How do I know if ChatGPT mentions my business?

More and more people use AI assistants to ask for recommendations: "which physiotherapy clinic is near me?", "who does renovation work in Porto?". If your business appears in those answers, good. If it does not, it is worth knowing, even without any promise that it can be changed in the short term. Here is a test you can do on your own in an afternoon.

1. Write the questions like a customer

Make a list of ten questions, without using your company name. Mix the types: "who does X in Y?", "how do I choose a good Z?", "how much does it usually cost?", "what should I ask before hiring?". Use the words your customers use, which you can collect as we explained in what customers ask before buying.

2. Ask in clean conditions

Open a new conversation for each question and, if possible, without being signed in, so the answers do not adjust to what you have already said. Repeat in more than one tool, because each answers differently. Some show the sources they used, which helps in the next step.

3. Record what you see

For each answer, note on a sheet:

• Is your business mentioned? In what position, and with what description?
• Who else is mentioned? Are they companies like yours?
• Is the information about you right (name, services, location, contact)?
• Which sources appear? News sites, directories, your website, your Google profile?

4. Repeat, without drawing conclusions early

AI answers vary with the question, the day, the tool and the person. A single attempt proves nothing. Repeat the test once a month and look at the trend: does it appear more often, described more accurately, or is it still absent?

5. What to do with the result

• Wrong information: correct it at the source, which is usually your website, your Google profile or an outdated directory.
• Total absence: check whether the website clearly explains what you do, for whom and where; and whether you have pages that answer customers' questions.
• Mentions through third-party sources: they show where it is worth being well described.

What nobody can promise

There is no guaranteed formula for being mentioned by an AI, and whoever sells one is promising what they do not control. What can be done is to make the information about the company clear, current and easy to confirm. The difference between traditional search and AI answers is explained in SEO vs GEO, and the company profile is a good starting point: how to fill it in well. This subject is part of our Digital Marketing work.

Half an hour, one sheet

Imagine an accounting practice in Porto (an invented example) that tests ten questions in two tools. It finds the name appears in two answers, in one of them with the old address, and that several answers cite a directory where the description is out of date. The useful work is not "appear more", it is correcting the directory, updating the website and answering the questions customers ask. Do yours with a simple table: question, tool, mentioned (yes or no), correct information (yes or no), sources cited.

In short

• Ask like a customer, without using the company name.
• Run the test in new conversations and in more than one tool.
• Answers vary; repeat every month and look at the trend.
• Nobody can guarantee a mention; you can make the information clear and current.

Quick questions

If the business does not appear, should I worry?

It is not a cause for alarm. Many local businesses do not appear yet. It is a starting point: it shows what the available information says about you and what can be improved.

Can I pay to appear in ChatGPT answers?

There is no way to buy a mention in normal answers. Be wary of anyone who offers it. What is within your reach is the quality of the information about the company.

Does this replace Google?

No. People still use traditional search. AIs are one more place where the company can be discovered, with rules that are still changing.