Ask ChatGPT About Your Business: The 5-Minute Test

Your next customer may never type your name into Google. They may ask an assistant on their phone instead. Here is how to find out, for free, whether it knows you exist.

Picture someone in St Albans asking their phone: “Who’s a good plumber near me?” They get a short answer with two or three names, and they call one of them. They never scroll a results page.

Is your business one of those names? You do not need a tool or a subscription to find out. You need a notepad and five minutes.

Before you start

Open a fresh chat, ideally in a private window so your history does not colour the answers. Keep a note of what you ask and what comes back. The free version of ChatGPT is enough, and if you have time, repeat the test in Perplexity or with Google’s AI answers.

One honest warning: the answers change. The same question can return different names tomorrow. So ask each question twice, ideally on two different days, and look for patterns rather than judging a single answer.

The five questions

Replace the brackets with your own details.

1. What are the best [type of business] in [your town]?The discovery question. Are you named at all?
2. Who would you recommend for [your main service] near [your town]?Same idea, but for the service that earns you the most.
3. Tell me about [your business name] in [your town].Now check the facts: address, opening hours, services, phone number.
4. [Your business] or [a competitor]: which should I choose and why?How are you described when you sit next to a rival?
5. What do customers say about [your business name]?What does the assistant say about your reviews?

Score yourself out of 10

Give each question 0, 1 or 2 points.

What your result is telling you

Get Found Low on question 3

If the assistant knows you by name but gets your hours, address or services wrong, your information is probably inconsistent across your Google Business Profile, your website and online directories. Fix it at the source. Our guide on how Hertfordshire restaurants get found on Google, Maps and AI has a 15-minute checklist that works for most local businesses, not only restaurants.

Get Recommended Low on questions 1 and 2

If you appear when someone asks for you by name but not when they ask for the category, the assistant does not yet connect you with what you do and where. That usually means your website and other online profiles do not say it clearly, or say it differently each time. If the three letters SEO, AEO and GEO are new to you, start with SEO vs AEO vs GEO explained simply.

Get Chosen Low on questions 4 and 5

If you are named but a competitor is preferred, look at proof and ease. How many recent reviews do you have, what do they say, and how quickly can a new customer contact you? This is where reviews, a clear offer and a simple enquiry route make the difference.

If you scored 8 or more, well done. Run the test again in a month to make sure it holds.

Three things to do this week

1. Make your basics match.Check that your name, address, phone, opening hours and main category are identical on your Google Business Profile and your website. About 10 minutes.
2. Say what you do and where, in plain words.Add one clear paragraph to your homepage, and give each main service its own page that names your town. About an hour.
3. Ask three happy customers for a review.Ask them personally, send them a direct link, and thank them. Once is enough. About 15 minutes.

Questions people ask

Written by Has García Peña, founder of MapRank. I help local businesses get found, get recommended and get chosen, on Google and in AI answers.