How to check if ChatGPT recommends your business
Written by the Prefera team
Write the five to ten questions a buyer would type before choosing someone like you, ask each one in a fresh ChatGPT chat several times, and record whether your business is named, who is named instead, and which pages ChatGPT cited. One answer proves very little, because ChatGPT can answer the same question differently each time. A pattern across repeated answers is what you can trust.
Key takeaways
- Write five to ten buyer questions in a customer's plain words, and ask each one in a fresh ChatGPT chat.
- Ask every question at least three times: one answer proves very little, because ChatGPT can answer the same question differently each time.
- For each answer, record whether you were named, in what position, who else was named, and which pages were cited.
- The cited pages are your to-do list: a list on another site, a competitor's comparison page and a review site each point to a different fix.
- Change one thing, wait a week or more, then ask the same questions again to see whether it worked.
What does it mean for ChatGPT to recommend a business?
A recommendation is any answer that names your business as an option for the person asking. It can be a ranked list ("the best invoicing apps for freelancers are..."), a single pick ("I would choose..."), or a passing mention in a longer explanation. These are not equal. Being first in a short list a buyer will act on is worth more than being the ninth name in a long one, so record how you were named, not only whether you were.
It also helps to separate two things that look alike. ChatGPT can answer from what it learned in training, or it can search the web and answer from the pages it finds. When it searches, it usually shows the sources it used. Those sources are the most useful part of the answer for you, because they are the pages you would have to appear on.
How do you check if ChatGPT recommends you, step by step?
- Write your buyer questions. Think of what a customer asks before they pick a supplier: "best [what you sell] for [type of customer]", "[what you sell] for [a specific need]", "[your name] vs [another option]", and "is [your name] any good". Aim for five to ten, in the plain words a customer uses, not your marketing words.
- Open a fresh chat for each question. An earlier conversation can steer the next answer. Use a new chat each time. If you are signed in, consider turning off memory or using a temporary chat so your own history does not shape the result.
- Ask it the way a buyer would. Do not mention your business in the question unless the question is about you by name. If you ask "why is my company the best", you are testing agreement, not recommendation.
- Make sure web search is on if you want to see sources. When ChatGPT searches, open the sources list and note every page it cites.
- Repeat each question at least three times. Answers vary. Ask the same question in three separate chats and write down each result.
- Record the result in a table. For each answer note whether you were named, in what position, who else was named, and which pages were cited.
- Look for the pattern, not the single result. Naming you in one of three is different from naming you in none, and different again from naming you in all three.
What should you write down for each answer?
Keep the table simple enough that you will actually fill it in. This is the minimum worth recording.
| Field | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Question | The exact words you typed | So you can ask it again later and compare |
| Date and run | Today's date and run 1, 2 or 3 | Answers change over time and between runs |
| Named? | Yes, no, or named with a caveat | The headline result |
| Position | First, in a list, or a passing mention | A first pick and a footnote are not the same win |
| Who else | Every other business named | These are the businesses you are actually up against |
| Cited pages | The pages shown as sources | The pages you would need to appear on or beat |
| How you were described | The words used about you | Wrong or dated descriptions are fixable |
Why is one answer not enough?
ChatGPT does not return a fixed result for a question the way a database does. Two people asking the same question can get different lists, and the same person can too. If you ask once and you are named, you may have been lucky. If you ask once and you are missing, you may have been unlucky. Asking the same question several times separates a steady mention from a fluke.
Where you ask also changes the answer. The country, the language and whether web search is used can all move the result, so note them. If you serve more than one country, check each separately.
What do the pages ChatGPT cites tell you?
When ChatGPT searches the web, the cited pages are its evidence. Read them. They usually fall into a few kinds, and each points to a different fix.
| Cited page is... | What it tells you | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A "best of" list on someone else's site | You are missing from a list the engine reads | Get listed there, or earn a mention. See how to get into the lists AI assistants cite |
| A competitor's own comparison page | They answered the question and you did not | Write the clearest answer to that exact question on your own site |
| A review site or directory | Reviews and profiles are shaping the answer | Complete your profile and ask real customers for reviews |
| A forum thread | People discuss this question in public | Join the thread honestly, disclosing who you are |
| Your own page | You are already being used as a source | Keep it accurate and up to date |
What should you do with the result?
- If you are never named: find the pages cited for those questions and work out what they have that you do not. The gap is usually a missing page, a missing listing or a missing fact.
- If you are named but described wrongly: note the claim, find the page it likely came from, and correct that page. Check also that your own site states the fact plainly.
- If a competitor is named first: open the page that won the answer and compare it with yours, line by line.
- If you are named in some runs and not others: you are on the edge. Small improvements to the page, and more places that mention you, can make the mention steadier.
Then change one thing, wait, and ask the same questions again. Without a before and an after you will never know whether your change did anything. Waiting a week or more before asking again gives the engines time to pick up a change.
Can you do this without doing it by hand?
Yes. Doing this by hand is fine for a first look, but it is slow to repeat and easy to do inconsistently. Prefera's free scan asks five buyer questions once on ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews and shows who was named instead of you and the pages cited, in about four minutes and with no card. On a paid plan, Prefera asks each question three times per engine on a schedule, saves every answer with the pages it cited so you can open it, and compares a fix against questions you left alone. See the plans.
Whichever way you do it, the method is the same: real buyer questions, repeated answers, and a record of who is named and why. For the wider picture, read what answer engine optimization is and how it differs from SEO.