Is Your Business Invisible to AI? How to Run a 10-Minute AI Visibility Check

I run this visibility check once a month for every client I work with on the Costa del Sol. It’s become routine, the way some people check their bank balance.

The check itself takes 10 minutes. You don’t need a paid subscription to anything. You don’t need tools. You just need a free ChatGPT account, access to Gemini, access to Perplexity, and a piece of paper.

What you’re checking is whether the three AI systems that now drive a measurable chunk of local discovery — ChatGPT with search, Google Gemini, and Perplexity — know your business exists, and whether they’d recommend you when someone asks the kinds of questions real people ask when they’re looking for a plumber in Marbella or a tapas bar in Estepona.

This isn’t theoretical. In the last 12 months I’ve watched businesses with strong Google rankings disappear completely from ChatGPT results, and I’ve watched businesses with weak Google rankings show up consistently in Perplexity citations because they were mentioned in two local blogs and a neighbourhood Facebook group that got scraped.

If you’re not checking this, you’re flying blind. Here’s how to run the check yourself.

Why This Matters in 2026

The share of local discovery moving to AI

The number I keep seeing in the data — from BrightLocal, from LocalIQ, from my own client analytics — is somewhere between 18% and 24% of local searches now start in or pass through an AI tool.

That’s not “people asking ChatGPT for fun”. That’s people who used to open Google Maps, or type “best coffee shop near me” into Google, who are now opening ChatGPT or Gemini instead.

The percentage varies by vertical. For anything that’s “I need a recommendation right now” — restaurants, salons, tradespeople — it’s higher. For anything that’s “I want to read reviews first” — hotels, dentists, solicitors — it’s lower but climbing.

The quiet visibility gap (businesses that rank in Google but not in ChatGPT)

The gap that catches people off guard is this: you can rank #2 in the Google 3-Pack for “plumber Marbella” and be completely invisible to ChatGPT.

That happens because ChatGPT doesn’t just read the Google 3-Pack. It reads whatever its web search tool pulls back, which is a mix of Google Business Profile data, directory listings, blog mentions, and sometimes nothing at all if the query is ambiguous or hyper-local.

I’ve seen businesses that dominate Google Maps get zero mentions in ChatGPT because their GBP is strong but their off-site presence is thin. No one’s written about them. They’re not in any local guides. They’re not mentioned in any blogs. ChatGPT has nothing to work with.

The inverse is also true: I’ve seen businesses with weak Google rankings show up consistently in Perplexity because they were mentioned in a couple of high-authority local blogs, and Perplexity pulls heavily from blog content.

What “invisible to AI” actually means for bookings

If 20% of your market is now discovering businesses through AI tools, and you’re not showing up in those tools, you’ve lost 20% of your discoverability.

It’s not quite that clean — some of those people will still find you through Google, or through word of mouth, or through Instagram. But the directional truth is: if you’re invisible to AI, you’re leaving bookings on the table.

The businesses I work with that show up consistently in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity are seeing measurably higher branded search volume (people Googling their business name after discovering them through AI), and measurably higher direct traffic to their website.

You can’t optimise what you don’t measure. This 10-minute check is the measurement.

What You Need (Setup Before You Start)

A free ChatGPT account with search enabled

You need ChatGPT with web search turned on. If you’re on the free tier, that’s fine — the free tier has search access now (as of late 2025).

Log in, start a new conversation, and check that the search tool is available. You’ll see a small icon or toggle somewhere in the interface. If you don’t see it, check your account settings — sometimes it’s gated by region or rollout phase.

Google Gemini (free)

Gemini is Google’s AI, and it’s free to use. Go to gemini.google.com and log in with any Google account.

Gemini pulls heavily from Google’s own index, including Google Business Profile data, so it’s a useful proxy for “if Google knows about me, does Gemini know about me too?” The answer isn’t always yes.

Perplexity (free tier)

Perplexity is the third tool in the check. It’s at perplexity.ai, and the free tier is fine.

Perplexity is useful because it shows you its sources. When it recommends a business, it links to the page or directory or blog post it pulled the information from. That’s gold. You can see exactly which third-party mentions are driving your AI visibility.

A blank scoring sheet (I’ll give you one)

You need a piece of paper with three columns: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity.

You’re going to run 5 queries across all three tools, and score each query 0, 1 or 2. Total possible score: 30 (5 queries × 3 tools × 2 max).

I’ll give you the full template later in this guide.

