You can find out whether ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity recommend your business with a free spreadsheet and about two hours for your first baseline.
It matters because buyers now ask these assistants who to hire before they ever open Google. ChatGPT alone reported 800 million weekly users in October 2025. If the answer names your competitor and not you, you were never on the shortlist. And there is no Search Console for this: ChatGPT gives you no impressions data and no analytics, so you have to measure it yourself.
The top guides on this topic are written for software companies and push a paid tool. This one is for local and service businesses such as law firms, insurance agencies, solar installers and home-service companies. It gives you prompts you can copy, a simple log, and an honest view of when a paid tool is worth buying.
Short on time? Get your free AI Visibility Report. We ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your customers ask and show you whether they recommend you or your competitors. Get my free report
Why checking once will mislead you
AI answers are different almost every time you ask. SparkToro had 600 volunteers run the same prompts through ChatGPT, Claude and Google’s AI results 2,961 times in total. The same list of brands came back fewer than once in 100 runs, and the same order fewer than once in 1,000.
That changes how you should track:
- Count how often you appear, not where you rank. Position in an AI answer is close to random. The same research found that how often a brand shows up across many runs is still a reasonable signal.
- Run each prompt several times. One answer is an anecdote. Five runs per prompt is a practical minimum for a small business.
- Keep conditions the same. Memory, past chats and location all shape the answer, so test in a clean session each time.
The rest of this guide is built around those three rules.
What you’re actually tracking
Keep four outcomes in separate columns. Blending them is the most common reason tracking reports end up useless, as Rankability’s guide also points out.
| Outcome | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Mention | The AI names your business in the answer text | Shows you’re in the consideration set |
| Recommendation | The AI suggests you for the user’s need, not just lists you | Closest to a lead |
| Citation | The AI uses one of your pages as a source | The part you can influence most directly |
| Link | A clickable URL to you appears | The only one that shows up as a visit in analytics |
Two details save you from bad data. First, a mention and a citation are different problems. Ahrefs notes that missing mentions are fixed by being present in more trustworthy third-party sources, while missing citations are fixed with clearer, fresher pages on your own site. Second, if an answer names no businesses at all, log it as “no opportunity,” not a loss.
Step 1: Write your prompt set
A prompt set is a fixed list of questions your customers would ask. Start with 10. Write 3 to 5 versions of the same question in different words, because one phrasing is too dependent on wording. Include your city or state on every local prompt.
Use four types:
- Best-of: “Who is the best [service] in [city]?”
- Problem: the situation a buyer describes before they know who to hire
- Comparison: your type of provider against an alternative
- Brand prompts: questions that include your own name. Keep these in a separate tab, because a prompt naming you will almost always mention you and inflates your score.
Here are starting prompts for the industries we work in. Swap in your city.
| Industry | Best-of prompt | Problem or comparison prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Law firms | “Who is the best personal injury lawyer in [city]?” | “How do I choose a car accident lawyer in [city]?” |
| Final expense and Medicare agencies | “Best final expense insurance agent near [city]” | “Is a Medicare broker better than going straight to a carrier?” |
| Insurance agencies | “Best independent insurance agency in [city]” | “Should I use an agent or buy insurance online?” |
| Solar installers | “Best solar installers in [city] for a 2,000 sq ft home” | “Is solar worth it in [state] in 2026?” |
| Roofing | “Who is the best roofer in [city] for storm damage?” | “Repair or replace my roof after hail?” |
| HVAC | “Best HVAC company in [city]” | “My AC stopped working in [city], who should I call?” |
Freeze the list once you start. Adding prompts later changes your denominator, so treat any new ones as a separate group.
Step 2: Run the prompts and log every answer
There is no public log of what ChatGPT says about your brand, so every method is a workaround. The free one is a spreadsheet and some discipline.
- Use a clean session. Log out or use an incognito window. Otherwise ChatGPT may shape its answer around your past chats, saved memory or custom instructions, as Ahrefs warns.
- Start a new chat for every prompt. Follow-up messages inherit everything above them.
- Run each prompt five times in ChatGPT, then Perplexity, then Gemini.
- Try web search on and off in ChatGPT. With it off you see what the model already knows about you. With it on you see what live sources add. A gap between the two tells you whether your problem is general brand awareness or weak pages.
- Log one row per answer and keep a screenshot of anything important, because wording changes.
A sample log row:
| Date | Engine | Prompt | Run | Web search | You named? | Recommended? | Competitors named | Sources cited | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13 | ChatGPT | Best HVAC company in Dallas | 3 | On | No | No | Acme HVAC, CoolAir | Yelp, Angi | Old phone number shown for CoolAir |
Ten prompts, five runs, three engines is 150 answers. Plan about two hours for the baseline, then about an hour a week if you repeat a smaller set. Do it on the same day each week.
Step 3: Turn the log into four numbers
- Visibility rate: the share of answers that name you. If you appear in 18 of 50 answers (10 prompts, 5 runs each), that’s 36%. Calculate it per engine, because a blended number hides the fact that you may be strong in one assistant and missing in another.
- Share of voice: your mentions divided by your mentions plus your competitors’ mentions. With 18 mentions for you and 62 across your named competitors, that’s 18 / (18 + 62) = 22.5%. Share of voice depends entirely on which competitors you pick, so fix the list and keep it.
