Most people now ask ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini instead of Googling. When someone asks “best bakery for corporate gifting in Philadelphia” or “nurse practitioner who treats hormones near me,” AI gives a direct answer with specific names.
If your business isn’t one of them, you’re invisible to a fast-growing segment of potential customers. The good news: checking is free and takes five minutes.
Ask the AI yourself
Open ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini (all free). Type “best [your service] in [your city]” or “who do you recommend for [what you do] near [your area].” Do this for 3 to 5 variations of how a customer might phrase it. Note what comes back: Are you named? Are your competitors? Is the information accurate?
Check your “AI fuel” sources
AI pulls from specific places: Google reviews, your website FAQ page, your LinkedIn activity, local directories, and press or media mentions.
Do you have 20+ Google reviews?
Is your website FAQ answering the exact questions customers ask?
Have you posted on LinkedIn in the last 30 days?
Are you listed in relevant directories beyond just Google Business Profile?
Each “yes” is fuel. Each “no” is a gap competitors can fill.
See what AI Overviews say about your category
Google now shows AI Overviews at the top of many searches. Search for your category + city (e.g., “artisan bakeries Philadelphia” or “hormone health practitioners New Jersey”). Look at the AI Overview box: who gets named? What sources does it cite? If you’re not there, that’s the same content AI chatbots are pulling from.
If you showed up: great. But showing up once doesn’t mean you’re consistently recommended. AI models update constantly, and competitors are starting to optimize for this.
If you didn’t show up: you now know exactly where the gap is - and that it’s fixable.
Get the AI Visibility Playbook
The free, step-by-step guide to becoming the business AI recommends. Inside, you’ll get:
Exactly how AI decides which businesses to recommend
Why traditional SEO isn’t enough anymore - and what’s replacing it
The specific steps to get your business into AI recommendations
Which “AI fuel” sources matter most, and how to strengthen each one
Copy-paste prompts to audit your own visibility in minutes