More customers now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google for a recommendation and read the AI answer before they click anything. Here is a quick way to see what those answers say about you. All you need is a browser and five minutes.
1. Ask the way a customer would
Open ChatGPT (with search turned on) and Perplexity. Ask the question a new customer would ask, in their words:
- "Who are the best [your service] in [your town]?"
- "I need [the job you do] in [your town]. Who should I call?"
Write down whether your business appears at all, and where it sits in the list.
2. Ask about your business by name
Now ask directly: "What is [your business name] in [your town]?" Read the description closely. Are your services right? Your location? Is it even your business? A vague or wrong description usually means AI tools can't find clear information about you.
3. Look at the sources
Both tools show the pages they used for their answer. Check whether your own website is one of them. If the answer leans only on directories, review sites or someone else's page, your site isn't giving AI tools what they need.
4. Check Google
Search Google for your main service and your town. If an AI Overview appears at the top, see whether you are mentioned or linked. AI Overviews don't appear for every search, so try two or three versions of the question.
5. Peek at your robots.txt
Type your domain followed by /robots.txt into your browser. This file tells crawlers what they may read. Look for Disallow lines under AI search crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT search), PerplexityBot or Claude-SearchBot, or a blanket Disallow: / under User-agent: *. Some hosts and security services also block AI crawlers by default, so a clean-looking file is a good sign but not the whole story.
What your results mean
- Not mentioned at all: AI tools either can't read your site or don't find enough on it to recommend you.
- Mentioned, but described wrong: your site isn't stating clearly who you are, what you do and where.
- Mixed up with another business: a name problem. See what to do when AI confuses you with another business.
- Mentioned and described right: good. Keep checking every month, because these answers change.
AI answers vary between runs and between people. Ask each question two or three times, ideally in a private or logged-out window, before drawing conclusions.
Want us to do it for you?
Our free AI search audit runs these checks across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, adds the technical checks AI tools rely on, and sends you a short video plus a one-page report with your top fixes.