Free guide

Does ChatGPT recommend my business?

You can find out in about fifteen minutes. Here's how to check without fooling yourself, and what the answer is built from.

1. Ask like a customer, not like an owner

Customers don't type your business name. They type "who is a good dentist in Dallas" or "emergency plumber near me". Write down three ways a real customer would ask, in their words.

2. Ask more than one assistant

When we asked ChatGPT and Google's AI Mode five local questions on Sept 16, 2026, they named 40 businesses and agreed on 3. In Dallas and Austin they didn't share a single name. Checking one tells you very little about the other.

3. Take yourself out of it

Use a private window, logged out, or you'll get answers shaped by your own history and location. If your customers are across town, say the neighborhood in the question.

4. Write down the sources, not just the names

This is the part people skip. Most answers show small source links or chips. Those are the websites the assistant trusted for your category in your city. In our samples they were:

  • Google Business Profiles and map listings, in every Google answer
  • Review and ranking sites like Yelp, Expertise, Birdeye and local "top rated" lists
  • Trade directories, like the ADA's for dentists
  • Local news roundups and readers' polls
  • Reddit threads in the city's subreddit
  • The businesses' own websites, quoted for specifics like certifications and years open

5. Feed those places, not the chatbot

You can't submit your business to ChatGPT. You can make sure the places it reads say something clear and true about you. Complete your profile. Ask for reviews that mention the actual job. Apply to the lists that take applications. Put checkable facts on your site.

Reddit gets a lot of attention right now. In our samples it was a source in two of five searches. Worth earning. Not worth faking, and not the whole plan.

6. Check again

The answers move. Keep your questions and your notes, and re-ask the same way so you're comparing like with like. Or let our weekly check do it every Monday.

Rather not spend the hour?

Our free check asks both assistants for you and lists the sources. About a minute.

Run a free check

See real examples

dentist in Dallas · plumber in Austin · small business accountant in Denver · roofer in Nashville · veterinarian in Charlotte