Training knowledge and live search
A model learns from a large snapshot of text during training. That knowledge stops at a cut-off date and can be out of date. For current questions, assistants search the web and read pages on the spot. For a business, the live search matters most, because prices, opening hours and offers change.
How the big assistants find pages
- ChatGPT searches the web with OpenAI’s own crawler OAI-SearchBot and links its sources. More in how ChatGPT search finds websites.
- Gemini, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode build on Google Search. If Google indexes your page, these features can use it.
- Microsoft Copilot builds on Bing. Bing Webmaster Tools shows how Bing sees your site.
- Claude can search the web and uses its own crawlers: Claude-SearchBot for search and Claude-User for pages a user asks it to read.
- Perplexity keeps its own index with PerplexityBot and shows its sources prominently.
4 basics that cover all of them
- Get indexed by Google and Bing. Many answers start there.
- Let the search crawlers in. Check your robots.txt and your hosting settings.
- Make every page answer 1 question clearly, with the short answer first.
- Keep your facts the same on your website, your Google Business Profile and in directories, so assistants never find contradicting details.
Do new models change this?
New models get better at reading and summarising, and the assistants change every few months. The basics stay the same: pages that can be found, read, understood and trusted. We review our setup regularly instead of chasing every release.
Questions and answers
Which assistant matters most for a Swiss company?
It depends on your customers. For most people, Google is still where a search starts, and ChatGPT is the most widely used assistant. The 4 basics above serve all of them.
Do I need a separate page for each assistant?
No. 1 good page that answers clearly works for people, search engines and every assistant.