To check whether your business appears in AI search, ask the main AI tools the questions your customers would ask, such as who they would recommend in your field and area, and see whether you are named. Then check Google AI Overviews on your key searches, and look at your Google Search Console AI data. Because AI answers vary, test each one a few times.

More people now ask an AI for a recommendation instead of scrolling a page of links. That makes one question worth answering honestly: when someone asks an AI to recommend a business like yours, do you come up? You can find out for free in about twenty minutes. Here is how.

Step 1: Ask the AI tools directly

Open the main AI tools and ask them the questions a real customer would ask. Use plain, natural prompts and note whether your business appears, and how you are described. The tools worth checking:

• ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, the standalone AI assistants.

• Google AI Mode, the conversational search surface inside Google.

• Microsoft Copilot, if your customers use it.

Try prompts like: who are the best providers of your service in your town, or who should I hire for a specific job in your area. Ask a few variations, since small wording changes can produce different answers.

Tip

Run each prompt two or three times, and try one in a private or logged out window. AI answers shift between runs and can be influenced by your own history, so a single check is not reliable.

Step 2: Check Google AI Overviews

Search Google for the terms your customers use, especially question style and comparison searches, and look at the AI generated summary that appears above the usual results. Note whether your business is mentioned or linked inside it, and which sites are being cited instead. Those cited sources are the ones Google currently trusts for that topic, which tells you who to catch up with.

Step 3: Look at your Google Search Console data

Google Search Console now reports how often your pages appear inside AI answers, which turns guesswork into real data. It shows where you are already surfacing and where you are not. We walk through the new reports in our guide to Search Console AI visibility.

Step 4: Check the signals AI relies on

If you are not showing up, the cause is usually in the signals AI draws on. Do a quick audit of:

• Your Google Business Profile, that it is complete, accurate and active.

• Your reviews, both how many and how recent, since AI weighs reputation.

• Whether your site answers real questions clearly, in language an AI can lift.

• Whether you use schema so machines can read who you are and what you do.

• Your mentions across the web, including directories and third party sites, not just your own pages.

What to do if you are not showing up

Do not panic, because most local competitors are in the same position and have done nothing about it. That is the opening. Fix the highest impact gaps first, usually clear answer content, schema and authority signals, then re check over the following weeks. This is exactly the work of AI search optimisation, and it is how you move from invisible to recommended.

Related reading: What AI search optimisation means for Queensland businesses.