Guide

How to check if ChatGPT recommends your business (and who it names instead)

Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Google's AI Mode the 20 questions your buyers ask, without your business name in them, in a private window. Log whether you were named, named first, only linked, or missing. That tells you exactly where you stand, and who AI sends your buyers to instead.

By Liron Segev. Last updated October 2026.

The one lit shop on the street, signed Your Business, with two AI answer bubbles above it.
1

Write 20 questions, without your name in them

Your buyers don't type your business name. They type their problem. If your name is in the question, AI will happily tell you you're great, and you've learned nothing.

Fill in your service and town, then pick the 20 that sound like your buyers. If your service isn't tied to one town, replace [town] with your country (for example, "in the USA"), or leave the location out altogether.

Who to hire

  1. 1Who is the best [service] in [town]?
  2. 2Which [service provider] in [town] do people recommend?
  3. 3Who should I hire for [specific job] in [town]?
  4. 4What's a good [service] company near [town] for [type of customer]?

Cost

  1. 5How much does [service] cost in [town]?
  2. 6Is [service] worth paying for, or can I do it myself?
  3. 7Why do [service] quotes vary so much?

Choosing

  1. 8How do I choose a [service provider]?
  2. 9What questions should I ask a [service provider] before hiring them?
  3. 10What are the red flags when hiring a [service provider]?
  4. 11What certifications should a [service provider] have?

The problem itself

  1. 12[The problem your buyer has, in their words], what should I do?
  2. 13How do I know if I need [service]?
  3. 14How long does [service] take?
  4. 15What happens if I don't fix [problem]?

Comparing options

  1. 16[Your type of service] vs [the alternative they consider]: which is better?
  2. 17Should I use a big [service] company or a local one?
  3. 18Is [cheaper option] good enough, or do I need [your service]?

After the job

  1. 19How do I maintain [result of your service]?
  2. 20What should [service] include?

The best source for the wording is your last ten sales calls. Use the exact words people used.

2

Ask each question in four places, in a fresh session

Use a private or incognito window, logged out where you can, or a temporary chat. Your history changes the answer.

A logged-out session doesn't know where you are, so if you serve a town, keep it in the question. If you don't, use your country or leave the location out, the same way you wrote the questions in Step 1.

  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Google, in AI Mode
3

Log every answer in four columns

Named

Your business is written in the answer as an option.

Named first

You're the first business it suggests.

Only linked

Your website shows up in the sources, but your name isn't in the answer.

Missing

You're not there at all.

QuestionEngineNamedNamed firstOnly linkedMissingWho got named instead
Who is the best plumber in Austin?ChatGPTBusiness A, Business B
Who is the best plumber in Austin?ClaudeBusiness A
How much does a plumber cost in Austin?GeminiBusiness C

Always write down who got named instead along with the link to their website. That column ends up being the most useful one.

4

Read the result

Your score

Named answers out of 80. Count "only linked" separately, not as wins.

Named first

This is the number that matters most. Being one of nine options is not the same as being the answer.

Who keeps coming up

Count the names in the last column. The two or three that appear most are who AI thinks owns your market right now.

Which questions you lose

Group the misses. Losing every cost question means something different from losing every "who should I hire" question.

What to do with your results

The check tells you where you stand. It doesn't tell you why, and it doesn't fix anything.

Pick a question you lose. Head into the AI of your choice, the one that knows you best, and type the following:

The prompt

Here is the question that I want to be known for in AI and Google. [put in the question]

I am currently not mentioned at all. The following websites and companies are:
[list the websites links]

Analyse each website and provide me with a comprehensive To Do list of what I need to do on my own website so that I can be mentioned when someone asks this question.

Once you have your report, that becomes your to do list.

Do this for each question. Ideally, do this weekly so that you can start owning the answers to those questions.

Do this automatically

If you don't want to do this work, you can deploy the Answer Content Engine and have 7 agents do this work for you.

Your agents:

  1. Finds the questions your buyers are asking
  2. Automatically creates the right content
  3. All you have to do is approve and it publishes.
  1. Then the agents monitor the results
  2. Feed the data back into your agent
  3. Your Content Engine keeps adapting to keep your business recommended.

If you want to see how this works, book a call so you can finally take content off your to do list and let your Answer Content Engine handle it all for you.

Book a demo

Your prospects are asking. Be the answer.

The Answer Content Engine takes all this work off your plate, to ensure that you become visible.

The same street at night: every shop dark except Your Business, the engine underneath still running.