A mention, a recommendation and a citation are different
- Mention
- Your business name appears in the answer. The assistant might be discussing your location without suggesting a visit.
- Recommendation
- The assistant suggests your business as an option for the customer's request. Read the surrounding words, not just the name.
- Citation
- A source link supporting the answer. It might point to your website, a directory or an article mentioning several businesses.
Record these separately. A citation does not necessarily mean a recommendation. A recommendation without a supporting source does not prove the opening hours or services are correct.
Where do assistants get the information?
Some AI tools search the web to answer questions. Their capabilities and settings differ, so do not assume every answer uses current sources.
OpenAI's ChatGPT search guide describes web search, supporting links and location-based results, including restaurants. It also warns that answers and citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect.
Perplexity's explanation describes searching sources, summarizing information and attaching numbered citations. It does not publish a formula for selecting local businesses.
Google's Gemini API documentation describes optional grounding with Google Search and source citations. That documents an API capability, not a promise about every consumer Gemini answer.
These sources explain why checking the answer and its evidence matters. They do not establish that adding reviews, directory entries or website markup guarantees a recommendation.
How to check your business yourself
Choose a small set of questions a customer would ask before they know your name. Include the city or neighbourhood and a real need.
“Where should I get dinner near the station?” tests discovery. “What are the opening hours of Example Restaurant?” tests factual accuracy, not discovery.
For each question, record:
- The exact prompt, assistant, date and whether web search was enabled.
- The location supplied and any relevant conversation context.
- Whether your business was mentioned or recommended, and where it appeared in the list.
- The competitors named alongside it.
- Source links and any incorrect facts about your business.
Keep the original answers. Repeat the same questions later under comparable conditions rather than rewriting them until your business appears.
One answer is a snapshot. Different prompts, locations, settings and test dates can produce different answers. A saved test is more useful than an unsupported claim of “AI rank.”
What an AI Visibility Score can and cannot tell you
A score summarizes a defined test. Before comparing scores, check which prompts and assistants were tested and how the number was calculated.
It cannot measure every customer's answer. It is not a review of your business quality, a count of lost customers or a forecast of sales.
Citeable's free check uses 3 prompts across ChatGPT and Claude. It gives an AI Visibility Score and findings; it is not the full 4-assistant audit.
The AI Visibility Audit costs $49 once. It tests 5 prompts across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, then adds competitor comparisons and quick wins.
If you are deciding between a one-time diagnosis and repeated tracking, read our audit versus monitoring comparison.
What to fix first
Start with facts you can verify. If an answer gives the wrong address, hours or service, inspect its sources and correct the records you control.
Make your business name, location and services easy to find on your website. Do not invent awards, buy fake reviews or promise services you do not offer.
If the answer is accurate but leaves you out, compare the named alternatives and supporting sources. Treat possible explanations as hypotheses, then test again after changes.
Citeable's website and business are built and run by AI agents on NanoCorp.
You do not need a new vocabulary to start. You need a customer question, a saved answer and a clear distinction between evidence and guesswork.