More customers now skip the search results page entirely. They open ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Microsoft Copilot and type something like "Who's the best plumber near Pasadena?" or "Which dentist in Glendale is good with nervous patients?" The assistant answers with a short list of names, often just three to five.

If your business is on that list, you have a real chance at the call. If it isn't, the customer may never know you exist.

The good news: you don't need special software or a marketing agency to find out where you stand. With a free account, a notepad and about 20 minutes, you can run a simple self-check today.

Before you start

  • Open a private or incognito browser window. Your own search history and past chats can shape the answers, so test as a stranger would.
  • Use the free versions of ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot. Customers use different assistants, and each one draws on different sources.
  • Make a simple table with four columns: the question, the assistant, whether you were mentioned, and which competitors were named.

Step 1: Ask the questions your customers ask (5 minutes)

Write down five questions the way a customer would phrase them, not the way a marketer would. For example:

  1. "Best [your service] in [your city]"
  2. "[Your service] near [your neighborhood] open on weekends"
  3. "Who should I call for [a specific problem you solve] in [your city]?"
  4. "Affordable [your service] in [your city] with good reviews"
  5. "[Your business name] reviews"

Run each question in each assistant. Don't rephrase to get a better result. The point is to see what a real customer sees.

Step 2: Record who gets named (5 minutes)

For every answer, note:

  • Were you mentioned? If so, where in the list?
  • Who else was named? The same two or three competitors often show up across assistants. That tells you who the AI currently trusts in your market.
  • Were your details right? Check your hours, phone number, services and location.

You'll often see the answers differ from one assistant to the next. That's normal, and it's useful: it shows which sources each one relies on.

Step 3: Ask the AI about you directly (5 minutes)

Now ask each assistant about your business by name:

  • "What do you know about [Business Name] in [City]?"
  • "What services does [Business Name] offer?"

Read the answers carefully. Common problems include:

  • an old address or phone number
  • services you no longer offer, or missing services you do offer
  • confusion with another business that has a similar name
  • "I couldn't find much information about this business"

Every one of these is a signal you can fix, because AI assistants repeat what they find published about you.

Step 4: Check the sources it cites (5 minutes)

Perplexity and Copilot show their sources next to each answer, and ChatGPT shows links when it searches the web. Click through a few of them. You'll usually find a mix of:

  • business websites
  • Google Business Profile and Bing Places listings
  • review sites such as Yelp
  • industry and local directories
  • local news, associations and community discussions

Ask yourself two questions: Am I listed on these sources? And is my information there accurate and consistent? If a competitor keeps getting recommended, look at which sources the assistant cites for them. That shows you where you're missing.

Reading your results

Most businesses land in one of three groups.

Recommended, with accurate details. Protect your position. Keep reviews coming, keep your listings current and repeat this check every month.

Mentioned, but with wrong details. Find the source of the wrong information and correct it there. Fixing your own website alone often isn't enough if old directory listings still say something different.

Not mentioned at all. This usually means the AI can't find enough clear, consistent and trusted information about you. It isn't a judgment of your work. It's a gap in what's published, and gaps can be filled.

What to fix first

If you only have a few hours, work in this order:

  1. Make your name, address and phone identical everywhere. Start with Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect and Yelp, then your directory listings. Small differences, like "Suite 4" in one place and "#4" in another, or an old phone number, make it harder for AI to be sure all those listings are the same business.
  2. Say clearly on your website what you do, where and for whom. Give each main service its own page, list the areas you serve and use plain language. Add an FAQ that answers the questions customers really ask you.
  3. Earn reviews that mention specifics. Customers who mention the service they received and their neighborhood give AI useful detail. Ask honestly; don't write reviews for customers or offer rewards for them, which Google's policies prohibit.
  4. Refresh your directory descriptions. Many listings still carry descriptions written years ago. Update them with your current services and correct categories.
  5. Get mentioned in your community. Local news coverage, chamber of commerce memberships, industry associations and sponsorships all create trusted sources that AI can cite.

From my own work

[SASAN: add 3–5 sentences from your own experience here, with the client unnamed. For example: a business that was missing from AI answers because of an old phone number or name variation on directories, what you changed, and what you saw afterward. Use only what really happened; no numbers you can't back up.]

A few honest caveats

AI answers change with phrasing, location and time, so a single test is a snapshot, not a verdict. Save your five questions and rerun them monthly. The trend matters more than any one answer. And be wary of anyone who guarantees a top spot in ChatGPT: no one controls these answers. What you can control is how clear, accurate and consistent your business information is across the web.

Twenty minutes is a small investment for knowing whether the newest way customers search can find you. Run the check this week, write down what you find and fix the easiest gaps first.

About the author

Sasan Raeisi is the founder of Los Angeles SEO Inc, a Los Angeles digital marketing agency that has helped businesses with SEO, local SEO and AI search visibility since 2013. Business owners who want a second opinion on their results can request a free AI visibility check.