The 5 Test Queries

These are the queries I use every time. They’re designed to cover the full range of ways real people search for local businesses.

Query 1 — “best [vertical] in [your town]”

This is the classic recommendation query. “Best plumber in Marbella.” “Best tapas bar in Estepona.”

It’s the query that drives the most local discovery. If you’re not showing up here, you’ve got a problem.

Run this query in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Note whether your business is mentioned, and if it is, whether it’s recommended as a top choice or just mentioned in passing.

Query 2 — “[vertical] open now in [your town]”

This is the “I need someone right now” query. “Plumber open now in Marbella.” “Coffee shop open now in Fuengirola.”

It tests whether the AI tools have access to your opening hours, and whether they trust that data enough to recommend you when someone’s looking for immediate availability.

If you’re showing up in Query 1 but not Query 2, your opening hours data is probably missing or out of date in your Google Business Profile.

Query 3 — “[vertical] near [local landmark]”

This tests hyper-local precision. “Tapas bar near Puerto Banús marina.” “Dentist near Plaza de los Naranjos.”

It’s useful because it tells you whether the AI tools understand your location at a granular level — not just “Marbella” but “Old Town Marbella” or “San Pedro de Alcántara”.

If you’re not showing up here, it usually means your GBP location data is imprecise, or you haven’t mentioned the landmark anywhere in your business description or content.

Query 4 — branded query (“tell me about [your business name]”)

This is the simplest test: does the AI know you exist?

“Tell me about [your business name].” If it comes back with accurate information — your address, your services, your opening hours — that’s a pass. If it hallucinates details, or says it can’t find you, that’s a fail.

Branded queries are the easiest wins. If you’re failing here, your NAP (name, address, phone) data is inconsistent across the web, or your GBP is incomplete.

Query 5 — the long-tail problem query (“best [vertical] for [specific need] in [town]”)

This is the query that separates weak visibility from strong visibility. “Best plumber for emergency call-outs in Marbella.” “Best tapas bar for gluten-free options in Estepona.”

It tests whether the AI tools have enough contextual information about your business to recommend you for specific use cases.

If you’re showing up in Queries 1-4 but not Query 5, you’re missing FAQ content, service-specific pages, or reviews that mention the specific need.

Running the Test on ChatGPT

How to run the 5 queries one by one

Open ChatGPT. Start a new conversation. Make sure web search is enabled.

Run Query 1: “Best [your vertical] in [your town].”

Wait for the response. Note whether your business is mentioned. If it is, note whether it’s in the top 3 recommendations, mentioned in passing, or buried in a longer list.

Repeat for Queries 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Don’t run all 5 queries in the same conversation thread. Start fresh each time. ChatGPT’s context window can bleed across queries, and you want each query to stand alone.

How to interpret “recommended”, “mentioned”, “not mentioned”

There are three levels:

– Recommended (score 2): Your business is in the top 3, or it’s described with language like “I’d recommend” or “a great choice”.

– Mentioned (score 1): Your business is in the list, but not highlighted. It’s there, but it’s not the answer.

– Not mentioned (score 0): Your business doesn’t appear at all.

Be honest. If you have to scroll down to find your business, that’s a mention, not a recommendation.

The ChatGPT trap — it sometimes hallucinates businesses that don’t exist

This is a known issue. ChatGPT occasionally invents businesses that sound plausible but don’t exist, or it merges details from two different businesses into one fictional entity.

If ChatGPT recommends a competitor you’ve never heard of, Google them. Sometimes they’re real but obscure. Sometimes they don’t exist.

This matters because if ChatGPT is hallucinating competitors in your vertical, it means there’s not enough high-quality, structured data about real businesses in your area for ChatGPT to work with. That’s an opportunity.

What to do if it hallucinates you (edit your entity data, link to /shadow-queries-explained/)

If ChatGPT invents details about your business — the wrong address, services you don’t offer, opening hours you don’t keep — that’s a data consistency problem.

Check your Google Business Profile. Check your NAP across directories (Yelp, Yell, Tripadvisor, Thomson Local if you’re in the UK). Make sure the data is identical everywhere.

Then, write content that answers the kinds of questions people ask about your business. FAQ pages, service-specific pages, blog posts. ChatGPT pulls context from the web. Give it better context to work with.

I wrote a full guide on this — it’s called Shadow Queries Explained, and it covers the exact kinds of content that fix hallucination problems.

