Short answer. To check if AI recommends your business, ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity the questions a customer would type, with web search switched on, in a signed-out or private window. Write down whether each answer names you, gives your website address, and which competitors appear instead. Repeat each question three times, because the answers change.
What you are measuring
You are checking three things for every answer: was your business named, was your website address given, and who was recommended instead. Being named is awareness. Being linked is what sends a visitor. The competitors list tells you who is winning the questions you want.
Two routes decide the result
An AI can know about you in two ways, and the check should test both.
- Memory (training). The model learned from a snapshot of the web up to a cut-off date. Anthropic, for example, lists a June 2026 knowledge cut-off for its current Claude models (Anthropic). Anything newer is not in its memory.
- Live search. With search on, the model looks something up right now and reads current pages. Google describes this for Gemini as connecting the model to "real-time web content" (Google AI for Developers).
A new business can be invisible in memory and still show up in live search. So run each question twice where you can: once with search on, once with it off. Our guide on memory versus live search explains the difference.
Which search index each AI reads
When search is on, each AI draws on a different source. Your page has to be findable in the right one. The full evidence, with dates and gaps, is in which search engine each AI uses.
| AI | Live search draws on | How sure we are |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Several providers, including OpenAI's own crawler. OpenAI says it uses third-party search providers and has not said how much comes from Bing | Partly confirmed (OpenAI) |
| Claude | Brave Search, according to Anthropic's subprocessor list | Reported, not confirmed in Anthropic's documentation (TechCrunch) |
| Gemini | Google Search's index | Confirmed (Google) |
| Perplexity | Its own index, built by its crawler | Confirmed (Perplexity) |
| Microsoft Copilot (optional fifth check) | Bing | Confirmed (Microsoft) |
How to check by hand: seven steps
- Write five to ten real questions. Type them the way a customer talks to an AI, with the problem first: "I need a dentist near Sandton who takes walk-ins, who should I call?" Avoid your brand name in the question, because you are testing whether the AI brings you up unprompted.
- Use a clean window. Open a private or signed-out window so your own history does not colour the answer. ChatGPT search no longer requires signing in, according to Search Engine Land. Set your location to where your customers are.
- Turn web search on. In each AI, make sure web search is enabled, and look for source links in the answer as proof it ran. If an answer has no sources, search probably did not run.
- Ask each question on all four AIs. Paste the same wording each time. Do one AI at a time and keep the answers.
- Repeat three times. The same question can return different names. Count how many of three answers include you.
- Record the result in a table. One row per question and AI: named (yes/no), address given (yes/no), who else was named, and the pages the AI listed as sources.
- Ask again with search off. This is the memory check. If you appear only with search on, you are findable today but not remembered. If you appear in neither, start with the basics in how to get recommended by ChatGPT.
A simple record sheet
| Question | AI | Search on or off | Run | Named? | Address given? | Others named | Sources listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (your question) | ChatGPT | on | 1 |
Add one row per run. Five questions on four AIs, three runs each, is sixty rows, so start with five questions and one run each if time is short.
Reading your results
- Named and linked in most runs: you are doing well on that question. Watch for changes monthly.
- Named but not linked: the AI knows of you but does not give your address. Make sure your site is easy to read and your name matches your domain.
- Not named, competitors named: open the sources the AI listed. Those pages are what the AI read. They show what you need to be present on.
- Named on one AI only: check the index for the others. Each AI reads a different index, so being found in one does not guarantee the rest.
- A wrong statement about you: note it and the page the AI cited. A wrong sentence can cost more than a low rank.
Why one test is not enough
Answers change between runs, between days and between model updates. One good result is luck, and one bad result may be too. This is why the method repeats each question, and why checking monthly beats checking once. Our guide on why AI answers change every time goes deeper.
Check the crawlers are not blocked
AI search tools read your site with their own crawlers, and you can block them in robots.txt. OpenAI says a site that opts out of OAI-SearchBot will not appear in ChatGPT search answers, though it can still show as a plain link (OpenAI). Perplexity says to allow PerplexityBot to appear in its results (Perplexity). Anthropic lists Claude-SearchBot for search and says blocking it may reduce visibility in search results (Anthropic). Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt and check none of these is disallowed by mistake.
Or let aipozi do it every morning
The steps above take about half an hour for a handful of questions. aipozi asks the questions you choose on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity every morning with live search on, and shows whether you were named, whether your address was given, and who was recommended instead.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check if AI recommends my business for free? Yes. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity all have free versions you can ask by hand. Free plans may limit how many searches you get a day, so do the four AIs in separate sittings if you hit a limit.
Why does ChatGPT name my business with search on but not with search off? With search off, the model answers from memory, which stops at its training cut-off. With search on, it reads current web pages. A business that is new, or rarely written about, can appear in the second and not the first.
How many times should I ask the same question? Three times on each AI is a sensible minimum, because the same question can return different recommendations. Record how many of the three answers name you, instead of trusting one run.
What should I do if no AI names my business? Check that your site is indexed in the search engines the AIs use, that the AI crawlers are not blocked in robots.txt, and that your business is described the same way in several places. The Improve guides on aipozi cover each step.
Does it matter which country or city I ask from? It can. Search results and AI answers can vary by location, and OpenAI says ChatGPT may share your general location with its search providers (OpenAI help centre). Ask the way a customer in your area would, and note where you asked from.
Sources
Every source above was checked on 27 October 2026. The full source table, with gaps, is on which search engine each AI uses.