You can get a useful first answer in about 30 minutes. Ask ChatGPT the questions your customers ask, mostly without your business name, write down what comes back, and repeat the check later.
It's a spot-check, not a measurement: it shows you what's worth fixing, not an exact score.
Why check at all?
In a January 2026 Similarweb panel of US consumers who use both AI tools and search engines, 35% said AI is most useful for discovering products. 13.6% said search. That doesn't tell you what ChatGPT says about your business, which is exactly why you ask it. For more on how these answers get made, see our plain-English guide to generative engine optimization.
What should I ask ChatGPT?
Ask the way a customer would, with a place and a need. Leave your name out of most of the questions. Use three kinds:
- Discovery. “Best roofer in Plymouth MA for a storm-damaged roof.” “Family law attorney near Tampa who handles custody.” “Med spa in Boston that offers Botox.” “Where should I buy a used SUV near Quincy MA?”
- Comparison. “[Your business] vs [competitor]: which should I pick?”
- Direct. “What are [your business]'s hours?” “Does [your business] offer [service]?” “Is [your business] any good?”
Borrow the real wording from phone calls, emails, reviews and the questions people ask at your front desk.
What is the 30-minute starter check?
Pick five questions: three discovery, one comparison and one direct. Ask each once, in a new chat. For each one, write down:
- The date
- The assistant and model shown
- Whether web search was on, and whether you were signed in
- The exact prompt
- Whether you were named
- Whether your website was cited
- How you were described
- Who else was named
A spreadsheet with those columns is enough.
How do I make the check more reliable?
Once the starter check is done, build out to 10 to 15 questions: about eight discovery, two comparison and three direct. Ask each one three times. Answers vary from run to run, so repeating shows you which results are steady and which were a one-off. Repeat the whole set monthly, and after big changes to your website or listings.
Also keep personalization in mind. ChatGPT can use your chat history, memory and location, so your results may not match a customer's. A new or temporary chat helps but doesn't guarantee a neutral baseline. Note your settings in the log, and ask a friend or colleague to run a few of the same questions from their own account.
What am I looking for in the answers?
- Are you named? Does your business come up when the question doesn't mention it?
- Is your own site cited? Does the answer point to your pages or to someone else's?
- Is the description right? Does it include what you actually compete on, such as emergency service, a particular practice area or a certified service department?
- Are the facts right? Check hours, services, prices and location, and look for a different business mixed up with yours.
Open every source the answer cites and compare any disputed fact against your own records. Wrong facts come first, since a customer may act on them.
What do I do with what I find?
- Wrong facts. Find where the wrong information lives (your website, your Google Business Profile, a directory, an old review) and correct it there. Be realistic: fixing a source doesn't guarantee ChatGPT will change its answer right away. Check again over the following weeks.
- Not named. Look at which sites are cited for those questions. Make sure your own site gives clear, useful information on each service you want to be found for, and that your business is listed accurately where AI reads.
- Described weakly. Say what you're good at plainly, in the words your customers use.
Should I check other AI assistants too?
Yes. Run the same questions in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude, and log them the same way. Different assistants draw on different sources, so the answers can differ.
When is a spot-check not enough?
When you want to see how you compare with competitors across many assistants, or want each wrong answer traced to its source. That's what our two first steps do. The free AI Visibility Snapshot runs 10 real customer questions through ChatGPT, Copilot and Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, compares you with the competitors AI names most and gives you the 3 fastest fixes. The Full AI Visibility Audit tracks 25 to 40 customer questions every day for a week across ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, scores four outcomes against your local competitors and traces every wrong or outdated answer to its source.
No one can guarantee ChatGPT will recommend your business, but you can find out where you stand. If you'd like help, book a visibility audit.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just ask ChatGPT what it knows about my business?
It's a fine first question, but customers rarely ask it that way. Questions that don't name you show whether you come up at all.
Do I need a paid account?
A free account is fine for a first check. Note which plan and model you used, since results can differ by plan.
How often should I check?
Monthly, and after major website or listing changes.
Will my customers see the same answer?
Not necessarily. Answers vary between runs and between people.