Guide · Free method
How to check if ChatGPT recommends your business in your city
By Perparim Kabashi, founder · Updated
When someone asks an AI assistant for “the best dentist in Denver”, the answer names a handful of businesses — and that is the shortlist. You can find out whether you're on it for free, with nothing but the apps and a spreadsheet.
The short answer
Ask ChatGPT five questions a customer would ask, with your city in each, three times each in a new chat with web search on — and do the same in Perplexity and Gemini. Write down which businesses are named and which sites are cited, compare that with your Google Maps top 3, and repeat every week. The share of answers that name you is your mention rate.
1. Write 5 real questions that include your city
Write them the way a new customer would type them, not the way you'd describe yourself: “best implant dentist in Denver?”, “who does the most natural lip filler in Austin?”, “most reliable HVAC company in Tampa?”. Mix the intent — best overall, one specific service, price or value, trust and reviews, and something urgent like “open now”. Leave your business name out: you want to know whether AI brings you up on its own.
2. Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini each one 3 times
Use a new chat for every run, so earlier messages don't steer the answer, and turn web search on where the app lets you choose. Three runs matter because AI answers change from one run to the next: in a SparkToro and Gumshoe study, the same prompt returned the same list of brands less than 1 time in 100 (Search Engine Journal, Jan 2026). Five questions × three apps × three runs is 45 answers.
3. Write down who is named and which sites are cited
One row per answer in a spreadsheet: the question, the app, the run, every business named (in order), whether you were named and in what position, and the websites the answer cites when it shows its sources. The share of all answers that name you is your mention rate — the single most useful number here. The cited sites are the second most useful: they show where AI gets its picks.
4. Compare that with your Google Maps top 3
Search the same questions on Google Maps and note the top three businesses. Don't assume a good Maps ranking carries over: in BrightLocal's 2026 local AI visibility study, Google Maps mentioned the businesses it tracked in 66% of searches, ChatGPT in 33% (BrightLocal, Sep 2026). If AI names the same businesses Maps puts on top, start with your Google Business Profile and reviews. If AI names businesses that aren't in your Maps top 3, they're winning somewhere else — the sites AI cited for them show you where.
5. Repeat weekly
Same questions, same apps, same way, every week. One round is a snapshot; a few weeks give you a trend, and show whether the work you did on listings, reviews and pages is reaching the answers. Changes typically take weeks to show up, so don't judge a fix after a single round. This is the part TrackCited automates: the same questions on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude every week, each asked up to three times — how we measure.
Free ways to check, compared
Doing it by hand is the most realistic view. These free tools save time, and each measures something a little different. What we say about other tools comes from their own pages, on the date shown.
| Option | How it works | Your city | AI engines | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ask the AI apps yourselfThe five steps above | You type your own questions into ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini and log every answer. | Yes — you write the questions. | Whichever apps you ask | Takes time: 45 answers to read and log each round. The most realistic view, and the most work. |
| HubSpot AI Search GraderChecked on | You enter your company name, location, products or services and industry. It scores your brand out of 100 on sentiment, presence, brand recognition, share of voice and market competition. | The location field accepts a city (or a region, a country or global). | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini | Free and one-time. No account, but you fill in a form to see the full report. HubSpot says the results reflect what the engines say based on their training data. |
| Ahrefs Free AI Visibility CheckerChecked on | You enter a brand name. It queries the AI platforms with search-backed prompts and shows total mentions, mentions by platform, top topics and the domains and pages cited — a preview capped at the top 5 per section. | Brand name only; the page doesn't mention a city or location input. | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode | No signup, no card, no limit on brands. Custom prompts, history and competitor comparison are in Ahrefs' paid Brand Radar. |
| TrackCited free checkOur own tool | You enter your business, what you do and your city. We write six questions a customer would ask and put them to the engines live, with web search on. You see a 0–100 score, who AI names instead, the first answers and cited sites; the full report unlocks with a free trial account. | Yes — in every question, when you enter one. | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini | No signup, under a minute, up to 3 checks a day. Each question is asked once per engine, so it's a snapshot, not a trend. |
TrackCited doesn't track Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode or Microsoft Copilot yet.
Skip the spreadsheet: a free snapshot in under a minute
We'll write six questions a customer would ask, with your city in them, ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini live, and show you who they name instead of you. No signup.
Questions
Is there a free way to check if ChatGPT recommends my business?+
Yes. Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini five real questions that include your city, three times each in a new chat, and log who gets named — no tool needed. Free one-time checkers do part of the work for you: TrackCited's free check asks six city questions on ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, with no signup.
Why does ChatGPT give a different answer each time I ask?+
AI answers are generated fresh every time, and with web search on they also depend on which pages the search turns up. In a SparkToro and Gumshoe study reported by Search Engine Journal in January 2026, the same prompt returned the same list of brands less than 1 time in 100. That's why one answer proves little, and why each question should be asked more than once.
How many times should I ask each question?+
At least three times in each app, in a new chat each time. Then count how many of all your answers name you: that share is your mention rate. TrackCited's weekly scans ask each question up to three times on each engine for the same reason.
Should I put my business name in the question?+
No. Ask the way a new customer would, such as "best implant dentist in Denver?", because you want to know whether AI brings you up on its own. Asking about your business by name tells you what AI knows about you, which is a different question.
What should I do if AI doesn't name my business?+
Look at the sites it cited in the answers that named your competitors: getting listed or reviewed there is often the fastest fix. Then work on your Google Business Profile, reviews that name the service and the city, and a page for each high-value service. Our guide on getting recommended by ChatGPT covers each step.
Does this cover Google AI Overviews?+
This method covers ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. TrackCited doesn't track Google AI Overviews or AI Mode yet. Of the free tools compared on this page, Ahrefs' checker lists Google AI Overviews and AI Mode among the platforms it checks (checked on October 19, 2026).
Found out AI names someone else?
How to get your local business recommended by ChatGPT