New Test Shows ChatGPT Relies On Google Snippets
A Simple Test with Surprising Results
In a fascinating experiment designed to test ChatGPT's indexing speed, SEO expert Aleyda Solís stumbled upon a significant discovery: ChatGPT seems to use Google Search as a backup plan. The finding suggests that when its primary search provider, Bing, can't find information, ChatGPT turns to Google's search results for answers.
"I’ve run a simple but straightforward to follow test that confirms the reliance of ChatGPT on Google SERPs snippets for its answers," Aleyda stated.
The experiment started simply. Solís created a brand-new page, "LLMs.txt Generators," on her website. Immediately after publishing, she asked ChatGPT (with its web search feature enabled) to find it. The AI failed, suggesting the page wasn't indexed or was outdated. In contrast, Google Gemini was able to access and summarize the live page right away.
The Indexing Race: Google vs. Bing
The next step was to get the page officially indexed. Solís submitted the URL through both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. The results were telling. Google indexed the new page within a few hours, and it began appearing in search results.
Bing, however, struggled. Even after several hours, Microsoft's search engine had not successfully indexed the web page, leaving it invisible to any tools relying solely on Bing's data.
The Smoking Gun: ChatGPT Uses a Google Snippet
With the page indexed on Google but not on Bing, Solís returned to ChatGPT. This time, after a few tries, the AI provided a partial summary of the page, mentioning just one of the tools listed on it. When asked where this information came from, ChatGPT cryptically responded that it was from a "cached snippet via web search," likely sourced from "search engine indexing."
Solís explained her thought process:
"But I knew the page wasn’t indexed yet in Bing, so it had to be … Google search results? I went to check. When I compared the text snippet provided by ChatGPT vs the one shown in Google Search Results... I could confirm it was the same information…"
This was the crucial piece of evidence. The snippet ChatGPT used was a direct match for the one on Google's search results page—a page that didn't exist in Bing's index.
Not an Isolated Incident
This wasn't a one-off glitch. In her article, Confirmed: ChatGPT uses Google SERP Snippets for its Answers, Solís links to another account of a similar experience, suggesting this is a consistent behavior for the AI model.
Why This Matters: Traditional SEO is Still King
The discovery sparked a lively discussion among SEO professionals. On a LinkedIn post by Aleyda, Kyle Atwater Morley noted the significance of this finding:
"So ChatGPT is basically piggybacking off Google snippets to generate answers? What a wake-up call for anyone thinking traditional SEO is dead."
Stéphane Bureau offered a more detailed theory on the mechanics:
"Based on current evidence, here’s my refined theory: When browsing is enabled, ChatGPT sends search requests via Bing first... However, if Bing’s results are insufficient or outdated, it appears to fall back to scraping Google SERP snippets—likely via an undocumented proxy or secondary API."
The Final Takeaway for Marketers and SEOs
This experiment provides strong evidence that a solid SEO strategy for Google is more important than ever. Even platforms that are not directly powered by Google, like ChatGPT, may still rely on its search results as a fallback data source.
ChatGPT's initial inability to access the page directly, followed by its use of the Google snippet once indexed, demonstrates a clear reliance on public search engine data. This aligns with recent statements from Google's own Gary Illyes, who confirmed that no special 'AEO' (AI Engine Optimization) is needed to rank well in AI-driven search features. The takeaway is clear: good, old-fashioned SEO remains the foundation for digital visibility, even in the age of AI.
