What exactly should you track?
Before choosing a method, agree on what you're recording. Four things cover almost every need:
- Mentioned or not. Was your brand named in the answer at all?
- Who else was named. The competitors that appear alongside you, or instead of you.
- Sources cited. Which websites the assistant linked to. These are the pages shaping the answer.
- How you were described. Is the description accurate? Old prices or wrong features are worth catching early.
From those you can work out the two numbers that matter: your mention rate and your share of voice against competitors. We explain both in AI share of voice.
What are the ways to track AI mentions?
| Manual checks in a spreadsheet | Free | 4 to 8 hours | Up to 10 questions, one person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search Console and analytics | Free | 1 hour | Seeing AI Overview impressions and AI referral visits |
| Your own script using AI APIs | Low API costs plus developer time | Setup days, then low | Teams with a developer and unusual needs |
| An AI visibility tool | From free tiers to a few hundred dollars a month | Under 1 hour | 20+ questions, several assistants, regular reports |
1. Manual checks in a spreadsheet
Open each assistant in a private or logged-out window, so your history doesn't colour the answer. Ask each question, then log the date, assistant, brands named and sources cited in a sheet. Repeat each question at least three times. It's slow, but it teaches you a lot about how assistants talk about your market.
The weak points are time and consistency. Different people phrase follow-ups differently, and after a few weeks most teams stop doing it.
2. Search Console and analytics
These won't tell you what AI said, but they show the effects. In 2026 Google added generative AI performance reports to Search Console, which show impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country and device. They don't show clicks or the questions asked, and the figures are already included in your normal Web search totals.
On the analytics side, Google Analytics 4 added an AI Assistant channel in 2026 for visits that come from assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini. It misses visits without a referrer, so treat it as a minimum. Our guide to measuring ChatGPT referral traffic shows how to set it up properly.
3. Your own script
If you have a developer, you can send your questions to the assistants' APIs on a schedule and store the answers. It's flexible and cheap per question. Two catches: API answers can differ from what people see in the consumer apps with web search turned on, and someone has to maintain the script as models and APIs change.
4. An AI visibility tool
Tools in this category run your questions across several assistants on a schedule, count mentions, list cited sources and chart changes over time. That's what we built GrowMarketingPro to do, and there are good alternatives such as Peec AI, Otterly and Profound. We compare them honestly in best AI visibility tools.
When choosing one, check how many times each question is run, which assistants are covered, whether it shows the actual answer text and sources, and how pricing scales with the number of questions.
How do you choose the right questions to track?
This decides everything. Track the questions real buyers ask, in their words, not your marketing phrases. Good places to find them are your sales calls, support tickets, Google Search Console queries, and communities like Reddit and Quora, where people ask things like "what's the best tool for X under $50?"
- 1Category questions
"What's the best [category] for [audience]?" These show whether you're on the shortlist at all.
- 2Problem questions
"How do I [solve the problem you solve]?" These show whether you're suggested as part of the answer.
- 3Comparison questions
"[Competitor] vs [competitor]" and "alternatives to [competitor]". These show whether you're in the conversation when buyers compare.
- 4Brand questions
"What is [your brand]?" and "Is [your brand] good?" These show whether AI describes you accurately.
Frequently asked questions
How can I see if ChatGPT mentions my brand?
Ask ChatGPT the questions your buyers ask, several times each, and record whether your brand appears. For more than a few questions, an AI visibility tool can run them on a schedule and count mentions for you.
Is there a Search Console for ChatGPT?
No. OpenAI doesn't provide a dashboard of brand mentions. Google's Search Console now shows AI Overview and AI Mode impressions, but only for Google's own AI features.
How often should I check AI mentions?
Weekly works for most brands in active markets. Monthly is fine for slower categories. What matters most is checking the same questions in the same way each time.
Why do I get different answers each time I ask?
AI assistants generate answers fresh each time and may search different sources. That's why tracking a mention rate across many runs is more reliable than looking at one answer.
Can I track AI mentions for free?
Yes, by hand with a spreadsheet, and partly with Search Console and Google Analytics. Some AI visibility tools, including ours, also have free plans with a limited number of questions.
- AI recommendations change with nearly every query: SparkToro (Search Engine Journal, 2026)
- Introducing Search generative AI performance reports in Search Console (Google, June 2026)
- Google Search Console generative AI report, explained (LLM Pulse, September 2026)
- Google Analytics adds AI Assistant as a default channel group (Search Engine Journal, May 2026)
- The most cited domains in ChatGPT (Ahrefs, updated 2 September 2026)