# Test: do AI assistants recommend your business?

> Test whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude or Copilot recommend your business: 10 ready-to-ask questions for your trade and city, plus a scoring grid.

Updated on October 15, 2026 · https://app.pilotiko.com/en/tools/ai-presence-test

To find out whether AI assistants recommend your business, ask them the questions your customers would ask, with your trade and city, and note whether your name appears. This test generates 10 typical questions; repeat it monthly in six assistants, because their answers change with the day, the person and the wording.

## In short
- 10 questions adapted to your trade and city, asked in 6 assistants: up to 60 answers to score.
- Pilotiko does not query any AI on your behalf: you see exactly what your customers see.
- A score of 0/10 is common for an SMB: it is a starting point, not a failure.

## How do you run the test properly?

1. **Enter your trade and city** — Use your customers' words (“plumber”, not “building mechanics company”).
2. **Open a private window** — Logged out if possible: personal history influences answers.
3. **Ask each question as written** — In ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot and Google's AI Mode.
4. **Tick when your business is named** — Also note the competitors named and the sources shown: those are the pages the AI read.
5. **Repeat on the same day each month** — Compare scores: the trend is what matters.

## How do you score the results?

| Assistant | Questions where you are named | Competitors named | Sources cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 2/10 | 3 | Yellow Pages, a competitor's site |
| Gemini | 1/10 | 4 | Google listings |
| Perplexity | 3/10 | 3 | Your site, a directory |
| Claude | 0/10 | 2 | — |
| Copilot | 1/10 | 3 | Bing Places |
| Google AI Mode | 2/10 | 4 | Google listings, reviews |

Fictional example: 9 mentions out of 60 answers, a 15% share of voice.

## What if you are never named?

Start with the [visibility audit](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/tools/google-ai-visibility-audit): it flags blocked AI crawlers and missing structured data. Companies that publish their crawlers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity) explain how they read sites [2][3][4], and Google describes how its AI features rely on indexed pages [1].

**Example: an electrician in Sherbrooke at 0/10**

The sources cited by the assistants are mostly Google listings and two directories. The site has no structured data and no FAQ, and its robots.txt blocks GPTBot.

The electrician fixes robots.txt, adds an FAQ with 10 real questions and completes the Google listing. Three months later they retake the test: the trend matters, and no result is guaranteed.


## Frequently asked questions

### Why do answers change from one time to the next?

Assistants generate a fresh answer for each question, sometimes with a live web search. Wording, language, location and the person's history all influence the result, so measure often and watch the trend.

### Can Pilotiko run the test automatically?

No, not at this time. Pilotiko does not query any AI assistant on your behalf. The manual test has one advantage: you see exactly what your customers see.

### What is the difference between being named and being cited?

Being named means appearing in the answer. Being cited means your site appears among the sources shown. Track both: a citation shows the assistant read your page.

### How long before I see a change?

There is no guaranteed delay. Assistants that search live can reflect a site change within weeks; those relying on older data can take much longer.

### Should I test in French too?

Yes, if you serve French-speaking customers. Results can differ greatly between languages; this test is also available in French.

## Sources

1. Google Search Central, « Fonctionnalités d'IA et votre site Web », https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features?hl=fr (accessed on 2026-10-15)
2. OpenAI, « Overview of OpenAI Crawlers », https://platform.openai.com/docs/bots (accessed on 2026-10-15)
3. Perplexity, « Perplexity Crawlers », https://docs.perplexity.ai/guides/bots (accessed on 2026-10-15)
4. Anthropic, « Does Anthropic crawl data from the web, and how can site owners block the crawler? », https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8896518-does-anthropic-crawl-data-from-the-web-and-how-can-site-owners-block-the-crawler (accessed on 2026-10-15)