How to Track Brand Mentions in ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews

One of the most common questions I get from founders right now is some version of this: "How do I know if ChatGPT is recommending my business?"

It's a fair question. With Google, you could open Search Console and see the searches you showed up for. With AI answers, there is no console. The answer is created fresh every time someone asks, and it changes with the wording, the platform and the day.

So you have to check on purpose. Here is the routine I use and teach.

Step 1: Write down the questions your buyers actually ask

Don't start with keywords. Start with the questions a real buyer would type into ChatGPT before they ever call you. Things like:

• "Who is the best [your service] in [your city]?"
• "What should I look for when hiring a [your service]?"
• "Is [your company name] any good?"
• "[Your company] vs [competitor]: which is better?"

Aim for 10 to 20 questions. Mix in "best", "how do I choose", "compare" and questions that use your name directly. Your sales calls and inbox are the best source: buyers ask AI the same things they ask you.

Step 2: Ask every platform, the same way, every time

Run the same list in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google (watching for the AI Overview at the top). Use a fresh chat or a private window so earlier conversations don't steer the answer.

For each answer, note four things:

1. Mentioned? Does your business appear at all?
2. Position. Are you the first recommendation, or the fifth?
3. Accuracy. Is what it says about you true: services, location, founder, pricing?
4. Sources. Which websites does it cite? These are the pages AI trusts in your category.

A simple spreadsheet is enough. Same questions, same columns, once a week.

Step 3: Watch for the patterns, not single answers

AI answers wobble. One week you're in, the next you're not. Don't react to a single answer. Look at the trend over four to six weeks:

• Are you mentioned on some platforms but not others? That usually points to which sources each one leans on.
• Are competitors always mentioned with the same few websites cited? Those are the sites you need to be on too.
• Is the description of you wrong in the same way every time? That's an inconsistency somewhere on the web that AI keeps repeating.

Step 4: Use tools to make it faster

Doing this by hand works, and I recommend everyone does it at least once so they feel how AI sees them. After that, tools save hours. We built several free ones for exactly this:

• AI Overview Citation Tracker: see which sources Google's AI Overviews cite for your questions.
• AI Sentiment Monitor: check how AI describes your brand, and whether the tone is positive, neutral or negative.
• All AI visibility tools: the full set, free with no signup.

If you'd rather see everything in one report, the free AI visibility check runs your business through the major platforms and shows where you appear and where you don't.

Step 5: Fix what the tracking tells you

Tracking is only useful if it leads to action. The most common fixes I see:

• Not mentioned at all: AI doesn't have enough trusted, consistent information about you. Start with clear schema on your site, a strong About page and consistent listings.
• Mentioned but described wrongly: find where the wrong information lives (old directories, outdated bios) and correct it at the source.
• Competitors cited from sites you're not on: those cited websites are your new outreach list.

The short version

Pick your buyer questions. Ask every platform the same way every week. Track mentions, position, accuracy and sources. Act on the patterns. It takes about 30 minutes a week, and it's the only honest way to know whether AI is sending buyers to you or to someone else.

If you want help reading what your results mean, book a call with me. I'm happy to look at it with you.