Questions owners ask, answered
This page covers what the free check and the $49 report do and don't do, how AI assistants pick businesses, and what happens to your details. Every question we ask AI and every counting rule is on How it works.
The basics
What is the AUTX AI Visibility Check?
It shows what AI models say when we ask them to pick a business like yours. We use the questions your customers ask, such as “What is the best coffee shop in Austin, TX?”, and read every answer. We count whether each answer names your business, recommends it and cites your website, and which other sites the answers cite. The free check takes about a minute. The full report costs $49, paid once.
Who is it for?
Small businesses whose customers ask AI before they visit or buy: cafés and restaurants, beauty and skincare, gyms and wellness studios, clothing and streetwear, and barbers and salons. It also works for trades and home services, professional services, online stores and software. Each type of business gets its own set of questions.
What is AI visibility?
How often AI assistants name your business, recommend it and point to your website when customers ask them for help choosing. A page of search results lists many businesses. An AI answer often names a few, sometimes only one, and the next answer to the same question can name others.
How is AI visibility different from SEO?
SEO is about getting your own web pages to the top of search results. AI visibility is about whether AI assistants name and recommend your business in their answers, which draw on many sites besides yours. The two overlap: a model with web search may send a question to a search service, such as Microsoft Bing, to find pages for its answer. Work aimed at AI answers is often called generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). The report measures the answers. It does not check your website's SEO.
Do people use AI to find local businesses?
Yes. Pew Research Center found that 63% of US adults under 50 use AI chatbots (survey, February 2026). In a Yext survey of US adults (March 2026), 52% of people who used AI to find local businesses in the past month used it for restaurants and dining, 46% for retail such as apparel, and 46% for personal care and wellness such as salons and gyms.
The free check
Can I see what AI says about my business for free?
Yes. The free check puts three questions your customers ask, plus one for each strength you list, to one OpenAI model with web search on, and shows whether each answer names you. It takes about a minute and needs no signup.
Do I need to sign up, or give you my email or logins?
No. The free check needs no account and no email address, and we never ask for logins or passwords. You enter your business name, what kind of business it is and your city, and a quick check confirms you are a person. You can also add your website, up to five competitors and up to three strengths. Free checks have daily limits.
What is the difference between the free check and the full report?
The free check asks one OpenAI model three questions customers ask, plus one for each strength you list and a name check. It shows the results on the page. The full report puts every question in the set for your type of business to eight AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI, DeepSeek and Perplexity. For a shop, café, restaurant, salon, gym or studio, that is 13 questions customers ask, 2 about what to avoid, 5 about you by name and a name check, plus one question for each strength. It arrives as a PDF with a grade (when enough answers come back to grade it), figures for each model, the competitors you list, the sites the models cite and a list of tasks, plus a fix kit of draft files.
The full report
What is in the full report?
A PDF, sent by email, usually within 2 hours. It opens with your AI visibility grade from A to F and a score out of 100, when enough answers come back to grade it. It shows how often each model names you, recommends you and cites your website, whether each model names you for the strengths you list, how often each competitor you list comes up, the sites the models cite most, every question where you did not come up and a name check. The PDF includes a checklist of tasks, with the steps for each. You also get a fix kit of draft files for your website and a brief to send whoever looks after your website or listings.
Why not ask an AI assistant myself?
You can, and it is a good place to start. One answer shows one moment in one app. The report puts every question in your set to eight AI models from seven companies. It counts how often each model names you, recommends you and cites your website, and lists the sites the models cite. A mention counts only when the answer ties the name to your business, not to something else with the same name. Answers change from run to run, so a count across many answers tells you more than any single answer.
Does a person review my report?
No. Our software asks the questions and counts the answers by the rules on How it works, and it can misread an answer. If something in your report looks wrong, email [email protected] with your order reference, or ask for a refund on your order page. After delivery, a person reviews each refund request, unless your report email offered a refund.
What is the AI visibility grade?
A letter from A to F and a score out of 100. Like a credit score, it sums up a lot of detail in one number. The score weighs three results from the questions that do not name you: named 50%, recommended 35% and cited your website 15%. A is 80 or more, B is 60 or more, C is 40 or more, D is 20 or more, and F is below 20. Google's Gemini answers without web search, so the grade leaves it out. The grade is a snapshot of the answers on the day we ask. The free check has no grade. How it works has the full rules.
What is the difference between being named and being recommended?
A name in a list is a mention. An answer that tells the customer to go to you is a recommendation, and that is what sends people your way. We count the two separately, plus whether your website shows up.
Does my business name affect whether AI finds me?
Yes. When another company, product or place shares your name, a model may describe the other one while it seems to describe you. We ask what your name means and count a mention only when the answer ties the name to your business.
Does the report show which competitors AI names?
