As AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google’s AI results become more common, business owners are starting to ask a new question: How do I know if I show up in AI?
That’s a smart question, but the answers flooding your inbox may not be.
Key Takeaways
- AI visibility tools are still limited. Without usage data or standards, it’s hard to know what their results actually mean.
- Short-term tactics won’t hold up. Focus on clarity, not hacks—AI tools are evolving quickly.
- Google says good SEO still applies. Helpful, people-first content is what AI tools are trained to surface.
There’s a growing group of vendors offering “AI visibility or ranking” dashboards and tools, promising to track where your business appears in AI-generated results. But most of these tools are jumping the gun. AI doesn’t work like traditional search, and there’s no consistent, reliable way to measure this yet.
The Results Aren’t Consistent Yet
Unlike traditional SEO tools, AI tracking tools don’t offer volume, rankings, or clear attribution. You can ask the same AI the same question ten times and get different brands and links every time. Brand recommendations and citations vary depending on how the query is phrased, which model is used, or where the user is located. And there’s no visibility into how often those questions are even being asked.
So while some new tools claim to show you where your business appears in AI responses, the reality is: we don’t yet have consistent standards or usage data to back up what those results really mean. It’s not that the tools are inaccurate, but are incomplete and may then be misleading.
Yes, we will likely eventually get better ways to measure AI visibility. But for most local businesses, it probably doesn’t make sense to be an early adopter of these tools while everything is still shifting.
Don’t Build Around Short-Term Tactics
There’s also a wave of content strategies built specifically to “feed AI” like chunking your service pages into bite-sized Q&A blocks. While that may work in the short term, it’s not a long-term solution.
AI tools are getting smarter. They’re improving at understanding full pages, tone, and context, not just scanning for keywords or bullet points. Restructuring your content just to follow a passing trend could backfire.
Instead of chasing tricks, focus on clarity and quality. That’s the strategy that scales with you.
What Still Works: Google’s Take
Google has made its position clear: what works in traditional search is what feeds its AI tools too. Content that’s helpful, people-first, and demonstrates real experience and expertise is what gets surfaced whether through links or AI answers.
That means:
- Clear, well-structured service pages
- Updated listings with full details
- Content that answers real questions your customers actually ask
In other words, keep doing the work that serves your audience. The algorithms—AI or not—will follow.
Try This
Want to build real AI visibility over time? Focus here:
- Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Perplexity what they know about your business. The answers may show gaps you can fix.
- Review your website. Does it clearly explain who you help, what you do, and where you serve?
- Keep your profile listings, especially Google and Bing, accurate, complete, and consistent.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need a fancy AI scorecard to stay visible. Focus on content that’s clear, helpful, and built for real people—not short-term tricks. The tools will catch up.
Do you prefer to listen in? Here’s our podcast:
Links in this episode: AI recommendation lists repeat less than 1% of the time: Study
7 hard truths about measuring AI visibility and GEO performance
Google says doing optimization for AI search is ‘the same’ as doing SEO for traditional search
Inside ChatGPT’s Confidential Report Visibility Metrics [Part 1]
Google’s Liz Reid: The real search shift is behavioral, not AI
Your Brand Is Being Cited By AI. Here’s How To Measure It
Google Says Ranking Systems Reward Content Made For Humans
Google doesn’t want you to create bite-sized chunks of your content
