How to check if AI assistants recommend your business

Why a one-off check misleads

AI assistants don't return a fixed list like a search results page. The same question can name different businesses on different days, or even in two asks a minute apart. If you check once and see your name, it may not be there tomorrow; if you don't see it once, you may still be named often. What counts is how often, across many asks, over weeks.

Step 1: write the questions your customers ask

Good questions sound like a person, include a place, and don't name you:

• "Which dentist in Indiranagar is good for dental implants?"
• "Best CA for GST filing for a small shop in Pune"
• "Where can I get a custom birthday cake in Kochi delivered same day?"

Aim for 10 to 20 questions across your main services. Include a few comparison questions ("X vs Y") and a few cost questions ("how much does ... cost in ...").

Step 2: ask each assistant the same way

Use the assistants your customers use. For most Indian small businesses that means ChatGPT, Gemini, Google (AI Overviews and AI Mode) and Perplexity.

• Ask in a fresh chat each time so earlier conversation doesn't steer the answer.
• Ask each question at least twice per round.
• Keep the wording identical every week so rounds are comparable.

Step 3: record more than yes or no

For each answer, note:

Step 4: turn the pattern into actions

After three or four weeks you will see patterns:

• A competitor is named almost every time. Look at what they publish and where they are listed. Often it's a directory or a clear service page you don't have.
• One directory keeps being cited. Get listed there with complete, accurate details.
• The assistant gets your details wrong. Find where the wrong information lives (an old listing, an old page) and fix it there.
• Nobody local is named. The assistant has little to go on. A clear page answering that exact question can be enough to change that.

How to read the numbers honestly

If you're named in 3 of 20 answers this week and 5 of 20 next week, that may be normal variation, not progress. Only call it a change when it holds for several weeks or the difference is large. Track the same questions over time rather than reacting to single rounds.

What to do with wrong information

If an assistant states something false about your business, the fix is almost never in the assistant itself. Correct the information where it comes from: your website, your Google Business Profile, directory listings and any old pages still online. Then keep checking.

A ready-made question set for a local business

If you're starting from nothing, adapt these patterns to your trade and area:

1. 1"Best [service] in [area] for [specific need]"
2. 2"How much does [service] cost in [city]?"
3. 3"[Service] near [landmark or area] open on [day]"
4. 4"Is [service] worth it for [situation]?"
5. 5"[Option A] or [option B] for [need], which is better?"
6. 6"Who does [specific job] in [city] for small businesses?"

Keep the exact wording in a document and copy it each week, so every round asks the same thing.

Mistakes that make the results misleading

• Asking once and treating the answer as fact.
• Asking in a chat that already mentions your business, which steers the answer.
• Changing the wording every week, so rounds can't be compared.
• Counting only "named or not" and missing that a competitor is named every time.
• Ignoring wrong information because you are named. A wrong phone number in an answer still loses you the call.

What good progress looks like

Over a couple of months, the useful signs are: your business named more often for the same questions, your own pages appearing among the cited sources, fewer wrong details, and new questions where you start to appear. Treat a single good week as a hint, and a steady rise over several weeks as a result.

A worked example: four weeks of checks

Suppose a physiotherapy clinic in Pune (a made-up example) tracks eight questions in three assistants, so 24 answers a week.

• Week 1: named in 3 of 24 answers. Two competitors are named in more than half. The most-cited outside source is a health directory where the clinic's listing has an old phone number.
• Week 2: the clinic fixes the directory listing and rewrites its sports injury page so the first two sentences say what it treats, where, and the price of a first visit. Still named in 3 of 24.
• Week 3: named in 5 of 24. One answer now links to the sports injury page.
• Week 4: named in 6 of 24, including two answers for the sports injury questions.

Four weeks is too short to call this a trend. But the record shows exactly what changed and when, and which questions moved, which is far more useful than a single screenshot.

A simple record sheet

A spreadsheet with these columns is enough. Add one row per question per assistant each week, and filter by question to see how each one moves over time.