Running the Test on Gemini

Why Gemini pulls differently — it leans heavier on Google data

Gemini is Google’s AI, so it has privileged access to Google Business Profile data, Google Maps data, and Google’s local search index.

In practice, that means if your GBP is strong, Gemini will usually find you. If your GBP is weak or incomplete, Gemini struggles.

The flip side is that Gemini is less good at pulling context from third-party mentions — blogs, local news sites, forums. If you’re mentioned in a Marbella lifestyle blog but your GBP is thin, ChatGPT might find you but Gemini won’t.

A Gemini “yes” but ChatGPT “no” means your GBP is strong but your third-party mentions are weak

This is the diagnostic I use most often.

If Gemini recommends you but ChatGPT doesn’t, your Google Business Profile is doing its job, but your off-site presence is weak. You’re not mentioned anywhere outside Google’s ecosystem.

The fix is to get mentioned. Write guest posts for local blogs. Get listed in local business directories. Get reviewed on Tripadvisor or Trustpilot. Get mentioned in local Facebook groups or forums. Anywhere that’s indexable and credible.

Interpret the AI Overview panel separately from the chat answer

When you run a query in Gemini, you’ll sometimes see two things: an AI Overview panel at the top of the results (if you’re using Gemini through Google Search), and a conversational answer in Gemini itself.

These aren’t the same. The AI Overview panel pulls from Google’s SGE (Search Generative Experience) pipeline, which is optimised for search. The conversational answer in Gemini pulls from Gemini’s own retrieval model.

You can show up in one but not the other. Treat them as separate tests.

If you show up in the AI Overview panel but not in Gemini’s conversational answer, your structured data is probably strong (schema markup, GBP attributes) but your natural-language content is weak.

Running the Test on Perplexity

Why Perplexity shows its sources (the gift that keeps on giving)

Perplexity is the easiest tool to audit because it shows you its sources. Every recommendation comes with a citation — a link to the page, blog, directory or review site it pulled the information from.

That’s diagnostic gold. You can see exactly which third-party mentions are driving your AI visibility, and you can see which competitors are getting cited and from where.

Click the citations — these are the sites driving your AI visibility

When Perplexity recommends your business, click the citation. It’ll take you to the source.

Make a note of it. That’s a site that’s driving your AI visibility. If it’s a directory, make sure your listing is up to date. If it’s a blog, reach out to the author and thank them. If it’s a review site, monitor it.

If Perplexity recommends a competitor and cites a source you’re not listed on, that’s your next target. Get listed there.

What missing citations tell you

If Perplexity mentions your business but doesn’t cite a source, it’s either pulling from its internal training data (unlikely for a small local business), or it’s synthesising an answer from multiple weak signals and isn’t confident enough to cite any of them.

That’s a red flag. It means your online presence is fragmented. You’re mentioned in a few places, but nowhere credible enough for Perplexity to trust.

The fix is to consolidate. Pick 3-5 high-authority directories or local sites and make sure your presence on those sites is complete, consistent and recent.

The Scoring Sheet

A simple 3-column template (ChatGPT / Gemini / Perplexity)

Here’s the template I use:

Print it. Fill it in by hand. It takes 10 minutes.

Scoring: 0 (not mentioned), 1 (mentioned passively), 2 (recommended as a top choice)

For each cell, write 0, 1 or 2.

– 0: Your business wasn’t mentioned at all.

– 1: Your business was mentioned, but not highlighted. It’s in a list, or mentioned in passing.

– 2: Your business was recommended as a top choice. It’s in the top 3, or described with strong language.

Add up each column. Add up the total across all three tools.

Total possible score: 30 (5 queries × 3 tools × 2 max)

If you scored 2 on every query across all three tools, you’d have a perfect 30.

I’ve never seen a 30. The highest I’ve seen from a client was 27 (a Marbella restaurant with 400+ Google reviews, active social media, and mentions in three travel blogs).

Target score for a healthy local business: 18+

If you’re scoring 18 or above, you’re in decent shape. You’re visible to AI. You’re showing up in most queries. You’re being recommended at least some of the time.

You’re not invisible. You’re defendable.

The work at this level is about growing and defending — adding more content, getting more mentions, keeping your data consistent.

The red zone: below 6

If you’re scoring below 6, you’re in the red zone. You’re mostly invisible to AI. You’re showing up occasionally, but not consistently, and almost never as a top recommendation.

This is urgent. If 20% of your market is discovering businesses through AI, and you’re invisible to AI, you’re leaving 20% of your bookings on the table.

