How to check if ChatGPT recommends your business (step by step)

The short answer

Step 1: write down your customers' questions

Pick three to five questions, the way a customer would type or say them:

• “What's the best {trade} in {city}?”
• “Which {trade} near {neighbourhood} is open on Saturday?”
• “Who should I call for {service} in {city}?”
• “Most trusted {trade} in {city}?”

Never put your business name in the question. You want to know whether the assistant names you on its own, as it would for a customer.

Step 2: ask ChatGPT in a temporary chat, with web search

ChatGPT can remember things about you (memory, past chats) and tailor its answers. Open a temporary chat, or use a browser where you are logged out. Check that it searched the web: when it does, it shows its sources. If it doesn't, add “search the web” to the question. Without a search, the answer comes from what the model learned during training, which may be months old.

Step 3: ask Gemini and Perplexity too

Each assistant has its own sources and its own list. Gemini relies on Google Search and Google Maps; Perplexity searches the web every time and lists its sources. In our test of the question “What's the best garage in Sion?”, the three assistants gave 15 answers naming 12 different garages, and none was named by all three (see the study). Checking only ChatGPT gives a third of the picture.

Step 4: repeat each question

The same question asked twice rarely gets exactly the same answer. Ask each question two or three times per assistant, and count: “named in 4 answers out of 9” is far more useful than a single yes or no.

Step 5: write the results in a table

The last two columns matter most: who is named instead of you, and where the assistant read about them. Those sources are where you need to be listed.

Step 6: ask what it knows about you

Then ask: “What do you know about {your business} in {city}?” Check the opening hours, address, phone and services. A wrong answer tells you which source is out of date: often an old directory listing or an incomplete Google Business Profile.

How to read the result

• Named in most answers: good. Keep checking once a month; answers change when the web changes.
• Named sometimes: you are on the edge. Look at what the businesses named every time have that you don't: more reviews, a clear specialty, listings on the sources shown.
• Never named: start with the sources shown under the answers and with your Google Business Profile. Our guide How a local business gets recommended by ChatGPT lists the actions in order.

Doing it with a tool

The manual method takes 15 to 30 minutes per check and is hard to repeat every week. Several tools automate it:

• PickableAI (our tool): a free check without sign-up asks Perplexity four customer questions with live web search, gives a score out of 100 and shows who is named instead of you. Plans from CHF 19 a month ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity every week, each question twice per assistant, with alerts and an action plan.
• Other tools for local businesses: MentionedOn, Lighthouse Local, Local Falcon, BrightLocal.
• Tools for brands and SEO teams: Otterly.AI, Peec AI, Profound, Semrush, Ahrefs Brand Radar and others.

Prices, AI engines and local features are compared in Best AI visibility tools for local businesses.

Common mistakes

• Putting your business name in the question: the assistant will talk about you, which tells you nothing about recommendations.
• Testing once: one answer is a sample of one.
• Testing only ChatGPT: Gemini and Perplexity often name other businesses.
• Asking while logged in with memory on: the answer may be tailored to you.
• No web search: the answer comes from old training data.