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You can check whether ChatGPT recommends your brand by asking a small, consistent set of realistic category questions, recording the answers and checking any cited sources. Treat the result as a dated spot check of specific prompts and conditions—not a ranking, a visibility score, or proof that other users see the same responses.

What this 30-minute audit can tell you

The audit captures whether your brand appeared in the responses you observed, how ChatGPT described it, which alternatives it named, and whether linked sources supported the claims. It does not establish how often ChatGPT recommends your brand across all users or conversations. Responses can vary, and access to Search may depend on the account or workspace settings.

ChatGPT Search can retrieve current web information and may show citations or a Sources panel. A citation is a lead to inspect, not proof that a claim is accurate: OpenAI cautions that “Search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect.” OpenAI’s guide to searching the web with ChatGPT explains how to open citations and sources.

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Run the audit in 30 minutes

  1. Record the test conditions (3 minutes). Note the date and time, ChatGPT interface, account or workspace context, and whether Search is available. In managed workspaces, Search access or behavior can depend on plan, workspace settings, role permissions, usage limits, and restricted-access controls. Record those conditions so you can make a fair comparison later. See OpenAI’s information about ChatGPT Search for Enterprise and Edu.
  2. Prepare realistic questions (5 minutes). Write a short list of questions a prospective customer might naturally ask about your category. Include a recommendation-style question and a comparison or best-options question. Keep wording neutral and do not put your brand into every prompt; doing so tests whether ChatGPT can discuss a prompted brand, not whether it includes the brand on its own.
  3. Run each prompt consistently (12 minutes). Use a fresh conversation for each question and preserve its exact wording. For every response, record whether Search was used, whether your brand appeared, the role or wording given to it, the alternatives named, and whether the framing was positive, neutral, or critical.
  4. Check sources (7 minutes). If Search was used, open the citations or Sources panel. Check whether each page actually supports the claim beside its citation, and note publication or update dates when shown. Do not treat the mere presence of a link as confirmation.
  5. Write up the observation (3 minutes). Summarize the prompts, date and conditions, observed mentions, and source checks. Keep the conclusion limited to those responses; one session is not a universal measure or stable ranking.

Choose prompts that test different kinds of recommendations

Use questions that resemble genuine buying or selection decisions, and keep a copy of the exact wording. For example:

  • Which [category] brands do you recommend?
  • What are the best [category] options for [use case]?
  • How does [brand] compare with alternatives?

The first two help reveal whether your brand is included without being named in the question. The third is useful for examining how ChatGPT describes your brand when directly asked about it, but it measures a different thing. These are suggested test prompts, not evidence of how often people search those phrases.

Keep a record you can repeat

A simple log makes the observation more useful than relying on memory. Capture one row per prompt and response:

  • Date and time
  • Interface and account or workspace conditions
  • Exact prompt
  • Whether Search was used
  • Whether the brand appeared, and the wording and context of the mention
  • Alternatives named and the brand’s placement or framing
  • Citation or source URLs shown
  • Whether each source supported the adjacent claim, and any uncertainty

Keep Search and non-Search responses distinguishable in the log. A response that used web Search has a different evidence trail from one that did not, so combining them without noting the difference can obscure what you observed.

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Compare repeat checks carefully

For a basic before-and-after comparison, rerun the same prompts and match the conditions as closely as possible: wording, interface, account or workspace access, and Search availability. Compare whether the brand appeared, its placement and framing, the competing brands named, and whether supporting sources were relevant and current.

If responses differ, record the difference rather than assigning a cause. A change could reflect prompt or product conditions as well as changes in available web information; this audit does not identify which factor caused it.

What not to infer from the result

  • A mention in one response does not show that ChatGPT consistently recommends the brand.
  • No mention in a small set of prompts does not prove the brand is never included.
  • A citation does not guarantee that the associated statement is correct, current, or fully supported.
  • There is no established visibility benchmark or success threshold for this 30-minute check. Report the observed prompts and responses rather than inventing a score.

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