MPBefore you spend a dollar on AI visibility, spend twenty minutes finding out what the machines already say about you. Some owners discover they're the town favorite. Some discover the AI thinks they closed in 2019. Both discoveries are worth twenty minutes.
How the Audit Works
The method is deliberately simple: ask the four platforms your customers actually use the questions they actually ask, and write down what happens. No tools, no logins, no spreadsheet unless you enjoy spreadsheets. Open ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google (with its AI answer at the top), and run the nine prompts below in each, swapping in your real service, city, business name, and main competitor.
Score every answer one of three ways. Absent: you don't appear at all. Mentioned: you appear, but as one option among several. Named: the AI recommends you specifically. That's zero, one, or two points, and the scorecard below keeps the running total.
Run the Scorecard
Tap a platform, copy each prompt into it, and score what comes back. Your total and verdict update as you go, and your progress saves in your browser so you can finish the audit in pieces.
Twenty minutes, and you now know something most of your competitors don't know about themselves. That was the easy part.
What Your Score Means
Under 20: AI barely knows you exist. This usually isn't a quality problem; it's a documentation problem. Your identity is ambiguous, your reviews are thin, or your website answers nothing. The fix list is in why AI skips businesses, and low scores move fastest.
20 to 45: you're present but not preferred. The machines can find you; they just have more confidence in someone else. Look at which prompts scored Mentioned instead of Named: those are the exact queries to attack with better proof and direct answer pages.
Over 45: congratulations, you're the answer. Now defend it: keep reviews flowing, keep content current, and re-run this audit monthly, because this scoreboard moves.
After the Audit
Whatever the score, the playbook is the same three moves in order: make your identity machine-legible, build third-party proof, and publish direct answers to the questions that showed up weakest. The full walk-through is in the ChatGPT playbook and the every-platform plan.
And if you'd rather hand the whole thing to people who do this daily, that conversation starts with your number, not ours: book a strategy call and bring your scorecard.
Questions People Ask
Do I need accounts on all four platforms?
ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity offer free tiers, and Google's AI answers appear in normal search. The whole audit can be run without paying anyone.
Where are my scores stored?
In your browser only, on your device, using local storage. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else, and the reset button clears it completely.
Should I sign out or use a private window?
Yes, ideally. A private window reduces personalization, so the answers look closer to what a stranger in your market would see.
How often should I re-run the audit?
Monthly is right for most businesses, and immediately after any big change: a review push, new answer pages, or a profile overhaul.
What if the AI's answer varies each time I ask?
That's normal; these systems vary their answers. Ask each prompt once per platform for the audit, and treat repeated absence across prompts as signal, not any single answer.