Here is a question most Australian businesses cannot answer: does your brand show up when someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini about your category?
Most businesses track Google rankings consistently. They have Search Console connected, a rank tracker running, and monthly reports arriving in their inbox. But AI search visibility? Blank. No tracking, no baseline, no strategy.
That is a gap that is growing more expensive by the month. Here is how to get a clear picture of where you stand. If you want an expert to run this for you, our free marketing audit now covers AI search visibility as standard.
Step 1: Test Your Brand Queries Manually
Open ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity in separate tabs. Run the following searches across each: your brand name directly, your primary service and location, and the questions your ideal client asks before hiring you.
Write down what comes back. Is your brand mentioned? Are you cited as a source? Are competitors named where you are not? This gives you a real baseline of your AI search presence right now.
We do this at the start of every SEO engagement. The results regularly surprise clients who assume their Google rankings translate across to AI search. They often do not.
Step 2: Check Google AI Overview Appearances
In standard Google Search, run your primary target keywords. Look for the AI Overview block at the top of results. When one appears, expand it and check whether your website is among the cited sources.
Every keyword where an AI Overview appears but your site is not cited is a specific content or authority gap. To understand why this matters for traffic, see our article on how AI Overviews are reducing organic CTR.
Step 3: Assess Your Content Structure
AI systems extract answers from pages that are clearly and cleanly structured. Pull up your top five service and blog pages and run through these checks: does the page answer a specific question directly in the opening paragraph? Are the major headings written as clear topic statements or questions? Is there an FAQ section addressing common pre-purchase questions?
Pages that lead with a long-winded introduction before getting to the point are consistently underrepresented in AI-generated answers.
Step 4: Review Your Schema Markup
Run your key pages through Google’s Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results). This shows whether structured data is present and valid.
FAQ schema, Organisation schema, and Service schema are the three highest-priority types for most Australian business websites. The entity-level signals these create are explored in detail in our article on entity SEO and topical authority.
Step 5: Audit Your External Mentions
Search your brand name in Google, filter to the past 12 months, and count the credible third-party sources that mention you. Industry directories, media coverage, association memberships: each of these strengthens your entity authority in the eyes of AI systems.
If the list is thin, that is a content and PR gap, and one our content marketing service can help address systematically.
Once you have run through these steps, you will have completed a foundational AI search visibility audit and have a specific list of fixes to prioritise. For the strategic framework behind what you are optimising for, see our guide on AEO vs SEO.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if my brand appears in ChatGPT or Gemini?
Open ChatGPT and Google Gemini directly and search for your brand name, your primary service category and location, and the questions your ideal clients typically ask before choosing a provider. Record whether your brand is mentioned, whether you are cited as a source, and whether competitors appear in your place. Manual testing across each platform is currently the most reliable method.
What is Google’s Rich Results Test?
Google’s Rich Results Test is a free tool available at search.google.com/test/rich-results that analyses a specific URL and shows whether structured data is present, valid, and eligible to appear as a rich result in Google Search. It is a useful quick check before commissioning a full SEO audit.
How often should I audit my AI search visibility?
A full audit every quarter is a reasonable starting point for most Australian businesses. Checking manually every four to six weeks for your most important brand and category queries is also advisable given how rapidly AI search platforms are evolving. Our free marketing audit provides a structured starting point if you have not run one before.
What external mentions does Google consider authoritative?
Google’s systems give greater weight to mentions from sources with established credibility: industry directories, professional associations, recognised media publications, government sources, and reputable third-party review platforms. The quality of external citations matters significantly more than the volume.