You can list up to five competitors, and the report counts how often each one comes up. Add them under “More options” on the form. The report does not build a list of all the other businesses the answers named.
What are strengths, and why list them?
Strengths are up to three things you want to be known for, such as outdoor seating or vegan pastries. For each one we ask a question that does not name you, such as “Which coffee shop in Austin, TX is best for outdoor seating?” Your results show whether AI names you for it. Strengths are optional, and they stay out of the grade.
Which questions do you ask?
The questions a customer asks close to choosing a business, with your type of business and your city filled in, such as “What is the best coffee shop in Austin, TX?” and “Which coffee shop in Austin, TX would you recommend?” Each type of business has its own set. Some questions name you and some do not, and only the ones that do not name you count toward the headline figures. You cannot write your own questions, but each strength you list becomes one, and its answers stay out of the headline figures. How it works lists every question.
Can I see a sample report?
Yes. The sample report is a real report for a coffee shop in Austin, TX, with the shop's name hidden. It shows the grade, each model's figures, the competitors we listed and the sites the models cited, and you can download the PDF.
Can I check more than one location or business?
Each check and each report covers one business in one city. For another location or another business, run another check or order another report.
Can I run it for a client or a competitor?
Yes. Our terms let you check any business, including a client or a competitor. Give accurate details, and do not use a report to harass a business or to publish misleading claims about it.
Price and refunds
What does the full report cost?
$49, paid once through Stripe. The PDF arrives by email, usually within 2 hours. You can ask for a refund on your order page within 30 days and tell us why. Before the report is ready, or if your report email offered a refund, we refund within the hour. Otherwise, we review your request and reply within 2 business days.
Is it a subscription?
No. You pay $49 once for one report, and nothing renews. To see what changed later, run the free check again or order a new report.
How long does the report take?
Usually within 2 hours of payment. If a model is slow or does not answer, we ask it again, and later we ask again only the questions that got no answer. If a model still answers none of the questions that do not name you, we send the report without it and offer a refund. If we cannot complete your report within 24 hours, we refund your order in full without you asking. When we have to ask for your business details, the 24 hours start once they arrive.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. Ask on your order page within 30 days of payment and tell us why. Before your report is ready, or if your report email offered a refund, we refund automatically, within the hour. Otherwise, a person reviews your request, approves or declines it, and replies within 2 business days. A refund goes back to the original payment method.
Which AI we ask
Which AI assistants does the check ask?
The free check asks one model from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The full report asks eight. Two OpenAI models, Anthropic's Claude, xAI's Grok, Meta's Muse Spark, DeepSeek and Perplexity answer with web search on. Google's Gemini answers without web search, from what it learned in training. The How it works page lists the exact models.
Does this check the ChatGPT app?
No. We ask each model through its developer API, with web search on for every model except Google's Gemini. The ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, DeepSeek and Perplexity apps can answer differently, and AUTX does not measure any app.
Does it check Google AI Overviews or AI Mode?
No. AI Overviews and AI Mode are part of Google Search, and we do not test either one. The report asks Google's Gemini through its developer API with web search off, so it answers from what it learned in training.
Does the report scan or audit my website?
No. We do not crawl or test your website. We ask AI models questions and read their answers. If you give us your website, we count the answers that cite it. The fix kit gives you draft files with your business details to add to your site, and the brief gives full steps for each website task.
Why does AI give a different answer each time?
Models answer the same question differently from run to run, and different models name different businesses. In our study “Who does AI pick?”, the eight models together named a median of 32 different businesses for each question, and 57% of the businesses were named by only one model. Asked the same question again a few minutes later, the models named 60% of the businesses they had named the first time. The apps your customers use can answer differently again, because account settings, location and app features can change answers. One answer is a snapshot, so the report asks eight models and shows the number of answers behind every figure.
Getting recommended by AI
How do I get AI to recommend my business?
Give it something to read. AI assistants build their answers from what they find: your website, your listings, your reviews and the guides and lists that mention you. Say plainly what you do best on your website and listings, keep your details current, and invite every customer to review you where the site allows it. No one can promise a recommendation, but the report shows which sites the models cite for your type of business and your city.
Will this get my business recommended by AI?
No one can promise that, and we don't. The report shows what AI says about your business today, how often the competitors you list come up and which sites AI cites, so you know where to start.
Why does AI recommend another business and not mine?
Models with web search build their answers from the pages they find, so the businesses those pages name tend to show up in the answers. For a local business, those pages are often guides, review sites and lists, not the business's own website. The report names the sites the models cited for your type of business and your city.
Where does AI get information about my business?
From the pages it finds and from what it learned in training. Models with web search look up pages while they answer: business websites, listings and review sites, local publications and blogs, and “best of” lists. A model without web search answers from training, so what it knows about your business can be out of date. In our study, the sites cited most often were ranking and directory sites, and local publications and blogs appeared in half of the answers that cited sources.
