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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsCheck ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini separately using the same saved set of real customer questions, then record brand mentions and source links as different results. A single answer that omits your company—or shows no sources—does not prove that the product never mentions it. Your findings describe only the prompts, product modes, account context, region, and dates you tested.
Build a repeatable brand-mention test
- Define what counts as your brand. Write down its exact name, common spelling variants, product names, and any terms that distinguish it from similarly named organizations. Keep the same competitor list throughout the test. This is a consistent way to code answers, not a claim that the services use your list as a ranking input.
- Choose prompts based on real customer questions. Include unprompted category questions, comparisons, problem-solving questions, and a direct question about your brand. For example: “What are the best [category] providers for [need]?” Save the exact wording and note how you selected the prompts. Reuse each prompt word-for-word across products and test rounds. If every question names your brand, you will measure responses to prompted mentions rather than whether it appears naturally.
- Run the prompts in each product independently. Record the product surface (such as Gemini Apps versus a Gemini API integration), visible search mode or search setting, selected model or mode if shown, account or plan context, relevant country or location setting, and date and time. Note whether the response appears to search the web. Different surfaces and modes are not interchangeable.
- Save each complete answer and its links. Keep the prompt, full response, date, and URLs shown; use a screenshot or export if useful. If the product shows no source control or links, record “no sources shown.” Do not treat that alone as proof the response was not grounded in web information.
- Code each outcome separately. For every answer, record whether the brand appears in the text, whether your domain is linked, whether a third-party source names the brand, whether a competitor appears, and whether you found a sentiment or accuracy issue. Also record when no source links are shown. Open links and check whether they support the specific claim. A mention and a citation are different outcomes.
- Repeat and report the sample. Use a stated schedule and retain the raw answers so changes can be audited. Report results as, for example, “X of Y answers in this prompt set during [dates] named the brand.” State the prompt-selection method, product surfaces and modes, region, dates, and sample size. Do not describe a small manual sample as the brand’s overall AI ranking.
Check sources in each product
ChatGPT
ChatGPT may search automatically when a question would benefit from current information; users can also select Search in the composer. When a response uses web search, inspect its citations or Sources controls if shown, open the pages, and check that they support the relevant sentence. OpenAI warns that search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect. Its Help Center states: “ChatGPT ranks search results using multiple factors intended to help users find relevant, reliable information. Placement is not guaranteed.” OpenAI Help Center: Searching the web with ChatGPT.
For a site to be eligible for inclusion in ChatGPT Search, OpenAI says it must allow OAI-Searchbot to crawl and allow traffic from the searchbot IP addresses OpenAI publishes. Eligibility is not a promise of placement or a way to force a brand mention. See OpenAI’s ChatGPT web-search guidance.
Perplexity
Record the visible search mode and inspect the sources displayed with the answer. Perplexity’s Pro Search documentation describes multiple web searches and synthesis from sources such as articles, academic papers, forums, and videos. It says: “Every answer includes direct links to the original sources, allowing you to verify facts or explore further.” That statement is from its Pro Search help article; do not assume every answer in every product state necessarily displays links. Save the exact answer and prompt, since a searched and synthesized response is not a fixed directory of brand entries. Perplexity Help Center: What is Pro Search? (updated July 21, 2026).
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In Gemini Apps, look for the Sources button or inline links and open the side panel to inspect them. Google states: “Not all responses include related links or sources.” If the button or links are absent, record that the response supplied no links; keep this separate from a linked answer that simply does not name your brand. Google Gemini Apps Help: View related sources from Gemini Apps.
Do not conflate Gemini Apps with the Gemini API. Google documents Search grounding for the API as a developer integration that can generate one or more queries and return inline URL citation annotations. That describes a particular API feature, not proof that every consumer Gemini Apps response uses the same workflow. Google AI for Developers: Grounding with Google Search.
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Interpret mentions, citations, and missing sources correctly
- Brand mention: Count an answer if it names the brand in its text, using your predefined name and variant rules.
- Owned-domain link: Count separately when the answer links to your site. A brand can be named without its site being cited, and a site can be linked for another fact without the brand being recommended.
- Third-party citation: Save the publisher, URL, and claim associated with each source. A displayed link can help identify public pages connected to an answer, but it does not establish that the whole answer is correct.
- No visible links: This is a source-display result, not a definitive negative brand result. Gemini explicitly says some responses include no related links or sources, and OpenAI says search citations can be incomplete.
- Competitor appearance: Apply the same prompts and coding rules to competitors. Report the actual sample rather than turning it into a market-wide share-of-voice claim.
Calculate and report the results
Keep separate counts for text mentions and links to your own domain. For a mention rate, divide the number of answers that name the brand by the total answers in the declared prompt set. Give the numerator, denominator, dates, tested product surfaces, and prompt-selection method alongside the figure. It describes that sample—not a universal percentage or position across AI products.
For a useful comparison, keep prompts, brand-variant rules, competitor list, and coding method consistent. Preserve timestamps, full answers, and source URLs so you can investigate a change instead of relying on a bare score.
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What site owners can do about discovery
Google Search generative AI features rely on Google’s core Search systems and require pages to be indexed and eligible for Search. Google recommends crawlable content, foundational SEO, and useful, distinctive material. Its guidance says special llms.txt files or special markup are not needed for Google Search generative AI features, and cautions against pursuing inauthentic web mentions. These recommendations are specific to Google Search; they should not be treated as universal technical rules for ChatGPT or Perplexity. Google Search Central: Google’s Guide to Optimizing for Generative AI Features on Google Search.
Google recommends the Generative AI performance report in Search Console for understanding discovery through Google Search generative AI features. It is a Google Search measurement option, not a consolidated report for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini Apps. Google also cautions that third-party tools do not have access to its internal ranking or AI systems. A monitoring service may organize repeated prompt runs and archives, but claims of privileged access or guaranteed rankings need evidence.
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