You can answer your boss in about 15 minutes. Pick five questions a buyer would ask, ask them in ChatGPT and Google while logged out, write down whether your business is named and who is named instead, and send back a small dated table. Report “we were named in 2 of 10 answers on 7 November”, not a yes or a no. A count with a date is honest, and it gives you a baseline to beat.
Key takeaways
- “Do we show up?” really means: when a buyer asks AI who to use, are we in the answer?
- Being named in the answer is what counts. Being listed as a source link is a weaker signal.
- Use buyer questions without your brand name. Searching your own name only tells you the AI knows you exist.
- Write down the date, engine, location and whether you were logged in. Each one changes the answer.
- Report a count, the competitors named, and one next step.
What is your boss actually asking?
Your boss is asking whether buyers who use AI to choose a supplier hear your name. That is a narrower question than “does ChatGPT know us”. Ask ChatGPT “what is [your company]?” and it may describe you perfectly. Ask it “who is the best [your service] in Singapore?” and it may not mention you at all. Only the second question costs you business.
There are two ways to show up. You can be named, which means your business appears in the answer text as an option. Or you can be cited, which means one of your pages is listed as a source behind the answer. Named is what drives enquiries. Cited is a useful early sign, but a buyer rarely opens the sources.
How do you run the check in 15 minutes?
Minutes 0 to 3: pick five questions. Three “best” questions (“best [service] in Singapore”, “best [service] for [type of customer]”, “top [service] companies Singapore”), one comparison (“[option A] vs [option B] for [situation]”) and one problem question (“how do I fix [problem your product solves]”). Don’t include your brand name.
Minutes 3 to 10: ask them. Open a private or incognito window so you are logged out. Ask each question in ChatGPT. Then search each one on Google and note whether an AI Overview appears at the top, and whether it names you. If you have time, try Google’s AI Mode, Gemini and Claude as well.
Minutes 10 to 13: fill in the table. One row per question per engine: was there an AI answer, are we named, who is named, the date.
Minutes 13 to 15: write three lines. How often you were named, who was named most, and one next step.
For the Google side you can also run the free AIO Visibility Checker, which shows whether Google’s AI Overview names your brand today.
Which conditions change the answer?
Location, language, login and date all change what the engines say. Write them down with every check, or next month’s comparison means nothing.
- Location. On 2 November 2026 we asked 15 buyer questions from a Malaysian location across five AI engines, 270 answers in all. Stridec, which is based in Singapore, was named in 1.
- Language. On 4 November 2026 we asked “best GEO agency” in English and in the local language from Vietnam and Thailand in Google AI Mode. In Vietnam only one agency appeared in both answers. In Thailand none did.
- Login. A logged-in ChatGPT can lean on your own chat history. Check logged out to see what a stranger sees.
- Date. Answers move. Alva’s own store, Qwang Coffee, was cited in a Google AI Overview 48 hours after launch in August 2026.
What should you send back?
Send a small table and three lines. Here is the format.
| Question | Engine | AI answer shown? | Are we named? | Who is named | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| best accounting firm for startups in Singapore | ChatGPT | Yes | No | Firm A, Firm B, Firm C | 7 Nov 2026 |
| best accounting firm for startups in Singapore | Google AI Overview | Yes | Yes, third | Firm A, Firm B, us | 7 Nov 2026 |
| outsourced bookkeeping vs in-house for a small company | ChatGPT | Yes | No | No firms named | 7 Nov 2026 |
| outsourced bookkeeping vs in-house for a small company | Google AI Overview | No | n/a | n/a | 7 Nov 2026 |
| who can help with GST registration in Singapore | ChatGPT | Yes | No | Firm A, Firm D | 7 Nov 2026 |
And the summary, again as an example only:
On 7 Nov 2026 (logged out, Singapore) we checked 5 buyer questions in ChatGPT and Google. We were named in 1 of 8 AI answers. Firm A was named in 4. Next step: compare the sources behind Firm A’s answers with ours, and re-check the same questions on 7 December.
That summary does three things a yes or no can’t. It gives a number your boss can track, it names the competitor that is winning, and it proposes the next step.
How do you read the result honestly?
Treat the first check as a starting point, not a verdict. Five questions on two engines is a small sample, and answers vary from run to run.
Watch two numbers over time: how many of your questions name you, and how prominently you are named when you are. They can move in different directions. In Bing Copilot data for stridec.com on 7 November 2026, our share when cited held at about 20 to 24%, while the number of questions citing us fell. One number alone would have told the wrong story.
If you are named nowhere, say so plainly. It is common, and a clear baseline is more useful to your boss than a hopeful guess. If you are named on one engine and not another, report each engine separately rather than averaging them.
What will your boss ask next?
Usually one of three things, and each has its own page.
- “Why them and not us?” Read why ChatGPT recommends your competitor.
- “Is this why enquiries are down?” Read we rank on page one but enquiries dropped.
- “Who should fix it, and what will it cost?” Read agency, training or do it yourself, and see Stridec’s GEO services and pricing.
What to do next
Run the check today, save the table, and repeat it with the same questions on the same day next month. If you want a fuller method for tracking it, how GEO results are measured shows a sample report, and our guide on measuring AI search visibility covers the options for doing it at scale.