The fix isn’t complicated, but it’s not instant. I’ll walk you through it in the next section.

What the Score Means (and What to Do About It)

18-30 — healthy, focus on defending and growing

You’re visible. You’re showing up. You’re being recommended.

The work now is about defending what you’ve built and growing strategically.

Defend by keeping your data consistent. Monitor your GBP. Check your directory listings quarterly. Make sure your NAP is identical everywhere.

Grow by adding content that targets the long-tail queries you’re not winning yet (Query 5). Write FAQ content. Write service-specific pages. Answer the questions people are asking.

10-17 — partial visibility, closest wins are citation density and FAQ content

You’re visible in some queries, invisible in others. You’re showing up in one or two AI tools but not all three.

The pattern I see most often at this level is: strong in Gemini (because your GBP is solid), weak in ChatGPT and Perplexity (because your off-site presence is thin).

The closest wins are:

1. Citation density: Get listed in 3-5 high-authority local directories or blogs. Make sure your listings are complete and consistent.

2. FAQ content: Write a proper FAQ page that answers the 10 most common questions people ask about your vertical in your town. Structure it with schema markup.

Those two fixes will move you from partial visibility to consistent visibility in 4-8 weeks.

3-9 — weak visibility, GBP rebuild and content audit needed

You’re mostly invisible. You’re showing up occasionally, but inconsistently, and almost never as a recommendation.

This usually means two things:

1. Your Google Business Profile is incomplete or inconsistent.

2. You have no off-site presence — no mentions, no reviews, no listings outside Google.

The fix is a rebuild.

Start with your GBP. Follow my GBP optimisation guide. Make sure your categories, hours, description, photos and attributes are all complete and optimised.

Then, audit your content. Do you have service pages? Do you have an FAQ? Do you have blog posts that answer the questions people ask about your vertical in your town?

If not, write them. If yes, audit them — are they targeting the right keywords? Are they structured for AI?

This is a 6-12 week project, not a weekend fix. But it’s solvable.

0-2 — invisible, start with /google-business-profile-optimisation/

If you’re scoring 0-2, you’re invisible to AI. You’re not showing up in any queries. You’re not mentioned anywhere.

The most common cause is an incomplete or unclaimed Google Business Profile.

Start there. Claim your GBP if you haven’t. Fill out every field. Add photos. Add your hours. Add your services. Add your description.

Then, run the check again in 2 weeks. You should jump from 0-2 to 6-10 just by having a complete GBP.

If you’re still scoring below 6 after that, the problem is data consistency. Your NAP is different across different sites, or you’re not listed anywhere outside Google.

Fix the NAP first. Then get listed in 3-5 directories.

I wrote a full guide on this — it’s called Google Business Profile Optimisation, and it walks you through the entire process step by step.

The 3 Fixes That Move the Needle Fastest

Fix 1 — GBP fully built out (link to /gbp-categories-guide/ and /gbp-photos-optimisation/)

If I could only give one piece of advice, it would be this: build out your Google Business Profile completely.

That means:

– Claim it.

– Choose the right primary category (I wrote a full guide on categories).

– Add your hours, phone, website, description.

– Upload at least 10 photos (I wrote a photo optimisation guide).

– Add attributes (payment methods, accessibility, amenities).

– Add your services or menu.

– Post updates monthly.

A fully built-out GBP is the foundation. Without it, nothing else works.

Fix 2 — FAQ content that answers shadow queries (link to /shadow-queries-explained/)

The second fix is to write FAQ content that answers the kinds of questions people ask when they’re looking for a business like yours.

Not the questions *you* think they ask. The questions they *actually* ask.

I call these shadow queries — the invisible, long-tail, question-based searches that people type into AI tools when they’re looking for a recommendation.

“Best plumber for emergency call-outs in Marbella.” “Best tapas bar for gluten-free options in Estepona.” “Best solicitor for property purchases in Spain.”

Write a page that answers each of those questions. Structure it with H2 headings that mirror the question. Use FAQ schema.

I wrote a full guide on this — it’s called Shadow Queries Explained.

Fix 3 — Being mentioned somewhere that isn’t your own website

The third fix is to get mentioned somewhere that isn’t your own website.

ChatGPT and Perplexity pull heavily from third-party mentions. If you’re only mentioned on your own site, you’re invisible to them.

The easiest wins:

– Get listed in local directories (Yelp, Yell, Thomson Local, Tripadvisor).

