How to check whether ChatGPT and Perplexity know your business

More and more potential customers ask ChatGPT questions like "Recommend a good Italian restaurant near me." If you don't appear in the answer, you simply don't exist for them. The way to check whether AI engines know your business is to ask them a series of focused questions. In this guide I'll show you exactly how to do it.

Why is it important to check what AI thinks about your business?

It's important to check what AI thinks about you because customers use it to get recommendations and make buying decisions. If the information about your business is wrong, partial or missing, you lose customers who are looking for exactly what you offer.

In the past, a customer would search Google for "plumber in Petah Tikva" and get a list of websites. Today, they can ask ChatGPT or Perplexity a similar question and get a direct answer with 2-3 recommended names. That answer feels like a personal recommendation from a friend. If your name isn't there, the customer probably won't bother looking further.

Think of a tourist who arrives in a city and asks her phone: "Where's a nice café to work from with a laptop?" If your café is a good fit but the AI doesn't know it, she'll simply go to the competitor mentioned in the answer.

How do AI engines learn about businesses?

AI engines learn about businesses by scanning and analyzing enormous amounts of information from the internet. They piece together information from your website, your Google Business Profile, Facebook pages and other sites.

The AI tries to build an "ID card" for every business. It looks for three key details: the business name, address and phone number. When these details are identical everywhere, the AI understands it's the same business, and its trust in the information goes up. The higher the trust, the better the chance it will recommend you.

For example, let's say you have a flower shop in Yakir. Your website says "Shoshana Flowers", your Google Business Profile says "Shoshana Event Design", and your Facebook page says "Flowers in Yakir - Shoshana". As far as the AI is concerned, these could be three different businesses. That confusion hurts your visibility and stops the AI from recommending you with confidence.

Which questions should you ask to check your AI visibility?

To check your visibility, ask the AI three groups of questions: direct questions, recommendation questions and comparison questions. Each group tests a different aspect of your online presence.

The process is simple and only requires you to open ChatGPT, Perplexity or another AI tool and start asking. I recommend recording the answers in a simple document so you can analyze them easily afterwards.

1. Direct questions about your business

Start with the most basic check: does the AI even know who you are? It should know your business name, what you do, where you're located and how to contact you.

Examples of direct questions:

• "Tell me about 'Yossi's Grill House' in Ashdod."
• "What are the opening hours of the 'Auto-Tech' garage in Be'er Sheva?"
• "What's the phone number of 'The Veterinary Clinic' in Karmiel?"

If the answers here are wrong, that's a bright warning light. It means the most basic information about you is a mess online.

2. Questions about recommendations in your area

Here you're checking whether the AI sees you as a good option for a customer looking for a service like yours. Don't mention your business name in the question.

Examples of recommendation questions:

• "Recommend an educational toy store in Ra'anana."
• "I'm looking for an accountant who specializes in small businesses in Givat Shmuel."
• "Where's good pizza with delivery in Katzrin?"

If you don't appear in these answers, you're invisible to new customers. Also notice who does appear - they're your main competitors in the AI arena.

3. Comparison questions against competitors

This is a more advanced check that reveals how the AI perceives your strengths and weaknesses compared to competitors. The answers here can be surprising.

Examples of comparison questions:

• "What's the difference between the 'Fashion Hair' salon and 'Curls & Color' in Holon?"
• "Which gym is better for beginners in Rishon LeZion, 'Energy' or 'Fit-Star'?"

The AI will try to give a balanced answer based on what it reads about you and your competitors. If it mentions an advantage of the competitor (for example, "it has convenient parking") that you also have but isn't written anywhere - you've found a gap you need to close.

What if the AI's answers aren't good?

If the AI doesn't know you, gives wrong information or recommends your competitors, the problem isn't the AI. The problem is the raw material the AI reads about you across the internet. The solution is to improve your online presence in the sources the AI trusts.

You can't email ChatGPT and ask them to fix your opening hours. You need to fix the information on your website, your Google Business Profile, Facebook and everywhere else you appear. The next time the AI scans the web, it will find the updated information and correct itself.

If you're a bike shop in Modi'in that specializes in repairing electric bikes and you didn't appear in this answer, that's a customer lost. The reason is probably that your website doesn't highlight this expertise enough, or that you don't have enough positive Google reviews about this service.

How do you improve the information AI finds about you?

To improve what the AI knows about you, focus on two main channels: consistent information across the web, and richer content on your website and Google profile.

First, make sure your business name, address and phone number (known in English as NAP) are completely identical everywhere. Check your website, Google, Facebook, Israel's Dapei Zahav directory and every other listing. Even a small difference, like "St." instead of "Street", can confuse the systems.

Second, enrich your Google Business Profile. It's one of the most trusted sources for search engines and AI. Fill in every possible field: services, products, business description, accurate opening hours (including holidays), service areas and answers to common questions. Every detail you add is more high-quality raw material for the AI.

At the same time, improve the content on your website. Don't assume customers or the AI know what you do. Write about it in detail. If you're a speech therapist, create a separate page for each specialty: "stuttering treatment", "articulation therapy", "selective mutism treatment". The more detailed and useful your content, the better the AI understands your expertise and the more confident it feels recommending you.

If the process feels like too much, a professional visibility check can quickly identify all the gaps and give you an organized work plan.

What to do now?

Instead of just reading about it, let's do it. Here are four practical steps you can take today to start improving your visibility in AI engines.

1. Run the check: open ChatGPT and ask the three groups of questions from this article: a direct question, a recommendation question and a comparison question. Record the answers.
2. Identify the main gap: from the answers, what's the biggest problem? Are your opening hours wrong? Do you not appear in recommendations at all? Focus on one problem to start.
3. Check your Google profile: log in to your Google Business Profile. Are all the details complete and up to date? Is your list of services detailed? Update whatever needs it.
4. Add one content page to your website: think of an important question customers ask you all the time. Write a detailed answer to it on a new page on your site. For example, if you run a vacation cabin, write a page about "family activities near the cabin".

Working on your online visibility is an ongoing process. But every small step you take today builds a significant advantage in the near future.