Claude is used heavily for work: research, writing and planning. When a business owner asks it "which agency should I hire" or a homeowner asks "who should I call for a roof leak in Raleigh", Claude can search the web and name businesses, with direct citations to its sources.
How does Claude find businesses to recommend?
When a question needs current information, Claude searches the web, reads the pages that come back and builds its answer from them, citing the sources it used.
Anthropic does not publish which search provider powers Claude's text results, and no source confirms a maps or listings partner. So Claude's view of your business is whatever the public web says about it: your website first, then the directories, reviews and articles that mention you. Anthropic also says Claude may use your approximate location for localized results.
Which Claude crawlers should I allow?
Allow Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User; Anthropic says blocking them may reduce your visibility in Claude's search answers. ClaudeBot only collects training data.
Anthropic documents three bots, all of which follow robots.txt:
- Claude-SearchBot indexes pages to improve search results. Allow it.
- Claude-User fetches a page when a user's question needs it. Allow it.
- ClaudeBot collects data for training. Blocking it is a content-licensing choice and does not remove you from search answers.
User-agent: Claude-SearchBot / Allow: / and User-agent: Claude-User / Allow: /. Check that your firewall or CDN is not challenging these bots, too.Our AI Crawler Checker shows which AI bots your robots.txt lets in.
What makes a page easy for Claude to cite?
A page that answers one question in its first sentences, in plain words, with specific facts Claude can quote without guessing.
- Lead with the answer. "We install and repair residential roofs in Raleigh, Cary and Apex, and most repairs are done in one day."
- Be specific: services, towns, price ranges, hours, licenses, warranty terms, how fast you respond.
- Use real HTML text, not text inside images or loaded only by scripts.
- Keep facts identical across your site and listings so there is nothing to reconcile.
Does what other sites say about me matter to Claude?
Yes. Claude builds answers from the pages it finds, so mentions on trusted local lists, directories, news sites and industry associations are often what tips a recommendation your way.
Search Claude for your service and town and look at the sources it cites. If the same roundup or directory keeps appearing, that is where you need to be listed, accurately.
How do I check whether Claude recommends me?
Ask Claude the questions your customers ask, note whether you are named and which pages it cites, and repeat the same questions every few weeks.
For the other engines, read our guides for ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Our AEO service tracks Claude alongside five other engines every week.
Frequently asked questions
Does Claude use Google or Bing?
Anthropic's help center does not name the web search provider for Claude's text results; it says image results are powered by Bing. Reporting in 2025 linked Claude's web search to Brave Search, which Anthropic had not confirmed publicly at the time. Because the source is uncertain, the safest plan is to be clear and consistent everywhere.
If I block ClaudeBot, will Claude stop recommending me?
Not by itself. Anthropic says ClaudeBot collects training data, while Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User are the crawlers that affect how your site shows up in Claude's search answers. You can block ClaudeBot for training and still allow the other two.
Does Claude use Google Business Profile or Yelp?
No source confirms that Claude reads Google Business Profile, Yelp or a maps provider directly. Claude cites web pages it finds through search, so your website and the public pages that describe you, including directories and local roundups, are what matter.
Does Claude show where its answers come from?
Yes. Anthropic says answers that use web search include direct citations to sources, so a recommendation often comes with a link to your site or to the page that mentioned you.
Can anyone guarantee a spot in Claude answers?
No. Anthropic decides how Claude answers, and answers vary by question and time. You control the evidence: crawlable pages, clear facts and what other trusted sites say about you.
Sources: Anthropic, crawlers and robots.txt (Apr 2026) · Anthropic, using web search in Claude · Anthropic, web search tool and citations · TechCrunch, Claude web search and Brave (Mar 2025)