- Citation rate: how often your own pages appear as a source. Review the sources that repeat, since those pages are your to-do list.
- Accuracy and tone: whether the details are right (phone, services, location) and whether you’re described as a safe choice or a cautious one.
Skip tracking your position in the list. Given how much the order changes between runs, treat it as noise.
The numbers matter less than the trend. Compare like with like over four to eight weeks, and note what you changed in between, such as new reviews, a page update or a press mention.
Rather not run 150 prompts yourself? We’ll run a prompt set for your business across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and send you a free AI Visibility Report showing where you appear, which competitors beat you, and what to fix first. Request my free report
Tracking each engine, and the traffic it sends
Track ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity separately. They draw on different sources and often answer the same question differently.
- ChatGPT: it draws on its training data plus live web sources when search is on. When it links to a page it adds a utm_source=chatgpt.com tag, so you can find those visits in your analytics.
- Perplexity: it lists its sources on every answer, which makes it the quickest way to see which sites are feeding recommendations in your market. Start here when deciding what to fix.
- Gemini and Google AI Overviews: these lean on Google’s own index, so your Google Business Profile, reviews and site content matter most. Log AI Overviews as its own line, since it appears inside normal search results. Our guide to ranking in Google AI Overviews covers that side.
In GA4, AI assistants have their own default channel, but clicks from Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are counted under Organic Search, so the channel is not your full AI traffic. It also only sees clicks. An answer that names you without a link sends no visit, which is why you need the manual log as well. Watch branded searches and the “how did you hear about us” question alongside it.
When a paid tracking tool is worth it
A spreadsheet is enough for one location and a set of 10 to 25 prompts. A tool earns its cost when you manage several locations or clients, need daily checks, or want competitor reports without the manual work. These tools run your prompts on a schedule and store each answer with its mentions and sources.
| Tool | Covers | Fits best |
|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Teams already on Ahrefs |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI platforms | Teams already on Semrush |
| Rankability Tracker | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI | Agencies reporting to clients |
| LLM Pulse | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews | Weekly tracking with competitors |
| Profound | 10+ engines | Larger brands wanting wide coverage |
| Peec AI and Otterly AI | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and more | Smaller teams on a budget |
Coverage and pricing change often, so check each site before buying. Note that several of these vendors publish the guides that rank for this topic, so read their advice with that in mind.
Before you pay, ask the vendor three things: how many times it runs each prompt, whether it keeps the raw answer text, and how it handles randomness. Be wary of any product built around “your ranking in ChatGPT.” The SparkToro research found that visibility percentage across many prompts holds up, while ranking position does not.
What to do with what you find
Tracking only pays off if it changes your next move. Match your result to the fix:
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| You’re never named | Few trusted sources mention you | Get listed or featured on the directories, review sites and “best of” pages that Perplexity cites in your market. Collect real reviews. State plainly on your site what you do, who for and where. Start with our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT. |
| Named, but details are wrong | Old pages or listings feed the answer | Correct your site, Google Business Profile and directory listings, and say the right facts in plain words. Expect older errors to fade slowly. |
| Competitors named, you aren’t | They appear more often in the sources the AI uses | Open the sources cited in those answers and work out what those pages have that yours don’t. For local businesses, a stronger local SEO foundation helps both Google and AI answers. |
| Named but never recommended | Your pages are vague or thin | Add clear FAQs, pricing guidance, service areas and proof. See GEO vs SEO for what changes in your content approach. |
Give changes time. Ahrefs suggests looking for movement four to eight weeks after you publish content or earn coverage, so re-run your frozen prompt set on that schedule. If you want help, our AI SEO service covers this work, and our post on AI SEO pricing explains what it costs.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if ChatGPT mentions my brand? Ask it the questions your customers ask, without using your own name, in a logged-out or incognito session. Run each question five times and record whether you’re named.
How often should I track? Weekly or every two weeks, with the same prompt set, so that changes mean something.
Can ChatGPT tell me what it says about my business? No. ChatGPT has no public tool that shows what it says about your brand, which is why tracking means running prompts and recording the answers. Asking it directly just gets you a new answer, not a record.
Why is my competitor named and not me? Usually they appear more often in the sources the AI relies on. Check the sources cited in the same answers, especially on Perplexity.
Will a mention bring me customers? Sometimes. Many mentions carry no link, so they won’t show as clicks. Track branded searches and ask new leads how they found you.
Do I need a paid tool? Not to start. Use the spreadsheet for a month. If you outgrow it, see the tools section above.
See where you stand in AI search
We’ll check ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for your business and send a free AI Visibility Report. It shows whether the assistants recommend you or your competitors, and the first three things to fix.
- Get my free AI Visibility Report
- Message us on WhatsApp
- Book a call
Sources
- Ahrefs: How to Monitor Brand Mentions in ChatGPT
- SparkToro: AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands
- LLM Pulse: How to Track Brand Mentions in ChatGPT
- Rankability: How to Track Brand Mentions in ChatGPT
- GrowByData: How to Track Brand Mentions in ChatGPT
- Google Analytics: Default channel definitions
- TechCrunch: ChatGPT reaches 800M weekly users
