When a customer asks AI for a recommendation,
which business gets named?
TheCited (thecited.ai) measures whether AI answers name your business. Your GEO audit includes the tested questions, sources, competitor comparisons and an action plan.
Visibility in AI answers
A new way for customers
to find a business.
When a customer asks an AI assistant to recommend a business, which names make it into the answer?
TheCited checks who gets mentioned and shows what a business can do next.
See a sample resultMore people are using ChatGPT.
Weekly active users worldwide
Data & sources
Each point marks a published weekly user count. The line connects those reports. “Nearly” and “over” reflect how the figures were reported.
- 100MTechCrunch · OpenAI DevDay ↗
- 200MOpenAI / Hearst ↗
- 300MOpenAI / Guardian ↗
- 500MOpenAI ↗
- Nearly 700MOpenAI ↗
- Over 800MOpenAI / Broadcom ↗
- Over 900MOpenAI ↗
Inside the dashboard
Which businesses
does AI mention?
TheCited asks questions that match what a business offers. The dashboard shows the answers word for word, alongside the competitors named and the sources cited.
- Mentioned
- How often does the business appear in the answers tested?
- Recommended
- Does the answer suggest the business as a good fit?
- Cited as a source
- Does the answer link to the company’s own website?
Mentions, recommendations and links are tracked separately for the questions tested.
The AI visibility audit
AI visibility can be measured. Here’s what a business can learn.
A solar installer based in Augsburg also fits panels in Munich. When a Munich homeowner asks for a recommendation, the AI assistant suggests two other installers. What do those two have in common?
TheCited checks the profiles cited in the answer against the work the business actually does. In this example, the directory leaves out Munich. Once the profile is updated, the same questions can show whether the installer gets recommended more often.
Munich is missing from the profile
“I live near Munich and want solar panels on my roof. Can you recommend someone to install them?”
The two recommended installers
The answer links to their profiles in a trade directory. Both list Munich as an area they serve.
The installer left out
The profile lists only the Augsburg office. The installer’s website shows a rooftop project in Munich. The missing service area may help explain why the installer was overlooked.
Next step
Add Munich to the service area and link to the local project as an example of the installer’s work.
One question, five answers
“I live near Munich and want solar panels on my roof. Can you recommend someone to install them?”
Here are the installers each system mentioned in this example.
- ChatGPT
- Installers A and B
- Claude
- Installer A
- Perplexity
- Installers A and B
- Gemini
- Installer A
- Google AI
- Installer B
Who gets mentioned in Munich?
Five answers to the same question about solar panels. Each answer can mention more than one installer.
What the directory shows
Both recommended installers list Munich as a service area. The Augsburg installer’s entry gives only its office address.
What to update first
Add the service area
The directory entry can list the Munich service area alongside the Augsburg office address.
Link to a local project
A link to the rooftop installation in Munich gives readers a concrete example of the installer’s work.
Record the date of the change
The date makes it possible to compare measurements taken before and after the update.
Does the installer appear now?
The same question is asked each week. Here’s how often the five systems mention the Augsburg installer in this example.
- Week 1
- 0 of 5 answers
- Week 2
- 1 of 5 answers
- Week 3
- 1 of 5 answers
- Week 4
- 2 of 5 answers
Weekly tracking is included in Starter and Pro.
From business profile to report
- Describe the businessIts services and target market shape the audit.
- Review the questionsThe business reviews the customer questions before testing begins.
- Get the resultsThe report brings together answers, sources and next steps.
VISIBILITY OVER TIME
How does visibility
change over time?
How often do five AI systems mention a business when asked the same customer questions?
ChatGPT
Claude
Perplexity
Gemini
Google AI
Visibility by AI system
Pick a package
Each package is paid up front. Starter and Pro renew monthly after the initial term unless cancelled.
- 01 Measured once across ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity
- 02 Your AI visibility score
- 03 Who gets named instead of you
- 04 Action plan: what to do, step by step
- 05 Report in three business days · one country, up to two possible
- 01 Three months of live tracking
- 02 10 questions, measured every week
- 03 Your score over time
- 04 Up to three countries instead of two
- 01 Three audits instead of one — at the start, after three months and after six
- 02 25 questions instead of 10
- 03 Six months instead of three
- 04 Up to six countries instead of three
- 05 Read-only API access to your measurement data included · 200 requests per day
Each further country costs €20 a month. Every package includes one country; you can pick up to two in the Audit, up to three in the Starter and up to six in Pro. You choose your countries after the purchase in the company profile and see your final price there before you confirm it. During the months you already paid for, every further country runs at no extra cost. The audit includes every country you pick anyway.
We remind you by email before the first charge, and cancelling takes one click — no notice period, effective at the end of the period you paid for.
The free quick check is further down this page. No VAT is charged (§ 19 UStG, German small business scheme).
We measure and tell you exactly what to do. We do not touch your website. Every step is written so you, or whoever builds your site, can do it without us. That is why it stays affordable.
Questions
What does TheCited measure?+
TheCited measures how often AI answers mention a business. The audit includes the questions tested, the answers, their sources and a prioritized action plan. Tracking repeats the measurements over time.
What counts as a mention?+
A mention means the business appears by name in an answer. An explicit recommendation and a link to the business website are recorded separately.
Who is the audit for?+
Small businesses and independent professionals in fields such as consulting, retail and the trades. The starting point is a question a potential customer might actually ask when choosing a provider.
What does the €290 audit include?+
The audit tests customer questions across ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity. It includes a visibility score, a competitor comparison and a prioritized action plan.
Does the business need technical expertise?+
The report explains the findings and the next steps. A business can pass any technical changes to its web agency.
How do billing and cancellation work?+
The €290 audit is a one-time purchase. Starter costs €390 for three months, then €59 per month. Pro costs €790 for six months and includes 25 questions and three audits, at the start and after three and six months. It then renews at €199 per month. An email reminder is sent before the first renewal. Plans can be cancelled at the end of the paid period. Additional countries cost €20 each per month after the included term. The one-time audit includes the selected countries at no extra charge. The final price is shown before confirmation. Cancel a plan.
How does this relate to SEO?+
SEO helps a business appear in search results. TheCited measures which businesses and sources appear in AI answers to specific customer questions.
How are the answers collected?+
TheCited submits the approved questions through the providers’ interfaces and records the answers, repeat tests, market and language. The findings apply to those test conditions.
When will a change show up?+
There is no fixed timetable. Answers can change with new content, sources or model updates and can also vary between runs. Repeating the same questions makes those differences visible.
Who carries out the changes?+
The business or its agency carries out the work. The action plan explains what to check or update.
Does TheCited need access to the website?+
The audit uses publicly available content. Website passwords and access to internal analytics are unnecessary.
What if few questions fit the business?+
The report shows which questions were tested and how often the answers named a business. A small sample limits what the results can tell the business.
See how AI sees your business
The free check asks ChatGPT three questions a potential customer might ask. The email shows each question and the businesses named in the answers. No account or card required.
We use your address only to check the website and send you the result. No newsletter, no sharing. More in our privacy notice.