AI assistants to name local providers.
What do Google AI search and ChatGPT need from a US site?
Most US sites fail at access, not content: a firewall blocks the bot. Google lists the United States among the countries where AI Overviews are available, in English and Spanish among other languages 3. Google also says there are no extra requirements or special optimisations for AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special schema is needed 4.
The one gate is that a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet 4. For ChatGPT, OpenAI says its OAI-SearchBot crawler is the one that surfaces sites in ChatGPT search, and a site can allow it while blocking GPTBot, which gathers training content 5. Search changes take about 24 hours to apply after a robots.txt edit 5.
Many US sites block bots by accident through a firewall, a bot-protection service or a plug-in. Run the AI Crawler Checker on your domain. If something is blocked, follow how to allow AI crawlers in robots.txt. Our explainer on Google AI Mode shows what the feature does.
Should a US business publish Spanish pages as well as English?
Yes, if a meaningful share of your buyers speak Spanish, and only for the services they actually buy. Wikipedia, citing the American Community Survey, reports that about 44.87 million US residents spoke Spanish at home in 2024, or 13.9% of the population 6. Google lists Spanish among the languages where AI Overviews run 3.
We found no study of which language Americans use when they ask an AI assistant for a local provider. So test it. Run the same buyer question in both languages and note who is named.
Keep one language per page, give the Spanish page its own URL, and link the two versions with hreflang. Google says each version must point to the other and to itself, or the tags are ignored. It also supports language codes with region codes, so es-US is valid 7.
- <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-US" href="https://yourdomain.com/roof-repair/" />
- <link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-US" href="https://yourdomain.com/es/reparacion-de-techos/" />
- <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://yourdomain.com/roof-repair/" />
Which US privacy rules apply to your forms and tracking?
It depends on where your customers live and what you collect, because the US has no single privacy law for all businesses. Federal privacy law is sector-specific, such as HIPAA for health data. A growing number of states have passed their own consumer privacy laws, so check each state where you have customers 8.
California is the best-known state. Its Attorney General says the California Consumer Privacy Act covers for-profit businesses that earn over $25 million a year (the figure on the California Attorney General's page on 20 October 2026; thresholds are adjusted over time, so confirm the current one), handle the data of 100,000 or more California residents or households, or earn half their revenue from selling personal data 9. Consumers can ask to know, delete, correct, opt out of sale or sharing, and limit use of sensitive data 9.
A small local firm may fall under none of those thresholds. Still, publish a plain privacy page and honour deletion requests. This is not legal advice, so check your own position with a US lawyer.
What do US review and advertising rules mean for your proof pages?
Treat every review, testimonial and endorsement as a legal claim. The FTC says a material connection between an endorser and a company, such as payment or a free product, should be disclosed clearly. It also says the company is responsible for what others say on its behalf 10.
Since 2024 the FTC has a final rule on fake reviews. It bans writing, buying or selling fake reviews, including AI-generated ones, and bans offering rewards tied to a positive or negative review 11. It also bans suppressing negative reviews through groundless legal threats or intimidation 11.
This matters for AI visibility because AI engines read reviews and testimonials as proof. Never fake them. Ask every customer for a review, not only the happy ones, because the FTC warns that selective solicitation can mislead 10.
Which US platforms and directories should you claim first?
Claim Google Business Profile first, then the review sites your buyers already use. Google's help page names three local ranking factors, relevance, distance and prominence, and says paying does not improve local rank 12. Prominence counts your reviews and links from outside sites 12.
Yelp is a large US review site; about 308 million reviews had been contributed by the end of 2024 13. Its weight varies by trade and city, so check whether your category shows Yelp results before you invest.
Keep your business name, address and phone number identical on every profile and on your site. That consistency helps AI engines match all the mentions to one business. Our guide to local business AI search covers the steps.
What should you publish first, by type of business?
Publish the page that answers the question your best buyers ask before they call. The table shows a sensible first page for common US business types. These are modelled examples from our method, not observed data.
| Business type | First page | Must include |
|---|---|---|
| Home service (roofing, HVAC) | Cost of [service] in [city] | Price range, what changes the price, licence number, service area by county |
| Law or accounting firm | How [matter] works in [state] | State name, date checked, named reviewing professional |
| Multi-state B2B software | [Product] vs [rival] for [use case] | Plain feature table, pricing, honest limits |
| Clinic or dental practice | What [treatment] costs without insurance | Price, how long it takes, clinician name, date reviewed |
| Ecommerce brand | Best [product] for [need] | Specs, shipping to US states, returns, reviews |
How does the US differ from other markets?
The US differs mainly in scale and in legal fragmentation. Its search market is large and Google-led, yet Bing still holds 9.89% of referrals 1. We cannot say how much that matters for AI answers, because we found no source linking Bing share to AI recommendations.
Rules also differ by state, so a firm selling nationwide may face more than one regime 8. Compare this with our pages on the United Kingdom and Canada.
Finally, the US is big enough that local intent dominates many trades. A plumber in Phoenix and one in Boston compete in different markets with different reviews, so write for the city, not the country.
What has Chalk Labs actually done in the US?
Chalk Labs has not published US-market AI SEO results. Its published search results are Meru Trophy, a local trophy shop in Bengaluru that went from near-zero visibility to 27,300 Google clicks and 2.3 million impressions in 16 months, and the personal-brand site shilikajain.com 14.
The method we would bring is the same four steps used elsewhere: query research, answer pages, technical readiness and measurement. US rules and competitors differ, so results would not necessarily match. We do not guarantee rankings or citations anywhere.
Where should a US business start this month?
