How to Check Whether ChatGPT Recommends Your Business

Short answer: You find out by running the same set of real customer questions through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Mode on a fixed schedule, then logging who gets named and which sources get cited. One-off checks don't tell you much because answers vary by wording, location and session. Before you rewrite anything, confirm the basics: OpenAI's and Perplexity's search crawlers must be allowed to reach your site, and Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode only link pages that are indexed and eligible for a normal search snippet.

Why a single test is meaningless

Ask ChatGPT "best accountant for freelancers in Leeds" twice and you may get two different lists. The documentation explains why this happens:

OpenAI says ChatGPT search can rewrite your prompt into one or more search queries, send more specific follow-up queries to third-party search providers, and use your general location from your IP address. For example, "restaurants near me" becomes a query naming your city.
Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use a "query fan-out" technique, issuing multiple related searches across subtopics. It also says the two features may use different models and techniques, so their answers and links will vary. AI Overviews often don't appear at all.

So treat visibility as a rate: out of 20 relevant questions, how often does your business appear? Track that rate over months rather than reacting to any single answer.

Step 1: Fix access before testing

If the engines can't read your site, nothing else matters. Check four things:

ChatGPT: OpenAI's crawler documentation says sites that block OAI-SearchBot won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as navigational links. GPTBot is a separate setting about model training, so you can block GPTBot and still allow OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI says robots.txt changes take about 24 hours to take effect.
Perplexity: PerplexityBot surfaces and links sites in Perplexity results. Perplexity's docs say it isn't used to collect content for training foundation models, and they recommend allowing it and its published IP ranges.
Firewalls: both vendors publish IP lists. Perplexity's docs include configuration guidance for common web application firewalls, because a bot-protection rule can block crawlers your robots.txt allows.
Google: a page must be indexed and snippet-eligible. A nosnippet tag or a noindex will keep it out of AI features as well as classic results.

Step 2: Write the prompt set

Collect 15 to 25 questions real customers ask before choosing someone like you. Sources: enquiry emails, sales calls, reviews, and Search Console queries. Mix four types:

Category + place: "best physiotherapist for running injuries in Galway"
Problem-first: "my Shopify store is slow on mobile, who can fix it"
Comparison: "[your business] vs [competitor]"
Brand check: "what do people say about [your business]"

Write them the way people actually type or speak. Keep the exact wording fixed between audits, otherwise you're measuring your prompt changes rather than the engines.

Step 3: Set up clean test conditions

Use a logged-out or fresh session where possible. OpenAI's help article shows that location and settings shape results, and personal history may as well.
Make sure web search is actually running. ChatGPT shows citations when it searches; an answer without citations came from the model's own knowledge.
Note the location you're testing from, or use a VPN for each target market.
Run each prompt once per engine per audit. Repeat runs belong in the next audit, not the same afternoon.

Step 4: Log every answer

A shared spreadsheet is enough. One row per prompt per engine:

Date	Engine	Prompt	Location	Mentioned? (Y/N)	Position	Linked to site?	Sources cited	Competitors named	Accuracy issues
2026-11-01	ChatGPT	best wedding florist Bath	Bath, UK	N	–	N	directory A, blog B	X, Y, Z	–

The row above is a hypothetical example. The "Sources cited" column matters most. It shows which pages each engine trusts for your category: directories, review sites, local news, comparison articles, Reddit threads. Those are the pages you need to be on.

The "Accuracy issues" column catches a different problem: being mentioned with wrong opening hours, an old address or a service you dropped.

Step 5: Score and compare

For each engine, calculate:

Mention rate: prompts where you're named, divided by total prompts.
Citation rate: prompts where your own site is linked.
Share of voice: your mentions compared with each competitor's.

Run the audit monthly or quarterly. For Google, compare with Search Console. Google says traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode is included in the Performance report under the "Web" search type, not shown separately.

Step 6: Fix what the log points to

Work through the causes in this order:

Not mentioned and not cited anywhere: check crawler access (Step 1). Then check whether your pages actually answer the question. A services page that never says "running injuries" or names the city won't match a prompt that does.
Competitors cited from third-party lists: get onto the directories, review platforms and articles that appear in your "Sources cited" column. Do it legitimately, through listings, reviews from real customers and earned coverage.
Wrong facts: correct them at the source. Google specifically advises keeping your Business Profile and Merchant Center information up to date and making sure structured data matches the visible page text.
Mentioned but not linked: make sure there's one clear, crawlable page per service and location.

Google also states that you don't need new machine-readable files, special "AI text files" or special schema markup to appear in its AI features. Be skeptical of anyone selling a shortcut.

FAQ

Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?

OpenAI documents a separate crawler for ads in ChatGPT, OAI-AdsBot, which checks ad landing pages. Ads aren't the same as organic answers, and nothing in OpenAI's crawler documentation offers a paid route into organic search answers.

Does blocking GPTBot hurt my visibility?

According to OpenAI, GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot are independent settings. Blocking GPTBot concerns training; it's OAI-SearchBot that governs whether you appear in ChatGPT search answers.

How many prompts are enough?

Enough to cover your main services and locations with a few phrasings each. Fifteen to 25 is a workable start for a small business. Consistency between audits matters more than the exact number.

Why does ChatGPT mention me without linking my site?

It may be drawing on third-party pages that mention you, or on its own model knowledge when it doesn't search. Check the citations to see which applies.

If you want a second pair of eyes on your first audit log, send it over and we'll point out the gaps.