You can check what AI assistants say about your business in about 30 minutes. Open a private browser window, ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google the questions a new customer would ask, and write down whether your business is named and whether the details are right. Repeat it once a month, because the answers change.
Here is how to run the check properly, how to read the results, and what to fix first.
Why this is worth 30 minutes
More people now ask an AI assistant for a recommendation before they search in the usual way. They might type "good physiotherapist near me open on Saturday" into ChatGPT, or see an AI Overview at the top of Google. If your business is missing from those answers, or described wrongly, you would never know unless you look.
This check will not tell you everything. AI answers vary from one run to the next and from one person to the next. But it gives you a fair snapshot and a starting point.
Step 1: Write your questions first
Write six to eight questions before you open anything. Use the words a new customer would use, not your own business language. Mix three kinds:
Want a second pair of eyes on your own setup?
- Finding questions: "best dental clinic in [your area]", "[your service] near [your suburb] open late"
- Comparing questions: "how do I choose a [your type of business] in [your city]"
- Brand questions: "what is [your business name]", "is [your business name] any good"
Keep the list. You will use the same questions every month so you can compare.
Step 2: Set up a clean session
AI tools can tailor answers to you if you are signed in or they remember earlier chats. To see something closer to what a stranger sees:
- Use a private or incognito window.
- Stay logged out where the tool allows it. If you must log in, turn off memory and personalisation first.
- Do not use a VPN unless you want to see results for another country.
- Do not mention your business in a question unless it is one of your brand questions.
Step 3: Ask each question in three places
Ask every question in:
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity
- Google, noting whether an AI Overview appears at the top. Not every search shows one.
For each answer, copy the text or take a screenshot. Then note four things:
- Named or not named
- If named, is the description correct: services, area, opening hours, contact details?
- Which competitors are named instead
- Which websites the answer cites, if it shows sources
The last point is often the most useful. If an AI tool keeps citing the same directory, review site or local guide, that tells you where the tool is getting its information.
Step 4: Read the results honestly
Do not read too much into one run. If you are named once and not the next time, that is normal. Look for patterns across all your questions and all three tools.
Typical findings fall into a few groups:
- Not named anywhere. Often the business is hard for these tools to find or understand. The site may be thin, the Google Business Profile may be incomplete, or the business is not listed where the tool looks.
- Named, but with wrong details. Old opening hours, a previous address, a service you no longer offer. The tool is reading an out-of-date source somewhere.
- Named for your brand only. People who already know your name can find you, but new customers asking general questions are sent elsewhere.
Step 5: Fix the basics first
There is no switch that makes an AI assistant name your business, and nobody can honestly promise that it will. What you can do is make your business easy to find, read and check. These steps also help ordinary search:
- Make your details match everywhere. Use the same business name, address, phone and hours on your website, your Google Business Profile and any directories you are listed on.
- Complete your Google Business Profile. Correct category, hours, services, booking link and real photos.
- Give each main service its own page. A clear page per service is easier to match to a specific question than one long list.
- Say plainly who you are and where you are. An about page with the people, the area you serve and how to contact you.
- Check you are not blocking search crawlers. Your robots.txt file should not block the crawlers that search tools use. OpenAI, for example, documents a crawler called OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT's search features.
- Be set up beyond Google. Some AI tools draw on other search indexes, so it is worth verifying your site in Bing Webmaster Tools as well.
A short checklist
- ☐ Six to eight questions written in customer words
- ☐ Private window, logged out or memory off
- ☐ Each question asked in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google
- ☐ Named or not, details correct or not, competitors, sources noted
- ☐ Business details match across site, profile and directories
- ☐ Main services each have their own page
- ☐ robots.txt checked for blocked search crawlers
- ☐ Same check booked in for next month
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?
We know of no way to pay for a place inside an AI answer itself. Be wary of anyone who sells a guaranteed mention. Products change, so check the provider's own announcements if you hear otherwise.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
llms.txt is a proposed convention for giving AI tools a short summary of your site. It is cheap to add, but no major AI search tool has said publicly that it relies on it, so treat it as optional. The basics above matter more.
How long before changes show up in AI answers?
There is no fixed timeline. Some tools search the web live, others rely on older information. Make the fixes, then repeat the same check monthly and compare.
Would you like us to run the check with you?
SeenSilver's free website review is a one-page review of your website and how you show up on Google, written in plain words, with no obligation. If AI answers are part of what you want to understand, say so when you get in touch. You can get your free review here.
Want a second pair of eyes on your own setup?