– Get reviewed on third-party review sites (Trustpilot, Feefo, Google Reviews).

– Get mentioned in a local blog or news site (guest post, sponsor a local event, get interviewed).

– Get mentioned in a local Facebook group or forum (join the conversation, answer questions, be helpful).

You don’t need hundreds of mentions. You need 3-5 high-quality mentions from credible, indexable sources.

How Often to Re-Run This Check

Monthly for most businesses

I run this check once a month for every client.

Monthly is frequent enough to catch changes early (a competitor overtaking you, a new directory listing showing up in Perplexity citations), but not so frequent that it’s a burden.

Pick a day — first Monday of the month, whatever — and block 10 minutes. Run the check. Log the scores in a spreadsheet. Track the trend.

Weekly if you’re actively building out content

If you’re in the middle of a content campaign — writing FAQ pages, publishing blog posts, updating your GBP weekly — run the check weekly.

You want to see the impact of your work. If you publish a new FAQ page and it doesn’t move your score in 2 weeks, something’s wrong with the page (it’s not indexed, it’s not structured correctly, it’s not targeting the right queries).

Weekly checks give you fast feedback loops.

After every content campaign

If you run a discrete content campaign — 10 blog posts in a month, a full GBP rebuild, a directory listing blitz — run the check before you start, and again 4 weeks after you finish.

That’s your before-and-after. That’s how you prove ROI.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if ChatGPT says my business doesn’t exist?

That’s a data consistency problem.

Check your Google Business Profile. Is it claimed? Is it complete? Are your name, address and phone number correct?

Then, check your NAP across the web. Google your business name. Check Yelp, Yell, Tripadvisor, Thomson Local. Is your NAP identical everywhere? If it’s different (even slightly — “St” vs “Street”, “Ltd” vs “Limited”), that’s causing confusion.

Fix the NAP first. Make it identical everywhere. Then, run the check again in 2 weeks.

Do the results change by location?

Yes, slightly.

ChatGPT and Gemini have some location awareness. If you’re running the check from Marbella and asking about businesses in Marbella, the results will lean local. If you’re running the check from London and asking about businesses in Marbella, the results might be slightly different.

Perplexity is less location-dependent. It pulls from its index regardless of where you’re running the query from.

For consistency, run the check from the same location every time. If you’re a Marbella business, run the check from Marbella (or use a VPN to simulate being in Marbella).

Should I test in Spanish too?

If your customers search in Spanish, yes.

The Costa del Sol is bilingual — some customers search in English, some in Spanish, some in both.

Run the check in both languages. “Mejor fontanero en Marbella” and “Best plumber in Marbella” will return different results.

If you’re scoring well in English but poorly in Spanish, your Spanish-language content is weak. Add a Spanish FAQ. Translate your GBP description. Get listed in Spanish directories.

How long before changes show up in AI results?

It depends on the change.

GBP changes (updating your description, adding photos, changing your hours) usually show up in Gemini within 1-2 weeks. ChatGPT and Perplexity lag slightly — 2-4 weeks.

Off-site changes (new directory listings, new blog mentions) take longer. Allow 4-8 weeks for a new directory listing to get indexed and show up in AI results.

Content changes (new FAQ pages, new blog posts) are the slowest. Allow 8-12 weeks for a new page to get indexed, build some authority, and start influencing AI recommendations.

Patience is a virtue. Run the check monthly. Track the trend. Don’t expect overnight miracles.

What to Do Right Now

Here’s what I’d do if I were you:

Step 1: Block 10 minutes in your calendar. Right now. Today.

Step 2: Print the scoring sheet (or open a blank spreadsheet).

Step 3: Run the 5 queries on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Fill in the scores.

Add it up. If you’re scoring 18 or above, you’re in good shape. Keep doing what you’re doing, and run the check monthly to defend your position.

If you’re scoring 10-17, you’re visible but inconsistent. Focus on citation density and FAQ content. You’ll move from partial visibility to consistent visibility in 4-8 weeks.

If you’re scoring below 10, start with your Google Business Profile. Claim it, complete it, optimise it. Then run the check again in 2 weeks.

And if you’d rather I do this for you — if you want a full AI visibility audit with specific recommendations for your business and your vertical on the Costa del Sol — I offer a free AI visibility report. No charge, no obligation. I’ll run the check, score you, and tell you exactly what to fix.

Book that here: free AI visibility report.