Are buyers finding you in AI answers?

Does this sound familiar?

• Buyers ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity or Google's AI summary who to hire, and you don't know whether you're in the answer.

• You still show up on Google, but enquiries have slowed and you can't see why.

• Prospects mention competitors you never thought of as rivals.

• When you ask an AI tool about your business, the description is out of date or wrong.

The short answer

More buyers now start by asking an AI assistant for a shortlist. In a 2026 G2 survey, 51% of software buyers began their research with an AI chatbot rather than Google. The assistant names a handful of companies. If you're not one of them, nothing in your analytics tells you that you were left out.

AI tools name the businesses they can identify clearly and trust. That means the same description everywhere, pages that answer buyer questions directly, specific claims with sources, current content and a named expert behind it. You can check where you stand in an afternoon. Most fixes are changes to a few pages, not a new website.

Do it yourself

1. List the questions buyers ask before they know your name. Write 8 to 12, such as "Best [what you do] for [type of customer]", "Alternatives to [competitor]" and "How much does [your service] cost?" Ask whoever talks to prospects what they hear in the first five minutes.

2. Ask each question in four places. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google (look for the AI summary at the top). Note who is named, where you appear, how you're described and which sources Perplexity lists.

3. Score each answer 0 to 2 on three things. Presence: were you named? Accuracy: was the description right? Position: were you named early or late?

4. Read the pattern. Missing everywhere means AI tools don't know enough about you. Named but described wrong means the wording on your key pages needs fixing. Found only when someone types your name means you need pages that answer category questions, such as comparisons, "best for" pages and pricing.

5. Make your description match everywhere. Use the same name, one-line description and category on your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and the main directories in your field.

6. Fix the page for your most important buying question first. Add a plain two-sentence summary of what you do and who you do it for, one specific fact with its source, and a short list of common questions with direct answers. A 2024 study (Aggarwal and others) found changes like these raised a page's visibility in AI answers by up to 40%.

7. Keep it current and put a name on it. Review your key pages every few months, and publish under your own name and credentials.

How you'll know it's working

• You re-run the same question list every quarter, so results compare like with like.

• Your Presence scores rise on the category questions, not just on searches for your name.

• AI descriptions of you match the wording on your site.

• Perplexity starts listing your pages among its sources.

• New enquiries mention AI. Add "an AI tool" to the options when you ask how people heard about you.

Give changes two to three months before you judge them.

Go deeper

• Your Buyers Are Asking ChatGPT Who to Hire. You're Not in the Answer. How the shortlist now forms inside an AI answer.

• Why AI Engines Recommend Your Competitors and Not You (The 5 Signals That Decide) The five things AI tools look for.

• How to Audit What ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity Say About Your Company (in an Afternoon) The full version of the steps above.

• GEO Compounds SEO — How to Fund Both in 2027 Why you shouldn't cut search spending to pay for AI visibility.

• AI Visibility Self-Audit worksheet. Free. Question list, testing grid, scorecard and action plan. Get it just below.

Want help getting this done?

You can do all of this yourself. If you'd rather move faster, or you know it needs doing but don't have the time or in-house skills, we can build the plan with you and hand it off, so a local or lower-cost team can run it.

• One Practical Fix a Week. A free weekly email with one practical idea. Sign up at the bottom of this page.

• Marketing Reality Check (free version available). How your business looks to buyers online, and the biggest gap.

• AI Visibility Reality Check ($497, 3 business days). We ask five AI tools the questions your buyers ask, score whether and how you appear, find the pattern behind the gaps and give you a priority list of fixes. It's a written diagnostic report, with no calls or meetings needed.

• Free consultation. 30 minutes on your situation.