AI visibility tool

AI visibility tool: does ChatGPT recommend your business?

Updated November 3, 2026

More people now ask an AI assistant who to hire instead of scrolling through search results. "Who's the best roofer in Guelph?" gets a short answer with a few names. If yours isn't one of them, you never get the chance to compete.

SearchTerrain asks AI assistants the questions your customers ask, the same way every time, from the location you choose. For each answer it records which web pages the assistant's search found, which it cited, whether your business was mentioned or recommended, and who was named instead.

Which assistants

SearchTerrain checks ChatGPT, Google's AI Mode, Perplexity and Claude, with web search on so answers reflect what's online now. Each assistant is reported separately, because they often disagree: one may recommend you while another names three competitors.

Found, cited, mentioned, recommended

When an assistant answers a local question it usually searches the web first, reads some of what comes back, and writes an answer that cites a few sources. SearchTerrain follows each step:

Found: your website was among the pages the assistant's search returned.
Cited: the answer linked to your website as a source.
Mentioned: the answer named your business.
Recommended: the answer suggested your business as a good choice.

Why the steps matter

Each gap has a different fix. If your site is never found, the assistant's searches don't surface it: your pages may not answer the question, or other sites outrank you for the searches it runs. If your site is found but not cited, the answer leaned on other sources, often directories and review sites, so those listings and your own page's answer both matter. If you're cited but not recommended, look at reviews and what others say about you.

You can be recommended without your site being found at all, because assistants also draw on review sites and directories. SearchTerrain shows that too, so you know which pages are speaking for you.

What you see

Retrieval coverage, citation coverage and how often a found page becomes a cited one.
Mention rate, recommendation rate and share of voice across all your questions.
For each question: the searches the assistant ran, every page it found, which were cited, and the outcome.
A domain table showing which websites are found, cited, mentioned and recommended most, yours and competitors'.
Changes between checks, and suggested actions, such as pages that are found but never cited.

Choosing the right questions

Track the questions customers actually ask when they're ready to hire: who to call for a specific job, who has the best reviews, who to trust in a particular town. SearchTerrain can suggest questions from what it knows about your services and service area, or you can bring your own list.

How to get recommended more often

AI assistants draw on the same signals that make a business visible elsewhere online. The businesses they recommend tend to have:

Clear pages for each service and the places they serve, written in plain language.
Plenty of recent reviews on Google and other sites.
Accurate profiles on the directories and review sites assistants cite for their area.
Mentions on trusted local and industry websites, and consistent business details everywhere.

Questions

Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?

No one can. AI answers change and depend on many sources. SearchTerrain measures where you stand and shows what to work on, so you can see whether it's improving.

Is this an AI rank tracker?

In effect, yes, but AI answers don't have positions like a list of links. So instead of a rank, SearchTerrain records whether your site was found and cited, whether you were mentioned or recommended, your share of voice, and who is named instead.

What does found but not cited mean?

The assistant's web search returned your page, but the answer cited other sources. It doesn't mean the assistant judged your page and rejected it; it shows your page is in reach, and that clearer answers on it, or better profiles on the sites it did cite, are worth working on.

How often are AI answers checked?

Weekly or monthly depending on your plan, plus checks you start yourself.

Does it work for local businesses?

Yes. Questions are asked from the location you choose, so answers reflect the local businesses an assistant would suggest there.

SearchTerrain

Track it every week, not once

SearchTerrain checks where you rank on Google Maps across your service area, in search results and in AI answers, then tells you what to work on next. Plans from $99 a month. Free for the first 7 days.

See plans Run the free scan