To test whether AI recommends your business, write 15 to 20 questions your customers ask, put each to ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity three times, and record whether you are named, cited or missing. Repeat monthly. Answers vary between runs, so look for patterns across many runs, not one result.
Typing your own business name into ChatGPT tells you very little. If it knows you, it will describe you. The test that matters is what happens when a stranger asks for options and names nobody.
Step 1: Which questions should you ask?
Use the questions your customers already ask. Your best sources are calls, WhatsApp chats, sales emails, review text and the search phrases in Google Search Console. Aim for 15 to 20 and mix four kinds:
- Category and place: who is the best physiotherapist for back pain in Surat?
- A problem: my website gets visitors but no enquiries, who can help?
- A comparison: WordPress or Next.js for a small business site?
- A price: how much does a three page business website cost in India?
None of them should contain your name. Write them the way a customer would type or say them, and keep the wording fixed from now on.
Step 2: How do you run the test?
Put every question to ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Use a fresh chat each time, and a private window if you can, so earlier conversations do not colour the answer. Run each question three times per tool. That is 45 runs for 15 questions, and it takes an afternoon.
The repeats matter because these tools do not give the same answer twice. One lucky mention, or one miss, tells you nothing.
Step 3: What should you record?
Keep a simple table. For every run, note whether you were named, whether your site was cited as a source, and who else appeared.
| Question | Tool | Run | Named | Cited | Others named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who is a good physiotherapist for back pain in Surat? | Perplexity | 1 | No | No | Three other clinics |
| Who is a good physiotherapist for back pain in Surat? | Perplexity | 2 | Yes | Yes | Two other clinics |
Those two rows are an example for a made up clinic called Marlowe Physio. Named means your business appears in the text of the answer. Cited means your page is listed as a source. You can be cited and not named, and named without being cited, so track both.
Step 4: How do you read the results?
Count the runs where you were named and divide by the total runs for each tool. Four mentions in 45 runs is a mention rate you can improve on, and it gives you a number to compare next month.
Then look for patterns. Which kind of question names you, and which never does? Which competitors keep appearing? And which sources do the tools cite? That last list is your to do list. If the same directory or review site keeps appearing and you are not on it, get listed there.
What do you do with the results?
Start with errors. If a tool gives the wrong address, an old price or the wrong service, find the page it is reading and fix that page. Then work through the fixes in our post on getting your business recommended by AI chatbots, starting with a page for each service and details that match everywhere.
How often should you repeat it?
Once a month, with the same core questions on the same tools. Add a few new questions each quarter, but never swap out the whole set, or you lose the comparison.
What mistakes make the test useless?
- Asking only questions that include your business name.
- Running each question once.
- Changing the wording between months.
- Counting a citation as a recommendation.
- Judging by one tool, when customers use all of them.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get a different answer every time?
These tools generate each answer fresh, and what they find can change from run to run. That is why the test uses repeats.
How many questions are enough?
15 to 20 gives you a pattern without taking all week. Our own audit puts up to 20 customer questions to three AI tools.
Can I automate this?
Yes, with scripts or paid tracking tools. A manual run of 15 questions takes an afternoon and teaches you more at the start, because you read every answer yourself.
What if a tool says something wrong about my business?
There is no form to correct it. Find the page the tool is relying on, such as your site, your Google Business Profile or a directory, and correct the source.