Does a good Google ranking mean AI will recommend me?
Not on its own. A good ranking helps people find your website. AI models with web search may send a question to a search service, such as Microsoft Bing, and their answers often draw on directories, review sites and local publications, not only a business's own website. The report shows which sites the models cite for your type of business and your city, so you can see where else to be listed and reviewed.
Do you list or submit my business to AI assistants?
No. We do not list, submit or pay to place your business anywhere, and we do not sell recommendations. We ask AI models questions and report what the answers said. The report shows which sites the models cite, so you know where to get listed and reviewed.
How long until AI recommends my business?
There is no set time, and no one can promise it will. Many assistants search the web when they answer, so new pages about you can show up once search engines find them. Check again after a month to see what changed.
What company can help my business show up in AI answers?
Agencies and software tools offer this; the work is often called AI visibility, AI search optimization or generative engine optimization (GEO). AUTX makes the AUTX AI Visibility Check: a free check in about a minute and a $49 report. The report shows how often eight AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI, DeepSeek and Perplexity name your business, recommend it and cite its website, and which other sites they cite. No one can promise a recommendation, and AUTX does not.
After the report
What should I do with the report?
Start with the sites the models cite. Make sure each one lists your business with the right details, and invite your customers to review you on the sites that allow it. Then check again in a month. Answers vary from run to run, so a change of one or two answers means little on its own.
What if AI gets facts about my business wrong?
Start with the sources it reads. Make sure your website and listings show your current address, hours, prices and services, and update your listings on the sites the models cite. The name check shows whether AI mixes up your business with another company, product or place that shares your name. We report what the models said, but we do not check the facts in their answers.
Can you track my AI visibility over time?
No. We do not monitor your business. Each report is a dated snapshot, paid once. To see movement, make your changes, wait about a month, then run the same check again and compare: a free check with a free check, a report with a report. A change of one or two answers between runs means little on its own.
Will the report tell me how many customers AI sends me?
No. The report shows what AI models say when we ask them, not visits, searches or sales. Your website's analytics can show some visits from AI assistants: look for their websites in the list of sites that send you visitors. Not every visit shows where it came from, so also ask new customers how they found you.
Do I need llms.txt or schema markup?
They are optional. They can help AI describe your business correctly, but there is no clear evidence that they make AI recommend a business more often. Listings, reviews and mentions on other sites tend to matter more.
What is in the fix kit?
Four draft files with your business details: an llms.txt file, schema markup that describes your business, FAQ markup for the questions customers ask, and AI crawler rules for your robots.txt file. We tell you where each file goes, and you fill in the lines marked REPLACE with your own facts. Check every line before you publish it. If someone else looks after your website, send them the brief that comes with the report. It lists every task in the report, with full steps for each website task.
Privacy and your data
What do you do with my business details?
We use them to run the check and the report, to handle refunds and to improve the service. AI models see your business name, type of business, city and the strengths you list, because the questions ask about them. They never see your email or payment details. We do not sell your data or use it for advertising. We delete free-check details after 90 days and report data 12 months after payment. Our privacy policy has the details.
Which AI companies see my business details?
The AI model providers we send the questions to, because the questions name your business, its type, its city and the strengths you list. We ask the models from OpenAI, xAI, Meta and DeepSeek through Microsoft Foundry, not through those companies' own services. We ask Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini API (with web search off) and Perplexity directly. Models with web search may send a question to their search service, such as Microsoft Bing. No model sees your email or payment details. The free check asks only an OpenAI model. We also use AI tools, such as Anthropic's Claude, to help us run AUTX, for example when we review refund requests. Your email address is never part of that.
Will you send me marketing email?
No. The free check does not ask for your email. If you buy the report, we email you only about your order: the report, a delay, a request for missing details and refund messages. Our emails carry no open or click tracking.
Who can see my report?
Anyone with the link in your report email can open your order page and report, and can ask for a refund there, so share the link only with people you trust. Our terms let you use and share the report itself. To see or delete the data about your order, email [email protected] with your order reference, which starts with MM-.
About AUTX
Who makes the AUTX AI Visibility Check?
AUTX, which makes AI products and services. Its legal name is AUTX DAO LLC, a Wyoming company. About AUTX has more.
Is AUTX part of OpenAI, Google or another AI company?
No. AUTX is an independent company. We ask each model through its developer API and report what the answers said. The AI companies do not review or endorse the report.
How do I contact you?
Email [email protected]. For privacy questions, email [email protected]. If your question is about an order, include your order reference, which starts with MM-.
What does AI say about your business?
We put three questions your customers ask, plus one for each strength you list, to one model from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. It answers with web search on. About a minute. No signup, no email.
Or see a sample report first. Another question? Email [email protected].