DIY Guide to Tracking AI Search Visibility

AI search is changing how people find brands online — fast. Instead of relying only on Google, users now get answers from platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. The problem? Most analytics tools don’t show how your business appears in those results yet.

The good news: you can track it yourself. With a mix of manual checks, free tools, and a lightweight script, you can monitor where and how your business shows up across AI platforms — no subscriptions required.

Step 1: Start with Manual Query Checks (Free, No Tools Needed)

The foundation of AI visibility tracking is running your own prompts. This manual method takes just a few minutes and gives you firsthand insight into how AI platforms describe your brand.

• How to Do It:
  1. Create free accounts on ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
  2. Write 10–20 prompts tailored to your brand, services, and region. Examples:
     • “Best [your service] companies in [region] for 2025?”
     • “Compare [your brand] vs. [competitor] for [topic].”
     • “What is [your brand] known for in [region]?”
  3. Run each prompt and note:
     • Is your business mentioned?
     • Is the tone positive or neutral?
     • Are your links or social profiles cited?
  4. Record results in a simple Google Sheet:
     • Date
     • Prompt
     • AI Platform
     • Brand Mention (Yes/No)
     • Sentiment
     • Competitors Mentioned
     • Notes

Pro tip: Add region-based versions of each query (for example, “in New Jersey” or “in the U.S.”) to see how your presence changes by area.

Step 2: Use Free Tools to Automate Insights

Once you’ve got a feel for your AI visibility manually, the next step is automation. Several free tools now scan AI platforms and track mentions for you.

Sign up for one or two tools and monitor your brand weekly. You’ll quickly see patterns in what each AI associates with your company.

Step 3: Automate It with a Simple Script

If you want full control — and a little technical setup doesn’t scare you — you can automate AI visibility checks using a few lines of Python code.

Instead of a plugin or paid software, this method runs queries directly through AI APIs, checks if your brand is mentioned, and logs results into a spreadsheet.

Requirements: A free Google Colab account. No coding experience required — just paste and run the code below.

import openai, requests, pandas as pd
from datetime import datetime

openai.api_key = 'your-openai-key'
perplexity_url = 'https://api.perplexity.ai/chat/completions'

prompts = [
    "Best email marketing tools in US 2025",
    "Compare BrandA vs BrandB in Europe",
]

def query_chatgpt(prompt):
    response = openai.ChatCompletion.create(
        model="gpt-4o-mini",
        messages=[{"role": "user", "content": prompt}]
    )
    return response.choices[0].message.content

def query_perplexity(prompt, api_key):
    headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {api_key}', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}
    data = {'model': 'llama-3.1-sonar-small-128k-online', 'messages': [{'role': 'user', 'content': prompt}]}
    resp = requests.post(perplexity_url, json=data, headers=headers)
    return resp.json()['choices'][0]['message']['content']

results = []
for prompt in prompts:
    gpt_resp = query_chatgpt(prompt)
    mention = 'YourBrand' in gpt_resp
    results.append({'Prompt': prompt, 'Mention': mention, 'Response': gpt_resp[:200], 'Date': datetime.now()})

df = pd.DataFrame(results)
df.to_csv('ai_visibility.csv', index=False)
print(df)

What this does: Runs each query, checks if your brand is mentioned, and saves results to a CSV.
You can easily extend this script to include Google Gemini or sentiment scoring with TextBlob.

Cost: Free up to about 100 API queries per month — less than $1 worth of usage on OpenAI’s basic plan.

Step 4: Track Traffic and Mentions

Once you’re getting visibility data, connect the dots with traditional analytics:

• Google Analytics 4: Filter by referral source (e.g., chat.openai.com) to track AI-driven visits.
• Google Alerts: Set alerts for your brand name on Reddit or Quora to capture discussions.
• Sentiment Review: If you find negative or incorrect mentions, publish fresh content to correct or outweigh it.

Final Tips for Staying Ahead

• Check visibility once a week — consistency reveals trends.
• Use concise, factual content on your site so AI models trust it.
• Focus on structured Q&A formats — they index better in AI systems.
• Upgrade to low-cost pro tools later if you want dashboards or history.

Within an hour, you can have a live system that shows how your business is appearing inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini — the next frontier of SEO.