Yes, it’s possible for Australian businesses to have content appear in both Google’s search results and as responses generated by ChatGPT, though the mechanisms for ‘ranking’ are fundamentally different. Google indexes websites based on crawling and algorithms assessing relevance, while ChatGPT draws from a vast dataset of text and code, including indexed web content, to formulate responses.
As of December 2025, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) – now including AI Overviews – directly incorporates AI-powered summaries into search results. These summaries are built using information from highly-ranked websites. ChatGPT, through its integration with Bing as of 2026, can also cite sources from web searches. Australian businesses benefit from Google’s continued investment in understanding Australian English and local search intent. Platforms like BrightLocal report that approximately 40% of Australian Google Business Profile queries now trigger AI-powered features. ChatGPT’s data sources are global, but its ability to understand and respond to Australian-specific queries is improving with ongoing model updates. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) continues to monitor AI-generated content for compliance with Australian Consumer Law.
Essentially, Google and ChatGPT both utilise web content, but Google ‘ranks’ websites, while ChatGPT synthesises information to generate text, potentially citing those ranked websites as sources.
