Short answer: Write down the questions your customers ask, ask each one several times in fresh chats, and count how often ChatGPT names your business. Repeat every few weeks. Then look in your analytics for visits from chatgpt.com: ChatGPT tags its links so you can see them.

Why one try isn't enough

ChatGPT doesn't give the same answer twice. In a study of about 4,200 ChatGPT answers, researchers at the National University of Singapore found that roughly 40% of the pages ChatGPT considered turned up in only one run, and fewer than 10% showed up in most runs. Which websites it cited was steadier than which pages (NUS).

So “I asked once and we weren't there” doesn't mean much, and neither does “I asked once and we were”. Count across many runs.

Step 1: write down 10 to 20 questions

Use the questions people really ask before they buy from you. Your emails, phone calls and quote requests are full of them. Mix three kinds:

  • Finding someone: “Who is a good roofer in Leeds?”
  • Comparing: “Is a heat pump worth it for an old house?”
  • Specific: “How much does it cost to fix a leaking flat roof?”

Leave your business name out. You want to know whether ChatGPT brings you up on its own.

Step 2: ask each question three to five times

  • Start a new chat each time. A Temporary Chat is best, so ChatGPT's memory of earlier conversations doesn't steer the answer.
  • Write the questions the way a customer would, including the town if it matters.
  • Note for each answer: were you named, was your site linked, and which other businesses or sites came up.

A simple spreadsheet is enough: one row per question, one column per run.

Step 3: count, then repeat

Your score per question is how many runs named you, for example 2 out of 5. Add them up across all questions. Do the same check every few weeks with the same questions, so you can see the trend.

Look at who does get named, too. The sites ChatGPT cites instead of you show what it is reading: directories, review sites, comparison articles. Getting listed there is often the quickest way in.

Step 4: look for ChatGPT in your analytics

ChatGPT adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to the links in its answers (OpenAI). In Google Analytics, open the traffic acquisition report and look for chatgpt.com as the source. That tells you how many visits ChatGPT sends, and which pages they land on.

If you never show up

  • Check that ChatGPT is allowed to read your site at all with the free checker.
  • Search Bing for the same questions. ChatGPT gets most of the pages it cites from search results, and Bing is one of its sources (Ahrefs, Search Engine Journal).
  • Give each question its own page, with the question as the title and the answer in the first lines. The main guide has all seven steps.

Sources