Why isn't my brand mentioned for any prompt in my category?
Check access first: if the search bots can't reach your site, nothing else matters. Then check whether any page clearly connects your brand to your category and the questions buyers ask. Fix access, state who you are and what you do in plain text, and aim to win three specific prompts before trying for more.
Free to read, no signup. Nova checks access and finds the first prompts you can win.
What has to be true before an engine can name you
Straight from the companies' documentation. No engine publishes how it chooses which brands to name.
Blocked from ChatGPT search
OpenAI says OAI-SearchBot surfaces sites in ChatGPT search, and blocking it keeps a site out of those answers. Allow it if you want to appear.
Overview of OpenAI crawlersAllow PerplexityBot to be listed
Perplexity says to allow PerplexityBot in robots.txt to appear in its search results, and to allow it in your firewall by user agent and IP ranges.
Perplexity crawlersIndexed and snippet-eligible
Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet to be shown in AI features, and that no special AI markup is needed.
AI features and your websiteFive steps to get your first mentions
Do it by hand with these steps, or hand the whole thing to Nova.
Confirm the bots can reach you
Check robots.txt and firewall rules for the search bots from OpenAI, Perplexity, Anthropic and Google, and confirm key pages are indexed.
Nova: checks bot access and indexing for your key pages.
Check the connection to your category
Does a page on your site say, in plain text, what you are and who you serve, using the words buyers use?
Nova: checks your pages for category and audience statements.
Pick three prompts to win
Choose three specific questions close to what you do, such as a narrow use case, not the broadest category prompt.
Nova: suggests the prompts where you are closest to winning.
Answer them on your site
Write or improve a page for each prompt, answering it directly, with proof and a named author.
Nova: drafts the pages for your approval.
Check sources and recheck
See which pages engines cite for those prompts and find ways to be included. Re-run the prompts in a few weeks.
Nova: lists cited sources and re-checks the prompts later.
Short on time? Nova, your AI brand visibility expert, runs this Maneuver on your brand and tracks the result.
Take it to NovaWhy you are absent, and the first prompts to win
| Check | Finding | Impact | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bot access | OAI-SearchBot blocked | Absent from ChatGPT search | Allow in robots.txt |
| Category statement | None on home page | Engines can't place you | Add a plain description |
| First prompt to win | [NARROW USE CASE] | Few strong sources | Write a page for it |
Nova then re-runs your prompts at 30 days, so you see whether you start to appear.
Take this Maneuver into your own AI agent
Get zero-mention-rescue.md, a ready-to-use skill file with an access checklist, a category check and a first-three-prompts routine. Drop it into Claude, Cursor or any agent that reads SKILL.md files.
Skill file for Claude, Cursor and other agents
- An access and indexing checklist
- A category statement check
- A pick-three-prompts routine
Questions, answered.
Relevant reads
All articlesLet Nova find your first wins
Nova opens with this Maneuver loaded. You approve every change before it ships.