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How to track whether AI recommends your business
Ask three assistants the question your customer asks, once a month, and write down what they say. Tools come second.
Founder, ProveWorth
Key Takeaways
- 1Ask ChatGPT, Google and Perplexity the question your customer would ask, once a month, with the same wording each time.
- 2Write down the date, the assistant, the exact question, whether you were named and which sites were cited.
- 3Search Console's Generative AI report shows impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode, not customers.
- 4Microsoft reports Bing's AI Performance data as a sample of citation activity.
- 5An AI visibility score is a vendor metric, not a Google number, so ask any tool to show the full answers behind it.
Ask ChatGPT, Google and Perplexity the question your customer would ask. Do it once a month, and write down what each one says. It costs nothing and takes about twenty minutes. Tools and reports come second, and an AI visibility score is a vendor's number, not Google's.
It shows you what a customer would actually see, and no score can do that.
What question do I ask?
The one a customer types or says out loud. Think of the call you get most. Someone with a yard and a problem asks something like "who does weekly dog waste pickup in Plainfield" or "best cleaning service near me."
Pick three to five questions and put your town in each. Don't put your business name in. You want to see whether the assistant brings you up on its own.
Keep the wording identical every month. Changing the question changes the answer, and then you can't tell what moved.
Which three assistants do I ask?
Use ChatGPT, Google's AI Mode, and Perplexity. They are separate products with separate ways of finding businesses, so one can name you while another doesn't.
If your customers lean on another assistant, such as Microsoft Copilot, swap it in. Use the same account and the same device each month, so the runs are comparable.
What do I write down?
Save the full answer as text, plus six details. A simple table in a spreadsheet does it.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date | The day you asked |
| Assistant | ChatGPT, Google or Perplexity |
| Question | The exact words you typed |
| Named you? | Yes or no, and where in the answer |
| Sources cited | The sites it listed, yours included |
| Who else | The other businesses it named |
I use three labels. A mention is your name appearing. A citation is your site listed as a source. A recommendation is the assistant telling the asker to call you. Those are my words, not an industry standard, so keep them consistent for yourself.
What counts as a win?
Being named with the right facts. Check the hours, the service area and the prices against what's true.
If an assistant gets a fact wrong, fix the source. That usually means your Google profile or your own website. Then ask again next month.
Treat each run as one observation, not a poll. Microsoft calls its own Bing AI data a sample of citation activity, and that's a fair reminder. Nobody sees the full picture, including the tools that charge for it.
Where do Google and Bing show AI numbers?
Two reports exist. Neither counts customers.
Google Search Console. It has a Generative AI performance report covering AI Overviews and AI Mode. It reports impressions, meaning how many times links to your site were shown in those features.
It can be missing. Google says that usually happens when a site hasn't received enough impressions in generative AI features. Don't read that as a fault.
Bing Webmaster Tools. Microsoft says its AI Performance report shows citations to your pages across Copilot, Bing AI summaries and select partners. The data is a sample of citation activity.
Google Analytics. The Traffic acquisition report lists the source and medium of each session, and Direct is one of the default channels. Google's page doesn't explain how to spot AI visits. Any AI traffic number you see is an estimate.
What is an AI visibility score?
A number a tool vendor calculates from its own list of questions. It is a vendor metric. It isn't a Google number, and Google's AI report shows impressions, not a score.
A score is only as good as the questions behind it. What is an AI visibility score has the quick answer.
When is a tracking tool worth paying for?
When asking by hand has become a chore. That happens when you cover many towns or services and the monthly twenty minutes turns into three hours.
Before you pay, ask three questions:
- Can I open the full answer behind every number, with the date?
- Does it list the sources the assistant cited?
- What does it cost in writing, and what does renewal cost?
If the answer to the first is no, you're buying a number you can't check. For one truck in one town, the notebook wins.
What do I do next?
Put a monthly reminder in your calendar and run the first check today. Save it as your baseline.
If the answers look thin, the fix is usually on your site. AI SEO for small service businesses covers what to buy and what to skip, and GEO vs SEO covers what an agency means by the pitch.
Plenty of customers read reviews before they call. On ProveWorth, each review publishes on your own page. You can get your free page, or see how it works.
Sources
Founder, ProveWorth
Built ProveWorth - the trust layer for human communities. We surface real reviews from real members across hundreds of communities, so you can find the one that fits and join with confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check whether ChatGPT recommends my business?
Ask it the question a customer would type, such as who does the job in your town. Note whether your business appears, and save the full answer with the date.
How often should I check AI answers?
Once a month is enough for one business. Use the same questions and the same wording each time so the months are comparable.
Does Google give me an AI visibility score?
The Google reports I read show impressions, not a score. An AI visibility score comes from a tool vendor, so ask how it is calculated and see the answers behind it.
Why is the Generative AI report missing in Search Console?
Google says it usually happens when your site hasn't received enough impressions in generative AI features on Google Search. It isn't necessarily an error.
What does Bing's AI Performance report show?
Microsoft says it shows citations for your pages across Copilot, Bing AI summaries and select partners. It is a sample of citation activity.
Can I see AI visits in Google Analytics?
GA4 lists the source and medium of each session. Google's page doesn't explain how to pick out AI visits, so treat any AI traffic figure as an estimate.
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