How to Check If Your Business Appears in ChatGPT (Free Prompt List)

To check whether ChatGPT knows your business, ask it the questions your customers ask: "best [service] in [suburb]", "who is [business name]", and "compare [you] vs [competitor]". Run them in a fresh chat, record what appears, and repeat monthly. Below are copy-paste prompts and a simple tracking sheet.

It takes about 20 minutes, it costs nothing, and it tells you something your Google Analytics never will: what AI is saying about you when you're not in the room.

Why should you check your AI visibility?

A growing share of your customers never see a list of search results. They ask ChatGPT or Gemini, or they read the AI Overview at the top of Google, and take the recommendation. The numbers back this up. Pew Research Center found Google users clicked a traditional result on just 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% when it didn't. Ahrefs' latest analysis found AI Overviews cut clicks to the top-ranking page by 58%. If you're in that answer, you're on the shortlist. If you're not, you're invisible for that search, no matter where you rank below it.

Checking your AI visibility tells you three things:

• Whether AI knows you exist at all.

• Whether it recommends you when customers ask for your type of business.

• Whether what it says is accurate: your services, location, hours and reputation.

You can't improve what you haven't measured. This is your baseline.

How do you set up a fair test?

AI answers are personalised and they change from one chat to the next, so a sloppy test gives misleading results. Set up properly:

• Use a fresh chat every time. Previous conversations influence answers.

• Log out, or turn off memory. If ChatGPT remembers that you own a bakery in Geelong, it'll be suspiciously keen to recommend you. Use a private browser window, or turn off memory in settings.

• Mention the location in the prompt. Don't rely on the AI guessing where you are. Say "in Parramatta" or "near Fremantle".

• Run each prompt more than once. Try each prompt two or three times and note how often you appear, not just whether you appear once.

• Note the date and the tool. Results shift over time, so you need to know when each answer was recorded.

What prompts should you copy and paste?

Swap in your own details for the bracketed parts. Use the wording your customers would use, not industry jargon.

Brand prompts (does AI know who you are?)

• "What can you tell me about [Business Name] in [Suburb/City]?"

• "Is [Business Name] a good [service type]?"

• "What services does [Business Name] offer?"

• "What are [Business Name]'s opening hours and contact details?"

Category prompts (does AI recommend you?)

• "Who is the best [service] in [Suburb]?"

• "Recommend a [service] near [Suburb], [State]."

• "I need an emergency [service] in [City] tonight. Who should I call?"

• "What are the top-rated [businesses] in [Region] for [specific need]?"

Comparison prompts (how do you stack up?)

• "Compare [Business Name] vs [Competitor] for [service]."

• "Which is better for [need], [Business Name] or [Competitor]?"

• "What are the alternatives to [Competitor] in [City]?"

Reputation prompts (what does AI believe about you?)

• "What do customers say about [Business Name]?"

• "Are there any complaints about [Business Name]?"

• "Is [Business Name] trustworthy?"

Start with 8 to 12 prompts: a few brand prompts plus your most valuable category prompts. That's enough to see a clear picture.

Should you test Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews too?

Yes. Your customers don't all use the same tool, and each one draws on different sources.

• ChatGPT is the most widely used AI assistant, and it now searches the web for many local questions.

• Google AI Overviews appear at the top of ordinary Google searches, so they reach people who never open an AI app. Test these by simply Googling your category prompts.

• Gemini leans heavily on Google's data, including Google Business Profiles.

• Perplexity shows its sources, which makes it useful for seeing exactly which websites AI trusts in your industry.

If time is short, test ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews first. They cover most of your audience.

How do you read and record the results?

Keep a simple spreadsheet with these columns:

Date

Tool

Prompt

Mentioned? (Y/N)

Position (1st, 2nd…)

Accurate?

Competitors named

Sources cited

When you review it, look for patterns:

• Mentioned in brand prompts but not category prompts? AI knows you, but doesn't see you as a top choice. Usually a reviews and third-party mentions problem.

• Not mentioned anywhere? AI may not be able to find or read your site, or your details are too inconsistent to trust. See why ChatGPT might not mention your business.

• Mentioned, but with wrong details? Old hours, wrong suburb or discontinued services. That's a data accuracy problem, and it's fixable.

• Same competitors every time? Look at their sources. Perplexity's citations will often show you exactly why they're winning.

Example: a Melbourne electrician's first test

An electrician in Melbourne's inner east ran 10 prompts across ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews. The brand prompts went well: ChatGPT described the business accurately. But in six category prompts, including "best electrician in Box Hill" and "emergency electrician Doncaster", the business appeared once, in fourth place.

The competitors that kept appearing had two things in common: dedicated suburb pages on their websites and far more recent Google reviews. That gave the electrician a clear, two-item to-do list, instead of a vague sense that "AI isn't working for us".

What if you don't appear at all?

Don't panic. It's common, especially for businesses that have relied on word of mouth, and it's usually down to a handful of fixable issues.

The next step is a proper audit that looks beyond the prompts at your website, listings, reviews and technical setup. Our [step-by-step AI visibility audit checklist](LINK: Brief 3) walks you through it. For more background on how AI search differs from traditional search, read [SEO vs AEO vs GEO explained](LINK: hub 7), or see our guide to [getting your business recommended by AI](LINK: post 61). If you'd prefer expert help, here's [how to choose an AI SEO agency](LINK: post 74).

Sources

• Pew Research Center, "Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears", 22 July 2025

• Ahrefs, "Update: AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 58%"