TL;DR — the 6 LLM-O fundamentals
- Crawlable content: AI bots (GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended) need access. Don't block them.
- Structured answers: TL;DR, clear H2/H3, bulleted lists. AI extracts these directly.
- Authority signals: schema.org, author bylines, citations, dates. AI weighs trustworthy sources.
- Specific data + numbers: AI prefers concrete (₹2L, 6 weeks, 78%) over vague.
- Be the source of facts: original research, real prices, real timelines. AI cites originators.
- Mentioned by other authorities: AI weighs sites mentioned/linked-to by trusted sources.
Why LLM optimisation matters in 2026
Perplexity now does ~500M searches/month globally. ChatGPT search hit GA late 2024. Google's AI Overviews appears in ~30% of US searches. Indian usage is climbing fast.
When AI cites a business in its answer, the user often doesn't click through to the source. So citation is the new ranking. Your business needs to BE the answer, not just rank for it.
The 6 fundamentals in detail
1. Don't block AI crawlers
Check your robots.txt. Allow:
GPTBot(OpenAI)PerplexityBot(Perplexity)ClaudeBot(Anthropic)Google-Extended(Google's AI training)CCBot(Common Crawl — feeds many models)
Many sites blocked these in 2023 panic. Unblock now or you're invisible to AI search.
2. Structure for extraction
AI parses your content looking for clear answers. Patterns that get extracted:
- TL;DR / Summary at top
- H2/H3 questions answered directly
- Bulleted lists of options/steps
- Tables comparing things
- FAQ sections (especially with schema markup)
Wall-of-text doesn't get cited. Structured content does.
3. Authority signals
- Author byline with credentials (name, role, company)
- Last reviewed date (recency matters)
- Schema.org Article + Person + Organization markup
- Citations / sources for claims
- About page with company details (years in business, registration)
4. Specific data & numbers
AI prefers concrete answers. "MVP costs around ₹4 lakh in India" gets cited. "MVPs vary widely in cost" doesn't.
Add numbers wherever credible: prices, timelines, percentages, version numbers, counts.
5. Be the source of facts
Original research, original price ranges, original case studies — AI cites originators. Republishing other people's content? You're a downstream source; lower citation rank.
6. Mentions on authority sites
AI weighs not just your content but who else mentions you. Get into:
- Industry directories (G2, Capterra, Clutch — relevant to your space)
- Wikipedia (if notable enough)
- Press / media mentions
- Other industry blogs / podcasts
Quick wins (do this week)
- Audit robots.txt — unblock AI bots
- Add TL;DR block at the top of your top 10 pages
- Add author bylines with credentials
- Add Article + Organization schema (use Schema.org generators)
- Convert wall-of-text sections to bullets/tables
- Audit your content for vague claims; add numbers
LLM-O retainer: ₹15-50K/month. We audit + restructure your content, add schema, build authority signal pipeline, monitor citations in major AI search engines. Long-tail SEO play that's still under-competed in India in 2026. Estimate cost →
FAQ
Do AI engines respect robots.txt?
Mostly yes — OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity all do. Some scrapers don't. Best practice: control via robots.txt + use Cloudflare AI bot management for finer control.
How do I track if I'm being cited?
Manually: query ChatGPT/Perplexity for relevant queries in your space, see if you're cited. Tools like Profound, AthenaHQ launched in 2024-25 to track LLM citations. Still early-stage.
Last reviewed: 5 April 2026.
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