Start with access, then one page, then measurement. In week one, run the crawler check and fix blocks. In week two, claim or clean your Google Business Profile and publish one answer page for your best-converting question.
In weeks three and four, run your top ten buyer prompts in ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Perplexity and record who is named. Our AI Prompt List Builder turns your category into a prompt list, and how to measure AI share of voice shows how to track it.
Rules and platforms that shape results
Rules to know
- California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA). Gives California residents rights to know, delete, correct, opt out and limit use of sensitive data. Applies to businesses over the revenue or data thresholds. The CPRA changes began 1 January 2023.9
- FTC Endorsement Guides. Material connections must be disclosed clearly, and the advertiser is responsible for what others say for it. The Guides are enforced through Section 5 of the FTC Act.10
- FTC rule on fake reviews and testimonials. Bans fake or AI-generated reviews, incentives tied to review sentiment, and some review suppression tactics.11
Platforms that matter here
- Google Business Profile: local ranking rests on relevance, distance and prominence 12
- Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, available in the US 3
- ChatGPT search, fed by OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot 5
- Yelp: large US review site, weight varies by trade and city 13
- Your own site: the one asset you control, with Spanish versions where buyers need them
What works in the United States
- Build city and county service pages only where you have a real office, licence, price or crew for that place.
- Name the state in legal, tax, insurance and licence content, and show the date you last checked it.
- Add Spanish versions of your top enquiry pages on separate URLs with es-US hreflang 7.
- Ask every customer for a Google review on a steady schedule, and reply to the negative ones in public 10.
- Keep your name, address and phone number identical across your site, Google Business Profile and directories 12.
Mistakes to avoid
- Publishing fifty state or city pages that differ only by the place name.
- Buying reviews or offering rewards for five-star ratings, which the FTC rule targets 11.
- Assuming California rules are irrelevant because you are based elsewhere. They follow the customer 9.
- Blocking all bots in a firewall and wondering why ChatGPT never names you 5.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a different strategy for ChatGPT than for Google in the US?
The base is the same: readable pages, clear answers and trustworthy proof. The access step differs. Google needs indexing, while ChatGPT search relies on OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot, which you can allow in robots.txt while blocking GPTBot if you do not want training use 5. Check both bots, then track both.
Is Bing worth optimising for in the United States?
Bing held 9.89% of US search referrals in September 2026, against 85.19% for Google 1. Good technical SEO serves both. We found no source proving Bing share drives AI recommendations, so treat it as a small extra, not a separate project.
Do I need to follow California privacy law if my business is elsewhere?
Only if you do business in California and meet a threshold: over $25 million in revenue, data on 100,000 or more California residents or households, or half your revenue from selling personal data 9. Many small firms fall below these. Ask a US lawyer about your own case.
Are fake or AI-written reviews illegal in the US?
The FTC's final rule bans creating, buying or selling fake or false reviews, including AI-generated ones, when the business knew or should have known they were fake 11. It also bans rewards tied to the sentiment of a review. Use real customers only.
How long until a US business shows up in AI answers?
No reliable US-specific timeline exists. Chalk Labs' own search-led results are measured in months: Meru Trophy took 16 months to reach 27,300 Google clicks 14. Gains depend on competition, the city and your starting point, and nobody can promise a date.
Sources
- Search Engine Market Share in United States Of America - September 2026 · Statcounter Global StatsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Google 85.19%, Bing 9.89%, Yahoo 2.64%, DuckDuckGo 1.75% of US search referrals in September 2026
- 34% of U.S. adults have used ChatGPT, about double the share in 2023 · Pew Research CenterOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 34% of 5,123 US adults had ever used ChatGPT (24 Feb to 2 Mar 2025); 58% under 30, 41% aged 30-49, 25% aged 50-64, 10% aged 65+
- Find information in faster and easier ways with AI Overviews in Google Search · Google Search HelpOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: The United States is listed as an availability country for AI Overviews; the languages list includes English and Spanish
- AI features and your website · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: No additional requirements or special optimisations or schema for AI Overviews or AI Mode; page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet
- Overview of OpenAI crawlers · OpenAIOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: OAI-SearchBot is for ChatGPT search; GPTBot gathers training content; each bot is set independently; search changes take about 24 hours
- Languages of the United States · WikipediaOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: About 44.87 million US residents (13.9%) spoke Spanish at home in 2024, per the American Community Survey as reported by Wikipedia
- Tell Google about localized versions of your page · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: hreflang tags must be reciprocal and self-referencing or are ignored; language-region codes are supported; x-default is a fallback
- Privacy law of the United States · WikipediaOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Federal privacy law is sector-specific (HIPAA, GLBA, COPPA); a growing number of states have their own data privacy laws
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) · California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney GeneralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: CCPA thresholds ($25 million revenue; 100,000 residents or households; 50% revenue from selling data), consumer rights, CPRA effective 1 January 2023
- FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking · U.S. Federal Trade CommissionOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Material connections must be disclosed clearly; advertisers are responsible for others' statements; Guides enforced through Section 5; selective review solicitation can mislead
- Federal Trade Commission announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials · U.S. Federal Trade CommissionOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Final rule bans fake and AI-generated reviews, incentives tied to review sentiment, and certain review-suppression tactics; announced 14 August 2024
- Improve your local ranking on Google · Google Business Profile HelpOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Local ranking rests on relevance, distance and prominence; no way to pay for a better local ranking
- Yelp · WikipediaOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: About 308 million reviews contributed by the end of 2024
- Case studies: Meru Trophy · Chalk LabsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Chalk Labs' own record: Meru Trophy, Bengaluru, 27,300 Google clicks and 2.3 million impressions in 16 months; shilikajain.com ranking #1 for its niche term within a month