How do you check if ChatGPT or Gemini mentions your business?

One ask proves little, because AI answers change each time

A single question to ChatGPT shows you one answer at one moment. Ask the same question again and the list of businesses can change. AI engines write each answer fresh, so one result is a sample, and a small one.

The engines also differ from each other. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use different models, so their responses and links vary (Google Search Central). Both may use "query fan-out", which means they run several related searches behind one question and pick supporting pages from the results. ChatGPT and Perplexity use their own crawlers and their own indexes. Your account adds one more variable, because past chats and location settings can shape what you see.

Gridly is a clear example. It is an Australian guide to EVs and home energy, a separate business whose SEO and content system Liam built with the Gridly team. In October 2026, Ahrefs showed 508 AI Overview citations for Gridly and 0 ChatGPT mentions. The Gridly case study has the full numbers. A good result in one engine tells you little about the next one.

A repeatable check uses the same questions, engines and log each month

The fix for a noisy result is a fixed method. Keep the questions, the engines and the way you record answers the same every month, so the only thing that changes is what the engines say.

1. Write five to ten questions your customers really ask. Put your town or suburb in each one, and leave your business name out. A plumber in Geelong might use "Who are the best plumbers in Geelong?", "I need a plumber in Geelong. Who should I call?" and "Can you recommend a plumber near Geelong with good reviews?"
2. Ask each question in four places: ChatGPT with search turned on, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google. In Google, read the AI Overview at the top of the results and also try AI Mode.
3. Ask each question three times in each engine, in a new chat each time.
4. Use a private window or a logged-out session where the tool allows it. This removes some of the effect of your own history.
5. Record every answer in the same table, on about the same day each month.

Three asks across four or five engines gives you twelve to fifteen answers per question. If you are named in eight of them, that is a much better signal than one screenshot.

The cited sources tell you what to fix

The sites an answer cites show where the engine got its information, and that points to your next step. Look at the sources column before you look at the names.

• If your own pages are cited, keep them accurate. Check the facts the engine repeats about you.
• If directories are cited, check your listing on each one. Make sure the services, area and phone number match your site.
• If review sites are cited, the engine is weighing what customers say about you there.
• If local media or industry bodies are cited, being described by those sites is part of how the engine chose. That work is slow, and it builds over time.
• If a competitor's service page is cited, read it next to yours. Note what it answers that your page does not.

We use the same method at a larger scale. Our own data pipeline asks Gemini, with Google Search grounding turned on, local questions for each industry and place. Grounding means the model runs Google searches and bases its answer on the pages it finds. Each question is repeated, and we record which businesses are named and which sites are cited. We have not published results from it yet. Our guide on how generative engine optimisation works explains why the cited pages matter so much.

When you are not named, start with access, indexing and your pages

If the engines never name you, check the basics before anything else. An engine cannot use a page it cannot reach or has not indexed.

Crawler access

Each AI search tool uses a crawler, a program that reads web pages for it. Your robots.txt file decides which crawlers may enter. OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI). GPTBot is a separate crawler that OpenAI uses for training. Perplexity recommends allowing PerplexityBot (Perplexity), and Anthropic says blocking Claude-SearchBot may reduce a site's visibility in Claude's search results (Anthropic).

We checked 1112 Australian business websites across 34 locations in October 2026. 2% blocked at least one AI search crawler. The method is on our local data page.

Indexing in Google

Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Google Search Console is Google's free tool that shows which of your pages are indexed. Check your main service pages there.

Structured data

Structured data is code on a page that tells search engines what the business is, where it is and what it does. Google says no special markup is needed for its AI features, but the code removes guesswork for any system that reads the page. In the same check, 29% of sites had LocalBusiness structured data. Our LocalBusiness schema guide shows how to add it.

Pages that answer first

Open each service page with a direct answer: what you do, where, and how fast. Engines quote the part of a page that answers the question. Our guide to answer-first pages shows how to write them.

Consistent details elsewhere

Your name, address, phone number and services should match on your site, your Google Business Profile and every directory. When sources agree, an engine can connect them to one business.

None of these steps guarantees a mention. They remove the reasons an engine cannot use you. Our generative engine optimisation page covers the full work.

Paid tracking tools run the same check at a larger scale

Several paid tools ask AI engines questions for you and log the answers. They save time once you track many questions or places. Judge any tool on how it runs the check:

• Which engines it covers, and whether Google AI Overviews and AI Mode are tracked separately.
• How many times it asks each question, and how often it repeats the check.
• Whether it can ask as a person in your town or suburb, because local answers depend on place.
• Whether it records the cited sources for each answer, as well as the business names.
• Whether you can write your own questions and read the full answers.

A tool that asks each question once from an unknown location gives you the same weak signal as a single manual ask. Your own monthly table, kept honestly, is often enough for a small business.