Does ChatGPT know my business, or does it search for it?
The difference between what an AI model remembers from training and what it finds by searching the web, and what each means for whether your business gets named.
Short answer. Both can happen. Without web search, ChatGPT answers from memory: what it learned in training, up to a cut-off date. With web search on, it looks up current pages and answers from them. A business can be missing from memory and still be found by search, or the reverse.
Two sources of knowledge
| Memory (training) | Live search | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Text the model learned from before a cut-off date | Pages the model reads when you ask |
| Updated | When a new model is released | Whenever the search index updates |
| Shows sources? | Rarely | Usually |
| Helps a new business? | Slowly, if at all | Yes, once indexed |
Memory is the model's training. Anthropic defines its "reliable knowledge cutoff" as the date through which the model's knowledge is most extensive and reliable, and lists June 2026 for its current models (Anthropic). Live search is a separate tool the model calls. Anthropic's documentation describes it as giving Claude access to real-time web content so it can answer with information beyond its knowledge cut-off (Anthropic).
What the cut-off dates are
Cut-offs differ by provider and model. As documented on 27 October 2026:
| Provider | Model | Documented cut-off |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | Claude Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 | June 2026 (Anthropic) |
| OpenAI | GPT-6 Sol | 20 April 2026 (OpenAI) |
| OpenAI | GPT-6 Luna | 18 May 2026 (OpenAI) |
These are the dates on the API model pages. The ChatGPT app and the API may serve different versions of a model, so treat them as a guide to the era of the model's knowledge, not an exact date for what you see in the app. Google lists a March 2026 cut-off for Gemini 3.8 Flash, and its model card also contains a line saying knowledge is limited to January 2025 for some content, which we cannot reconcile (Google DeepMind). Perplexity routes questions to several underlying models and we found no single cut-off for it.
A business that opened, rebranded or got its first press after the cut-off is not in that model's memory.
When does the AI search?
The model decides, unless you tell it. OpenAI's help centre says ChatGPT will search automatically when a question might benefit from information on the web, and that you can also start a search yourself (OpenAI help centre). Anthropic's documentation says Claude searches for current or changing information, and for specific organisations, people or products that might have changed, and answers directly for stable knowledge (Anthropic).
"Who is the best accountant for small businesses in Durban?" depends on current local information, so search is likely. "What does an accountant do?" does not.
How to tell which route an answer used
- Source links or citations appear. Search ran. In ChatGPT, OpenAI says a Sources option below the response opens the cited links (OpenAI help centre). Claude's documentation says citations are always enabled for web search (Anthropic).
- No sources. The answer probably came from memory, or the AI chose not to cite.
- You can force the issue. Ask it to "search the web" for a live check, or turn search off where the app lets you, for a memory check. Anthropic's help article says you can include "Search the web" in a prompt to request it (Claude Help Center).
What each result tells you
| Search on | Search off | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Named | Known and findable. Keep it consistent |
| Named | Not named | Findable now, not remembered. Normal for newer businesses |
| Not named | Named | Remembered, but search is not finding current pages. Check indexing and crawler blocks |
| Not named | Not named | Neither. Start with indexing and being described clearly in more places |
Our guide on how to check if AI recommends your business walks through running both checks.
Why ChatGPT may know a competitor but not you
The memory route rewards being widely and consistently written about before the cut-off. We found no provider documentation that lists which sources are weighted in training, so we cannot tell you which sites matter most. What is documented is the other route. Whether live search can see you depends on being in the index it uses, and on not blocking its crawler. OpenAI says opting out of OAI-SearchBot keeps a site out of ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI). Which index ChatGPT draws on is only partly documented: which search engine each AI uses has the evidence.
What you can and cannot change
- Live search: yes, within days to weeks. Make sure the pages are indexed and the AI crawlers are allowed. See how to get recommended by ChatGPT.
- Memory: slowly and indirectly. No provider we checked documents a way to submit a business to training data. Consistent naming across your site and other sources is the sensible groundwork, covered in entity basics for AI search.
See it for your own business
aipozi asks your questions on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity every morning with live search on, so you can see whether the live route is finding you.
Frequently asked questions
What is a knowledge cut-off? The date after which a model's training data stops. Anthropic describes its reliable knowledge cut-off as the date through which the model's knowledge is most extensive and reliable. Anything newer reaches the model only if it searches the web.
How do I turn web search on in ChatGPT? OpenAI's help centre says ChatGPT searches automatically when a question might benefit from web information, and that you can start a search manually from the tools menu or by typing a slash and choosing Search. The exact menu names change, so check the current help article.
Why does ChatGPT know my competitor but not me? Usually because the competitor was written about in more places before the model's cut-off, so the model remembers it. Your business may still appear when search is on, if your pages are indexed and answer the question.
Can I add my business to an AI's memory? Not directly. Memory changes only when a company trains a new model. You can make your business easier to learn about by being described consistently on your own site and in other sources, but no provider documents a way to submit a business to a model's training data.
How often do models get new cut-off dates? It varies by company and model. Current Claude models list June 2026 and OpenAI's API pages list dates between April and June 2026 for its GPT-6 models. Check each provider's model page for the current date.
Sources
Every source above was checked on 27 October 2026. The index-by-AI evidence is at which search engine each AI uses.