How do I get my company recommended by Perplexity?
To be recommended by Perplexity, allow PerplexityBot, the crawler that surfaces and links websites in Perplexity's answers, and publish pages that answer buyers' questions with quotable facts: numbers, dates, sources and short quotations. Perplexity searches the web for every answer and shows its sources, so a readable, specific page can be cited. Nobody can guarantee it will be.
Facts
- Perplexity says PerplexityBot is designed to surface and link websites in search results on Perplexity, and is not used to train AI foundation models. (Perplexity: Perplexity crawlers)
- Perplexity-User fetches pages when a user asks a question and generally ignores robots.txt, because the fetch was requested by a user, Perplexity says. (Perplexity: Perplexity crawlers)
- Perplexity says it may take up to 24 hours for its systems to reflect robots.txt changes. (Perplexity: Perplexity crawlers)
- Tested on Perplexity.ai in the GEO paper, adding quotations raised a source's position-adjusted word count by 22% and adding statistics raised its subjective impression score by 37%. (Aggarwal et al., GEO paper, full text (results on Perplexity.ai))
- The GEO paper's top methods overall were citing sources, adding quotations and adding statistics, with gains of up to 40% in visibility. (Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (KDD 2024))
How does Perplexity choose the sources it cites?
Perplexity runs a web search for the question, reads the pages it finds and writes an answer with numbered citations to them. A page is eligible when PerplexityBot can reach it and it states the answer clearly enough to be quoted.
Which Perplexity crawlers matter, and how do I allow them?
Two agents read your site, and they behave differently.
User-agent: PerplexityBot Allow: / Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
| Agent | What it does | robots.txt |
|---|---|---|
| PerplexityBot | Surfaces and links sites in Perplexity search | Follows it: allow it |
| Perplexity-User | Fetches a page a user asked about | Generally ignores it |
What kind of content does Perplexity tend to cite?
In the GEO paper's tests on Perplexity, pages gained most from quotations and statistics, so write passages that can stand alone: a figure with its date and source, a short quotation from an official document, a direct answer in the first sentence.
- A number with its date and the source it comes from
- A short, attributed quotation from an official document
- A one-sentence answer at the top of each page
- Prices and terms identical on every page
How can I see whether Perplexity reads my pages?
Look for PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User in your server logs and for visits referred by perplexity.ai in analytics. easyIndex forwards crawler reads and counts AI visitors per page, so both appear on one dashboard.
Step by step
- Allow PerplexityBot. Add an Allow rule in robots.txt and check that the CDN or bot protection does not block it.
- Publish and link a sitemap. List every public page in sitemap.xml and reference it in robots.txt.
- Collect the buyers' questions. Write down what a customer asks before choosing a company like yours.
- Write quotable pages. One question per page, the answer first, then statistics with dates and attributed quotations from sources.
- Keep every fact consistent. Use the same prices, terms and names on every page and language.
- Measure and extend. Track PerplexityBot reads and perplexity.ai visits, then write where the data points next.
Common mistakes
- Letting a bot-protection rule challenge PerplexityBot, so it never gets the page.
- Expecting a robots.txt rule to stop Perplexity-User, which generally ignores it.
- Writing claims with no figure or source, which leaves nothing to cite with a number.
- Checking one answer in Perplexity and treating it as a result; answers change from query to query.
How easyIndex solves it
easyIndex has your coding agent write these pages over MCP, audits each one for answer, facts and sources, checks it live, and counts Perplexity visitors and crawler reads per page, for US$ 30 per website a month, 7 days free.
Frequently asked questions
Does Perplexity use my site to train models?
Perplexity says PerplexityBot is for surfacing and linking sites in search, not for training AI foundation models.
Can I block Perplexity-User with robots.txt?
Perplexity says Perplexity-User generally ignores robots.txt because a user requested the fetch.
How fast does Perplexity follow a robots.txt change?
Perplexity says it can take up to 24 hours.
Will Perplexity cite my company for sure?
No one can promise that. You can make the pages reachable and quotable, and measure whether Perplexity reads them and sends visitors.
Continue reading
- Which AI crawlers exist and how do I allow them in robots.txt?
- How do I write a page that AI assistants cite?
- How do I know if AI assistants cite my company?
- How do I get my company recommended by ChatGPT?
- How does easyIndex work, what do I need, and how long until results?
- How much does easyIndex cost?
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