We check 10 real buyer questions across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to see where your business appears and where competitors are getting recommended instead.
buyer answers include the business
The business is missing from 3 of the 10 answers checked.
buyer answers include the business
The business is missing from 6 of the 10 answers checked.
buyer answers include the business
The business is missing from 9 of the 10 answers checked.
You give us your website. We ask the AIs what your customers ask, and show you what they said.
That’s all we need. We work out what you do, where you do it, and who you compete with.
We ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the 10 questions your customers ask, several times each, and note every name.
Your score on each AI, who they recommended instead, why, and the three fixes that matter most.
When a buyer asks who to hire, Google shows who paid. AI shows who it trusts.
Paid Placements
inheritanceplumbing.com
texanplumbingpros.com
katy-plumber.com
A DIRECT RECOMMENDATION
I’d call John Moore Services first for an urgent plumbing problem in Houston, based on its advertised 24/7 emergency dispatch and coverage across the metro area. Actual arrival time needs to be confirmed by phone.
| Company | Phone | Why consider them |
|---|---|---|
| John Moore Services | 713-853-9881 | Advertises licensed plumbers available nights and weekends for burst pipes, sewer backups, and other emergencies. |
| Abacus Plumbing | 713-812-7070 | Advertises 24/7 availability, including holidays; publishes its master plumber license number. |
| Village Plumbing | 281-957-6221 | Answers calls 24/7, offers same-day service, and states it provides upfront flat-rate pricing. Confirm after-hours dispatch. |
Before booking, ask about arrival time, fees and a written estimate.
Pick a business type. The question changes, but the answer looks the same: a few names, and yours isn’t one of them.
Type what you offer and who it’s for to see the kinds of questions we ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.
Tip: enter what you sell, like “payroll software”, rather than a brand name.
ChatGPT
Gemini
Perplexity
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
We’ll ask questions like this on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and show you who they name. Check my site →
A complete audit for houston roofing company. Every answer, every competitor AI named instead, and three fixes ready to hand to a developer.
Local, high-stakes, chosen on trust. The questions change by trade; the audit adapts.
“Who's the best roofer for hail damage near me?”
“Who fixes AC same-day in Katy?”
“Emergency plumber in Cypress tonight?”
“Licensed electrician for a panel upgrade?”
“Good car accident lawyer in Houston?”
“Dentist for a same-day crown nearby?”
“Who should I hire for a kitchen remodel in Pearland?”
“Best landscaping company in Sugar Land?”
“Who handles termites in The Woodlands?”
“Honest mechanic near me for a transmission?”
“Top agent for selling a house in Katy?”
“Best med spa for Botox in Houston?”
Ninety seconds on how clients actually find a lawyer now.
A woman asks her phone for a car-accident lawyer. It names Wexcombe.
Kessling runs the checker on his own firm. Seven of thirty answers.
The report shows the fix: a directory lists him under Bankruptcy.
Try it
Pick a business and watch who gets recommended.
Illustrative answers, typical of what we see. Real audits use live responses. ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity are trademarks of their respective owners; not affiliated.
Total audience, not a count of buyers.
Advice and information seeking. Not a measure of buying intent.
IBM Institute for Business • January 9, 2026ChatGPT referrals vs. organic search. An estimate; results vary by business.
Similarweb • September 4, 2026Search ranks ten pages and lets the user choose. An answer engine chooses for them, drawing on a much smaller set of sources. Ranking well on Google helps but doesn’t guarantee inclusion. SEO optimizes to be clicked; AEO optimizes to be cited.
Answer Engine Optimization means making your business the source an AI engine pulls from when it writes an answer. Where SEO earns a position on a results page, AEO earns a place inside the response, either as a named recommendation or a cited source.
A single answer varies, so we don’t rely on one. Each prompt is run multiple times across platforms and the audit reports only the patterns that hold: which businesses are consistently named, which sources are consistently cited, and where you consistently don’t appear.
ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity each retrieve from different indexes and weight sources differently, so being visible in one doesn’t carry over to the others.
Not unless the web makes it clear. AI engines combine what they learned in training with live retrieval, then synthesize a short answer from a handful of sources. Businesses that appear have consistent entity information, clear pages that answer specific questions, third-party mentions and reviews, and structured data the engine can read without guessing.
Answers change as sources change, so visibility needs upkeep: consistent name, address, services and descriptions everywhere you’re listed; pages that answer specific customer questions directly; schema markup; fresh reviews and third-party mentions; and letting AI crawlers access the pages that matter.
What business owners ask before they run their check.
Yes. Enter your website and you get your full report at no cost. No credit card or sales call required.
Just your website address. We use it to work out what you do, where you do it and who you compete with, then write the questions your customers would ask.
ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Each one pulls from different sources, so showing up on one doesn’t mean you show up on the others.
Your score on each AI, every competitor named instead of you, the sources AI relied on to pick them, and the three fixes most likely to get you recommended.
AI names the businesses it can confirm from other sources: the same details everywhere they’re listed, pages that answer customer questions, and reviews and mentions on other sites. Gaps in any of those are usually why you’re left out.
Not necessarily. Google ranks pages and lets the customer choose. AI reads a handful of sources and chooses for them. Plenty of businesses on Google’s first page never show up in an AI answer.
A single answer can vary. That’s why we ask each question several times on every AI and only report what holds up: who gets named consistently, and where you consistently don’t.
Yes. The fixes are written so you can do them yourself or hand them straight to whoever manages your website. If you’d rather have it done for you, we can help.
Yes. It works for local services, online stores, software, agencies, professional firms and creators. The questions are written for your category and your customers.
© 2026 AI Mention Check
