Selling AI visibility: Show local business clients their ChatGPT performance in one clear overview

If you've been selling websites and SEO for any length of time, you've probably noticed a shift in your client conversations recently. More and more SMB owners are asking the same question: "How am I doing in ChatGPT?"

It's a fair question. AI-powered discovery is becoming mainstream, and your clients, like local plumbers, cafés, accountants, and electricians, are starting to wonder whether they're visible in this new space.

The problem? Until now, answering that question has been a manual, time-consuming process. Sure, you could spend 20 minutes asking ChatGPT questions about a business, but it's hard to know what to ask, what to look for, and whether the information you're seeing is even accurate. And where do you go from there? How do you turn those findings into a conversation about improvement and an opportunity to upsell?

Turning the "we don't need a website" objection on its head

If you've heard the objection "we don't really need a website" from prospects, AI visibility now gives you a powerful new angle.

When ChatGPT recommends local businesses to users, it often cites sources to back up its answers. And guess where a significant portion of those citations come from? Business websites.

If your prospect doesn't have a website (or has one with thin, outdated content) ChatGPT simply has less to work with. That means fewer chances to be cited, recommended, or even mentioned.

Suddenly, a website isn't just a nice marketing channel; it ticks the box for the foundation for AI visibility.

This opens up natural conversations about web development and content writing services, framed not as legacy tactics, but as essential for staying visible in the AI era.

Introducing our latest version of the ChatGPT Test

Earlier this year, we launched the first version of our ChatGPT test, and the response from sales teams has been incredible. Reps have been using it to spark better conversations with SMB clients about AI visibility and to open doors for upselling solutions.

Now we've taken it further. Version 2 gives you a comprehensive view of how a business performs in ChatGPT, broken down into four key areas:

1. Awareness

Does ChatGPT even know your SMB client exists? Without a strong, structured online presence, consistent information and third-party mentions, a business becomes invisible to AI. Getting your customer’s business recognised by ChatGPT is crucial for gaining a competitive edge.

It's crucial for ChatGPT to know your business exists for relevance, accuracy, and competitive advantage, enabling it to provide specific insights, generate accurate content with citations, and help you stay visible as AI integrates into customer searches and internal workflows, preventing it from recommending competitors or giving outdated/generic answers. By having your data connected, it transforms from a general tool into a business-specific assistant, boosting productivity and decision-making.

2. Accuracy

Imagine if your prospect or client’s business is showing up in ChatGPT, but the information it gives is wrong! This part of the check looks at what information ChatGPT holds about a business—and if it’s correct or not. The accuracy score is out of 100, evaluating:

• Business name
• Phone number
• Website URL
• What ChatGPT thinks the business offers

The test cross-references this against the Insites audit to verify whether the information is actually correct, giving you a clear picture of any gaps or errors.

3. Reputation

When someone asks ChatGPT about a specific business (a branded search), what does it say? Does it present the business positively or negatively?

The reputation score tells you how ChatGPT perceives the business:

• Very Positive
• Positive
• Negative
• Very Negative

This insight can spark important conversations about online reputation management and how to shape the narrative around a brand with content marketing and review management.

4. Recommendation

Here's where it gets really interesting. When a user asks ChatGPT an unbranded search query like "recommend me plumbers in Derby" or "best cafes in Manchester" this checks looks to see if this business gets mentioned.

The recommendation score is out of 100, and it shows:

• How often ChatGPT recommends this business for relevant searches
• What position the business appears in (are they #1, or is a competitor taking the top spot?)
  

We show sales teams where ChatGPT gets its information

One of the most valuable parts of the new test is the source breakdown. It shows you exactly where ChatGPT is pulling its information about the business from.

For example, you might see:

• 47% from the business website
• 23% from review sites
• 15% from competitor pages
• 10% from job listing sites



This is gold for sales conversations. If a business's website accounts for less than half of the citations, that's a clear opportunity to discuss content improvements. If competitor pages are being cited, that's a wake-up call. And if ChatGPT is pulling from job sites or directories, it's a sign that the business's digital footprint needs attention on these third-party sites.

Why this matters for your sales conversations

The ChatGPT test is a practical tool that helps you:

• Start new conversations: AI visibility is a topic your clients are curious about. Now you have a way to show them exactly where they stand.
• Identify upsell opportunities: Low accuracy scores, missing citations, or poor recommendations all point to areas where your services can help.
• Overcome objections: The "we don't need a website" pushback becomes much weaker when you can show how website content feeds directly into AI recommendations.
• Build trust: Providing clients with clear, data-backed insights positions you as a knowledgeable partner, not just another vendor.
  

Check AI visibility outside of ChatGPT

The ChatGPT test is just one part of how Insites helps you assess businesses’ AI readiness. We've built a complete suite of checks to give you the full picture:

AI Readiness Check

This check evaluates whether a business is technically prepared for AI discovery by looking at:

• Local structured data: Does the website have the schema markup that helps AI engines understand the business?
• FAQs on the website: Are there frequently asked questions that AI can pull from when answering user queries?
• AI agent access: Is the website accidentally blocking AI agents from crawling and indexing its content?
• Sitemap found: Is a site map on the organisation's website to ensure AI can index efficiently?
• Reading difficulty: Is the content clear and easy to read so AI can understand and summarise more accurately?
• Content recently updated: Fresh content signals to AI that your site is active and relevant, boosting chances of being featured in up-to-date search results
• llms.txt found: An llms.txt file helps websites communicate directly with LLMs like ChatGPT. It acts like a site map or guide for AI, telling it what content is available and how it should be used.
  

Gemini Check

Our Gemini check assesses whether a business's Google Business Profile is optimised so that Gemini can find and recommend it. The Gemini optimisation check covers whether they have a Google business profile, if it’s complete, if they have reviews and what's their average rating and if have any photos.

Together, these all the AI readiness checks give your sales team a complete view of a business's AI visibility across multiple platforms.

Get started with Insites AI Readiness Checks 

Now when your clients ask, "How am I doing in ChatGPT?" you'll finally have a proper answer with confidence and without spending time manually searching for each customer. The ChatGPT Test v2 is available now. If you're already using Insites, you can start running tests for your clients immediately by adding the new test in your Audit Designer.

Ready to see it in action? Start using the ChatGPT test today, or book a demo to discover how Insites helps sales teams sell digital marketing with easy-to-understand audits. No complex jargon or technical overwhelm—just clear insights that any sales agent can confidently present in seconds, and that SMBs will actually understand.