There's no submission form and no paid placement for getting cited in ChatGPT. It cites businesses it can find, trust, and quote cleanly. The guidance below comes mostly from marketing and SEO agency blogs, not OpenAI, so treat the specifics (like the "2–6 months" timeline) as rules of thumb.

**What to do**

1. **Let ChatGPT's crawler in.** OpenAI's search crawler is called OAI-SearchBot. Check that your `robots.txt` doesn't block it. If it's blocked, your pages generally won't appear in ChatGPT search answers, though they may still show up as plain links. You can allow it without allowing GPTBot, which is the separate training crawler.
2. **Be visible in Bing.** Several of the sources say ChatGPT search leans on Bing. Submit your site to Bing Webmaster Tools and make sure your pages are indexed.
3. **Write clear, quotable pages.**
   - Open each key page with a plain, self-contained answer to the question it targets, ideally within the first 200 words.
   - Cover your topic in depth. The sources suggest about 15–30 pages from different angles.
   - Name the author and state facts plainly, such as services, prices, service area, and hours.
4. **Add structured data.** Use Schema.org markup such as Organization, LocalBusiness, and FAQPage.
5. **Get mentioned elsewhere.** ChatGPT leans on third-party sources, so aim for:
   - Trade press and industry publications
   - Review sites and "best of" lists
   - Reddit discussions
   - Wikipedia, where you qualify
   - Local directories and a complete Google Business Profile, which matter if you're a local business in Kitchener
6. **Keep your details consistent.** Your name, address, and phone number should match across your website and listings.
7. **Be patient.** Results typically take months. No one can guarantee a citation, so be skeptical of anyone who does.

**To check progress:** Ask ChatGPT, with search on, the questions your customers would ask, such as "best [service] in Kitchener-Waterloo". Then see whether you're cited.

SOURCES:
https://www.lilachbullock.com/how-to-get-your-business-cited-by-chatgpt/
https://coloradowebimpressions.com/answers/how-do-i-get-cited-by-chatgpt
https://aiadvantageagency.com/chatgpt-search-2026/
https://clickedon.co/insights/how-to-get-cited-in-chatgpt
https://www.devcommx.com/blogs/how-to-get-cited-by-chatgpt
https://geotoolbox.ai/glossary/oai-searchbot.md
https://botcrawl.com/bots/oai-searchbot
https://www.pepper.inc/blog/oai-searchbot/