You do not need a tool, a subscription or an agency to find out whether AI assistants are recommending your business. You need ten minutes, a notes app and a willingness to read a few answers that might sting. Here is the exact test we run on day one with every new client, written so you can do it yourself.
Before you start
Open a fresh, logged-out session where possible so your own history does not skew the results. Use at least two assistants: ChatGPT and Google's AI Mode (or Gemini) are the minimum; Perplexity is a useful third because it shows its sources. Pick your main service and the town where you want the most work.
The five prompts
1-'Who is the best [service] in [town]?' This is the money prompt. Note every business named and the reason given for each.
2.'I need a [service] in [town] that [your real differentiator, e.g. does emergency calls / is licensed for commercial work]. Who should I call?' Tests whether your specialty is visible.
3.'What does [service] cost in [county]?' Tests whether your content is used as a source for pricing questions, which are extremely common.
4.'Is [your business name] a good [service]? What do people say?' Tests what the model knows about you specifically.
5.'Compare [your business] and [top competitor named in prompt 1].' Reveals which facts the model has about each of you.
How to read the results
•Not named at all in prompts 1 and 2: your site is not surfacing for plain-language searches or has nothing quotable. Start with page structure.
•Named in prompt 4 but not prompt 1: the model knows you exist but does not trust you enough to recommend you unprompted. Usually a reviews or consistency problem.
•Wrong facts in prompt 4 (old address, services you dropped): a data consistency problem on directories you have forgotten.
•Competitor gets a reason you also deserve: that strength is not written anywhere on your site or in your reviews.
Tip: Ask a follow-up every time: 'Why did you choose those three?' The model will explain its reasoning and often cite the exact page or review it used. That is a free audit.
Turn the notes into a to-do list
After the test, you will typically have three to five concrete gaps. Most of them fall into the same buckets: a missing town page, a missing FAQ, an inconsistent phone number, too few recent reviews, or a differentiator you never wrote down. Fix the cheapest one first, then re-run the test in thirty days. Keep the log; the trend matters more than any single result.
How often to repeat it
Monthly is enough for most local businesses. AI answers change as the underlying search results change, so a single test is a snapshot, not a verdict. Three months of logs will tell you clearly whether your work is moving the needle.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need paid versions of the AI tools?
No. The free versions of ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity all run live searches for local questions and are fine for this test.
What if the AI says it cannot recommend specific businesses?
Rephrase: 'List three well-reviewed [service] companies in [town] and why.' Most assistants will answer that form of the question.
Should I test from my own town?
Yes, and from a logged-out or private session so your own history does not influence the answer.
Key takeaways
•Five prompts, two assistants, ten minutes.
•Always ask the model why it chose the businesses it named.
•Log results monthly and fix the cheapest gap first.
About the author
This article was written by the team at Tech Engineers Group, a digital growth agency in Piermont, NY that builds websites and runs AI search (GEO) programs for local businesses across Westchester, Rockland, NYC, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Want to know whether AI assistants recommend your business? Run a free AI visibility check or read more guides at techengineersgroup.com.
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